The World is not Enough

Details

After Bond retrieves a large amount of money for oil tycoon Sir Robert King, and friend of M, King travels to MI6 headquarters to collect it. However, during the celebrations he is killed by a bomb inside the building. Bond immediately pursues the female assailant down the Thames in a spectacular boat chase. Upon confronting the attacker she commits suicide in fear of retribution from her boss - the terrorist and anarchist Renard.

Renard, who from a previous encounter with Bond has a bullet lodged in his brain, is slowly losing all feeling in his body and therefore cannot feel pain. He has been attempting to sabotage the oil pipeline Sir Robert King fought so hard to build, and Bond is assigned to protect King's daughter Elektra from further terrorist threats. However things do not go to plan, as further attacks escalate the situation and even M finds herself becoming directly involved in the unfolding crisis.

Picture & Sound

The picture quality is first-rate, but only manages to produce an average bit-rate. There is no artifacting or outlining, although I thought the indoor scenes were a little too soft. However this was the only glitch in an otherwise excellent picture.

The best part of this film is the sound. We normally expect high sound standards from the Bond films and we are certainly not disappointed. There are numerous deep rumbling LFE explosions giving the subwoofer a serious job to perform, plus the rear channels are constantly in use by atmospheric sounds, not to mention the ricocheting of bullets and numerous helicopters. The best surround yet on DVD?

Menu & Extras

The animated menus are also impressive, although they attempt to over-impress and some of the menus suffer from too many pregnant pauses whilst the next screen loads.

Overall

The Bond franchise is certain to continue for some time yet and some of the regular cast are beginning to show their age. Desmond Llewelyn thought it would be a good time to leave the role of Q and be replaced by a new mentor, R. Little was he to know that it would indeed be his final Bond adventure, as he was sadly killed in a car accident shortly after the film's release. Although originally touted as the best Bond film yet, I would have to disagree. I still think GoldenEye is the best of the Brosnan era and I can't wait for the special edition treatment it deserves.

This film has far too little screen time for the villain and I felt that Robert Carlyle was not the best person for the role. As the Brosnan Bond outings have continued we have started to see a slightly darker side to 007. I hope this will continue to develop as I am sure a man in his position would have many crosses to bear.

This special edition is loaded to the hilt with useful and interesting extras, plus a poignant tribute to Desmond Llewelyn which even manages to produce a lump in the throat as it highlights his illustrious career with Bond. Even the "collectors" booklet is interesting and I hold out high hopes that MGM will treat all the other Bond films with this sort of dedication. Well done MGM!

Special features

• Audio Commentary Featuring Director Michael Apted
• Audio Commentary Featuring Production Designer Peter Lamont, Second Unit Director Vic Armstrong and Composer David Arnold
• Making Of Documentary
• The Secrets Of 007
• Music Video by Garbage
• Original Theatrical Trailer
• Collectable Booklet
• "Bond Cocktail" Documentary
• "Bond Down River" Documentary
• Tribute to Desmond Llewelyn
• Playstation Game Trailer