The World Is Not Enough (1999)

[zen007]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

So do I, and what she's wearing in those scenes is entirely appropriate.

Appropriate for you maybe. Not necessarily the Bond girl.

[Zechs Merquise]

Originally Posted by zen007

I termed her acting as average. But gave her high points on hotness, an ingredient for Bond girls

Which is literally your only argument, and it's a poor one. 'Sure, her acting is poor and the role doesn't really serve much purpose. But she looks hot and dresses hot, so who cares?'

It's fine to like Denise Richards and think she was hot. Hell, I'm not immune to her looks, Wild Things is burned into my young and impressionable mind. But don't ever confuse that with her being a good actress or good in the role.

Originally Posted by zen007

It is normal to have multiple Bond girls in Bond films.

And my point is they should have tried something different. It would have made for a better film

Originally Posted by zen007

I don't rate Natalya's character highly

Because she doesn't dress sexy. Which is not an argument

Originally Posted by zen007

Believability is not something that is associated much with Bond films

You seem to confuse believability with realism. They're not remotely the same thing.

I could believe that Christopher Reeve could fly. I could believe that Christian Bale could dress up in a rubber suit most nights and beat people up. I could believe that Pierce Brosnan could be a jet-setting international secret agent, and playboy.

What I cannot believe is Denise Richards as a nuclear scientist.

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by zen007

I guess, the franchise is supposed to hire an Oscar-winning actress as the 2nd Bond girl whose key contribution is expected to look good/hot on screen.

Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying. Hire only Oscar winning actresses for these roles.

Originally Posted by zen007

Bond films have a license to cinematic conveniences. There are ways (dresses) which can be more suitable for a Bond girl.

If she can find time to eat, sleep, and contact her co-worker, she can find time to change into some better clothes as well.

I'm a working class public servant for the Russian government. I've just witnessed my boss betray me and my co-workers, brutally killing them all, I barely escaped being shot, a fighter jet has crash landed into my place of work and I barely escaped with my life. I'm trying to figure out what is going on, who I can or cannot trust, I should probably try to keep as much of a low profile as possible seeing as the perpetrators are high-ranking members of my own government but first, let me stop into the nearest Prada shop and drop a couple K on a nice dress and maybe pick out a sweet pair of Loubs while I'm at it. Ooh, and that Kate Spade bag would look great too.

zen007's posts... the gift that keeps on giving.

[zen007]

Originally Posted by Zechs Merquise

Which is literally your only argument, and it's a poor one. 'Sure, her acting is poor and the role doesn't really serve much purpose. But she looks hot and dresses hot, so who cares?'

It's fine to like Denise Richards and think she was hot. Hell, I'm not immune to her looks, Wild Things is burned into my young and impressionable mind. But don't ever confuse that with her being a good actress or good in the role.

No one is talking about her being a good actress. The point is about her doing the key job that she is supposed to do i.e. look good on screen.

Her character does not even drive the film. Therefore, fretting over it can be like much ado about nothing. Rather than worry about what she does not offer, let's focus on what she does!

And my point is they should have tried something different. It would have made for a better film

The film was made in 1999. We have to appreciate what is on the table unless the film does not work at all. It has its positives too including hot actresses.

In theory, most things can be improved. Need to think about execution too.

Because she doesn't dress sexy. Which is not an argument

Below is the full para - "I don't rate Natalya's character highly. It is more or less a functional character, which could have been memorable if Scorupco's hotness was leveraged."

You seem to confuse believability with realism. They're not remotely the same thing.

I could believe that Christopher Reeve could fly. I could believe that Christian Bale could dress up in a rubber suit most nights and beat people up. I could believe that Pierce Brosnan could be a jet-setting international secret agent, and playboy.

What I cannot believe is Denise Richards as a nuclear scientist.

The confusion is more in your mind as to what others could be confused about.

If Reeve can fly, Richards can be a scientist.

[zen007]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying. Hire only Oscar winning actresses for these roles.

If not then stop complaining!

I'm a working class public servant for the Russian government. I've just witnessed my boss betray me and my co-workers, brutally killing them all, I barely escaped being shot, a fighter jet has crash landed into my place of work and I barely escaped with my life. I'm trying to figure out what is going on, who I can or cannot trust, I should probably try to keep as much of a low profile as possible seeing as the perpetrators are high-ranking members of my own government but first, let me stop into the nearest Prada shop and drop a couple K on a nice dress and maybe pick out a sweet pair of Loubs while I'm at it. Ooh, and that Kate Spade bag would look great too.

zen007's posts... the gift that keeps on giving.

That is exactly what someone who does not understand Bond films (or films) would write.

Am I talking about wearing a Parkha? Am I talking about wearing a Prada?

Keep up the comedy!

[Jay H.]

Denise Richard's character mispronounces the word "atomic".

I have nothing more to say about this movie that is relevant nor true.

[FrankLeone86]

Imagine wasting time getting into this argument. You guys are proper cringe.

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by zen007

If not then stop complaining!

Being critical of a casting decision is not analogous to "complaining".

Originally Posted by zen007

That is exactly what someone who does not understand Bond films (or films) would write.

Am I talking about wearing a Parkha? Am I talking about wearing a Prada?

Keep up the comedy!

Are you kidding? I couldn't even attempt to match the comedic gold you've provided here, particularly that attempt to flex on me with the line about being a "globe-trotting fashion-forward executive dealing with Fortune 500 companies".

[zen007]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

Being critical of a casting decision is not analogous to "complaining".

Much ado about nothing

Are you kidding? I couldn't even attempt to match the comedic gold you've provided here, particularly that attempt to flex on me with the line about being a "globe-trotting fashion-forward executive dealing with Fortune 500 companies".

I don't flex minions (the more you post, automatically you will get self-owned).

I have not written about my background to you (it was written to some other poster in some other context). Appears as if you have never met a globe-trotting fashion-forward executive dealing with Fortune 500 companies to find it funny. Talking about my upcoming trip, in Sept I am scheduled to be in Europe (For some unknown reason, I won't be surprised if you find that funny too)!

[Markgway]

You know who would've been fun in the role of Dr. Christmas?

Sarah Michelle Gellar.

She's similarly unsuited to the role of nuclear physicist but her cute personality would have made the gag work.

[BluRayTim]

Originally Posted by Markgway

You know who would've been fun in the role of Dr. Christmas?

Sarah Michelle Gellar.

She's similarly unsuited to the role of nuclear physicist but her cute personality would have made the gag work.

At 5’ 4”, she’s two inches shy of the minimum height requirement to be a Bond girl. But yes, as an all around human being, Mrs. Prinze is the complete opposite of Mrs. Phyphers (Denise Richards’ current husband’s name is Aaron Phyphers).

And Bond girls are a minimum of 25 years of age. Sarah Michelle Gellar was 21 at the time of filming and 22 at the time of release. She was four years too young in addition to too being two inches too short.

Denise Richards was 27 at the time of filming and 28 at the time of release and she’s 5’ 6”. That makes her old enough by two years and barely tall enough. But absolutely a poor choice.

For what it’s worth, when I say such and such years too young and old enough by such and such years, it’s based on the person’s age at the time of filming.

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by zen007

I have not written about my background to you (it was written to some other poster in some other context). Appears as if you have never met a globe-trotting fashion-forward executive dealing with Fortune 500 companies to find it funny. Talking about my upcoming trip, in Sept I am scheduled to be in Europe (For some unknown reason, I won't be surprised if you find that funny too)!

I’m picturing Del Griffith selling shower curtain rings to the Best Western Skopje.

[zen007]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

I’m picturing Del Griffith selling shower curtain rings to the Best Western Skopje.

Skopje ... Not bad! Montenegro nearby is on my wishlist

[zen007]

One of the questions in the OP is is TWINE the best Brosnan Bond film?

In my last viewing (which I did to rate films rather than just sit back and enjoy them), both TWINE and GE were rated the highest and the same (relative to other Bond films - 8/10, which is roughly in the mid-tier) among Brosnan films.

Over the last two days, I watched TWINE first and then GE (but not in any evaluation mode but to just enjoy these films as I would normally do), and again found them too close to call. One of the reasons for that could be that TWINE feels more like a natural follow-up to GE esp. with characters like Zukovsky returning and the key locations include the former USSR.

Relative to each other, GE comes across as a regular Bond film with a blockbuster feel to it. Every decade, the Bond franchise comes up with a relatively different type of Bond film. For e.g. in the 60s -> OHMSS, the 70s -> TMWTGG, the 80s -> FYEO (Moore) & LTK (Dalton), and for the 90s, it is TWINE.

After two days, I would still call them close, however, the score and the romantic qualities of TWINE have still stayed with me, while GE has been forgotten relatively speaking after having a good time watching it.

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by Zechs Merquise

Oh, so it's just some reality TV bullshit
You lot are crazy. TWINE is nowhere near as bad as DAD. Yeah, TWINE loses points for Denise Richards and personally I thought the Bond villain's gimmick of not being to feel pain after being shot in the head was rather dumb. But it had that grit, it felt like a Bond film, Sophie Marceau was excellent, Brosnan was never colder as Bond than in TWINE

At least it didn't have invisible cars, Moneypenny having VR sex with Bond, the main villain being a Korean guy who turned himself into a white guy with Gene Therapy, a heavy with a bunch of diamonds in his face and Halle Berry cracking wise about the henchman's mamma. And at least TWINE didn't remove the best scene.

Like I said before, TWINE was at least half a good film. DAD was, at best, a good idea for a film somewhere in all that mess.
It's not that she was beautiful. She was completely unconvincing.

Should have went with someone else. Should have went with Monica Bellucci. She and Sophie Marceau are like the female French cinema equivalent of DeNiro and Pacino, so often compared. They would have played off each other well.

But no, they went with Denise Richards. Why? Because she appealed to the MTV generation, and the Bond producers feared younger Americans thought Bond was old and uncool

Let’s make it simpler…. The World Is Not Enough AND Die Another Day are in a 3 way tie (with SPECTRE) as the worst in the series…

[Zechs Merquise]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

Let’s make it simpler…. The World Is Not Enough AND Die Another Day are in a 3 way tie (with SPECTRE) as the worst in the series…

I can't consider TWINE anywhere near the worst when Moonraker and A View to a Kill exist.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by zen007

The discussion on Denise Richards can appear like much ado about nothing as her role is limited in scope:

a) Kazakistan segment: Introduced as a different type of scientist. Mostly there for action sequences
b) Azarbaijan segment: Defuses a bomb (or removes plutonium to let a dud explode) in an oil pipeline
c) Caviar factory: Does a pose in a nice dress
d) Istanbul segment: Sports a wet t-shirt and mumbles some technicalities on radiation inside a submarine
e) Epilogue: The standard romance with Bond
f) Some scenes here and there

Denise Richards was bad casting, it's as simple as that. The previous Brosnan films had been heavy on non-American (or even non-British) women, with only Teri Hatcher making a short appearance in Tomorrow Never Dies. Richards had recently been in Wild Things and Starship Troopers before that, both films in which she played...high school students. EON probably thought that casting Richards opposite Marceau (a relative unknown outside France, though in the US, she had been the female lead in the David Spade vehicle Lost & Found that April) would secure more of the young American / English-speaking male audience. That may even have worked in the short-term, but in retrospect, it was a bad idea. Historically, American women have not done well in Bond movies, anyway.

Denise Richards can be decent in the right role, like in Wild Things. Her interview on the Arrow release of Wild Things from earlier this year (or possibly late last year) is very sweet and she comes off as a person who has learned a lot about herself in the decades since she was a young star. But as many have pointed out, she wasn't able to convincingly pull off the role of a nuclear physicist and had virtually no chemistry with Pierce Brosnan. I'm sure it didn't help that Brosnan is about 18 years her senior and again, probably because she was used to playing younger roles, the age gap seems even larger than that. In fact, of the main cast, Richards was the youngest, being more than 4 years younger than Marceau and almost 10 years younger than Robert Carlyle. Much of the rest of the cast is Brosnan's age or older, leaving Richards looking more like a college student or intern by comparison.

Again, this isn't a knock on Denise. It isn't her fault as much as it is the fault of the producers. Perhaps if they'd switched Richards and Marceau's roles, the film would have worked better. And even Halle Berry, who is a great actress, couldn't do much better in Die Another Day. All anyone remembers of that film is Berry modeling a similar swimsuit to the one Ursula Andress had in Dr. No as a nod to the franchise's 40th anniversary:

[Show spoiler]

That, and that Madonna did the theme song and put herself into the film...

[zen007]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

Denise Richards was bad casting, it's as simple as that. The previous Brosnan films had been heavy on non-American (or even non-British) women, with only Teri Hatcher making a short appearance in Tomorrow Never Dies. Richards had recently been in Wild Things and Starship Troopers before that, both films in which she played...high school students. EON probably thought that casting Richards opposite Marceau (a relative unknown outside France, though in the US, she had been the female lead in the David Spade vehicle Lost & Found that April) would secure more of the young American / English-speaking male audience. That may even have worked in the short-term, but in retrospect, it was a bad idea. Historically, American women have not done well in Bond movies, anyway.

Denise Richards can be decent in the right role, like in Wild Things. Her interview on the Arrow release of Wild Things from earlier this year (or possibly late last year) is very sweet and she comes off as a person who has learned a lot about herself in the decades since she was a young star. But as many have pointed out, she wasn't able to convincingly pull off the role of a nuclear physicist and had virtually no chemistry with Pierce Brosnan. I'm sure it didn't help that Brosnan is about 18 years her senior and again, probably because she was used to playing younger roles, the age gap seems even larger than that. In fact, of the main cast, Richards was the youngest, being more than 4 years younger than Marceau and almost 10 years younger than Robert Carlyle. Much of the rest of the cast is Brosnan's age or older, leaving Richards looking more like a college student or intern by comparison.

Again, this isn't a knock on Denise. It isn't her fault as much as it is the fault of the producers. Perhaps if they'd switched Richards and Marceau's roles, the film would have worked better. And even Halle Berry, who is a great actress, couldn't do much better in Die Another Day. All anyone remembers of that film is Berry modeling a similar swimsuit to the one Ursula Andress had in Dr. No as a nod to the franchise's 40th anniversary:

[Show spoiler]

That, and that Madonna did the theme song and put herself into the film...

Nice post ... Bond films have a history of such characters who are not 100% fit for the role or mainly there to heat up the screen or not utilized properly:


TB - Claudine Auger to sport the bikini ... Luciana Pullazi to steal the show.

YOLT - Mia Harna and Karin Dor to set the pulse racing ... Akiko Wakabayashi to make a serious impression.

DAF - Jill St. John. Introduced in a kick-ass fashion but got dumber and dumber as the film progressed ... There is Lana Wood as well who had a cute little role.

TMWTGG - Britt Ekland to look good ... Maud Adams to do the serious stuff.

AVTAK - Tanya Roberts is there for the photos ... While Grace Jones does the heavy lifting.

LTK - Carry Lowell in the familiar Bond's helper character ... Talisa Soto to drive the film.

GE - Izabella Scorupco. A Bond helper but made to look too bland. The drabbest Bond girl role ... Famke Jannsen provides the glamor but she is inconsistent.

TND - Teri Hatcher for the looks ... Michelle Yeoh for the action.

DAD - Halle Berry to tie up with Bond ... Rosamond Pike to hold a few cards up her sleeves.

CR - Caterina Murino for the beach ... Eva Green for the serious romance.

QoS - Gemma Arterton for the sacrifice ... Olga Kurylenko for the revenge.


From time to time, the franchise tends to go for the extra "hotness" content (at times to leverage the popularity of an actress) esp. when there are two Bond girls where one is playing a relatively serious role. TWINE adheres to this formula.

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by Zechs Merquise

I can't consider TWINE anywhere near the worst when Moonraker and A View to a Kill exist.

Those are far more entertaining films....

[Jay H.]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

Those are far more entertaining films....

Besides, the title song to AVTAK was performed by Duran Duran, and it's the best damn James Bond song as far as I'm concerned.