leonardodaftson

'The World is Not Enough' fixes many issues with the previous entry in the franchise 'Tomorrow Never Dies'. The prior film was criticized for having goofy villains and a silly story. 'The World is Not Enough' re-aligns the franchise by bringing back better villains, a more interesting story, and adding much more substance to the characters. The film throws a few curve balls and misdirections at the audience as well, so you'll be kept on your toes. All of the actors put on a great performance, with the exception of Denise Richards. She plays Dr. Christmas Jones and she is not believable in the slightest as a nuclear scientist. But she's such a gorgeous bombshell I can overlook her crappy acting. M is also much more involved in the plot, which is quite welcome because she really dominates her scenes. Overall I enjoyed 'The World Is Not Enough', it's much better than the prior Bond film, but still not quite as good as 'Goldeneye'.

'Tomorrow Never Dies' is the 2nd James Bond movie of the Pierce Brosnan era. The movie was greenlit due to the enormous success of 'Goldeneye'. Unfortunately, I found 'Tomorrow Never Dies' to fall drastically short of 'Goldeneye' in terms of storytelling and overall quality.

The premise of 'Tomorrow Never Dies' is that the main villain, Elliot Carver, is a media mogul who wants to manufacture a global conflict so his media outlets can provide coverage of it. Really. That's it. Not only is this plot highly implausible, but the the character Elliot Carver himself is very nonthreatening and lacks any sort of menacing traits. He also has two henchmen - a guy who looks like he lives in mom's basement drinking Mountain Dew and playing MMORPGs all day, and another guy who looks like he belongs in a 1990's German boy band. These three make up a very lackluster crew of villains that I found boring.

Paris Carver is also a very unremarkable Bond girl. We learn she is James Bond's former girlfriend, but the film never actually dives into their history. What a wasted opportunity. Adding some depth to the history of James Bond and Paris Carver would have made the audience significantly more invested in her as a character, and would have made future scenes with her much more impactful. Instead, we don't really care much about her because her character was shallow to begin with.

The special effects were pretty good. The film is very action-packed. 'Tomorrow Never Dies' was given double the budget as the previous film 'Goldeneye', and it especially shows during the action scenes. My only major complaint is the sound effects for the kicks and punches were way overdone. A very gentle punch or kick produces an unrealistically loud "WHACK!" which stands out as too over-the-top.

'Tomorrow Never Dies' checks off all the classic James Bond tropes, but is bogged down by a weak plot and an undistinguished lineup of characters. It's a shame because I really enjoy Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. If the plot had much more substance, this could have been a great movie, but instead it's just mediocre. I rate it a 6/10 overall. 'Goldeneye' is very much the superior film.

I distinctly remember the collective groan from the James Bond fan base back in the mid 2000's when the announcement came that Daniel Craig would replace Pierce Brosnan as the new James Bond. Fans were up in arms because Daniel Craig has blonde hair and baby blue eyes, instead of themore traditional darker traits that were synonymous with the James Bond character. Funny how once 'Casino Royale' was actually released, those skeptics immediately disappeared.

Daniel Craig proves he has the charm, elegance, presence, and confidence that the fans have come to expect from James Bond. He just has a very powerful aura about him from that start that easily establishes him as the next James Bond.

Mads Mikkelsen plays the main antagonist Le Chiffre, who is one of my favorite James Bond villains. The film actually provides insight into his backstory to shed some light on the motivations behind his actions. Le Chiffre is humanized because the audience simply understands his reasons for being "the bad guy", which makes him much more relatable and interesting as a character. This is the antithesis of traditional Bond villains that have a tendency to be very over-the-top and evil just for the sake of being evil.

Eva Green plays Vesper Lynd, who is assigned to supervise James Bond during his mission. Not only is Eva Green stunningly beautiful, she also perfectly portrays the charm, wit, determination, and overall likeability of Vesper. Not much can be said without getting into spoiler territory, but I will say her story arc is one of the highlights of the movie. The women in the James Bond franchise have historically been shallow sex objects, but Vesper's character contains significantly depth than female characters in prior films.

The action sequences are perfectly placed throughout the film and choreographed beautifully. However, some of the most suspenseful scenes in the film aren't even the scenes with action. The high stakes poker game itself unfolds in a way that creates enormous suspense and excitement. These scenes at the card table are so perfectly crafted, the audience is left with even greater anticipation and excitement than any action scene in the film.

Every part of 'Casino Royale' is extraordinarily well-written. The characters are interesting, relatable, and have depth. The plot is stimulating and compelling. The movie is beautifully shot. There is so much attention to detail. There are so many small moments scattered throughout the film that add massive amounts of depth to the story. There are many elements of cinematography utilized, like lighting/colors/camera angles, that perfectly complement the storytelling aspect of the film.

'Casino Royale' is not just a good James Bond film, it's a good film altogether. It's a must-watch film for anyone, whether or not you're a fan of the James Bond franchise.