THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH
Rated PG-13 for violence, some language and adult themes
Starring Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle, Denise Richards and Judi Dench

CineSight Rating **

A bombing at MI6 headquarters propels James Bond (Brosnan) into a scheme to cut off oil supplies to the Western world in this, the 19th entry in the 007 series. He chases the elusive perpetrator through England, Spain, Turkey and Eastern Europe before finally catching up with Renard (Carlyle) - an international terrorist with a bullet lodged in his brain. Along the way Bond is required to protect Elektra King (Marceau), heir to the oil tycoon killed in the MI6 bombing.

To confuse things even more, Bond's boss, M (Dench) is kidnapped to settle an old score, and once again Bond must come to the rescue, aided by his latest sidekick - nuclear physicist Dr. Christmas Jones (Richards).

THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH also marks the departure of 007's ingenious toymaker, Q (Desmond Llewellyn), who passes on his mantle to a somewhat more clumsy R (John Cleese of "Monty Python" fame).

Of course, the staples of any Bond movie are high-speed action sequences and outrageous stunts. THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH delivers in a couple of these: an exciting boat chase along London's River Thames and a chase involving helicopters equipped with giant buzz-saws, which literally carve up a building around our hero. However, TWINE isn't able to hold up against the relentless pace of Brosnan's last two Bond flicks. The middle of the movie tends to drag with too much fluff and unnecessary complication. Director Michael Apted has obviously not had much experience with the action genre, and sad to say, turns in a so-so picture. We can always hope 007 will return with a vengeance in a couple of years.