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Michael Apted directs Pierce Brosnan in his third appearance as James Bond 007 luckily rescuing him, and the series, from the mediocrity of Tomorrow Never Dies (1997). Promotional trailers and the excellent teaser poster in particular had everyone's appetite growing moister and moister as the November 17th 1999 opening night came close, similar in fashion to the yuletide season or your annual summer holiday where suspense sensationalises the actual event. EON produced quality here however, and my usually reserved self was even impressed with the finished film. Action plays a massive part in the two-hour spectacular with the pre-credits title sequence boat chase down the River Thames being the best opening in the whole series. Even sooner than this occurs in the 14 minutes before we see "Ian Fleming's James Bond 007", a simple and yet brilliantly executed stunt in Bilbao takes place. Denise Richards and Sophie Marceau, as the good and bad girls of the film respectively, are well cast albeit with the American failing to act to the standard of one of France's greatest actresses. Richards' comedic name (Christmas Jones) and the funny jokes that are injected into her dialogue by screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade save her from complete widespread criticism, but one has to remember that she doesn't have the normal cape of stupidity that acts as security for most Bond girls - Jones is actually supposed to be a nuclear physicist! Marceau is a great villainess though, and her interaction with Renard, the main terrorist played well by Robert Carlyle, is first-rate.
Brosnan is the showstopper however. Robbie Coltrane and Judi Dench are excellent back-up, but this is the Irishman's film, nearly matching his performance in GoldenEye (1995). Desmond Llewelyn's last outing as Q before his tragic death a month after the premiere is a tearjerker, as Brosnan plays on the audience's emotions while also introducing John Cleese as his predecessor. The gadgets Bond is given in this sequence are quite basic and, along with other franchise trends, the car (BMW Z8), the locations (Spain, Scotland, London, Azerbaijan, Istanbul) and the tongue in cheek comedy, are relatively standard issue. This 19th film however is more of an action flick than I have ever seen for a Bond film. The aforementioned instances in the pre-credits are outstanding, but Bond also has altercations skiing, underground, underwater, in a pipeline, and in a caviar factory. These scenes, coupled with the good performances may shadow the rather flimsy plot, but what can you expect when 99.9% of the audience know that Bond will reign supreme at the climax? Action-orientated films, especially Bonds, are not necessarily favourites of mine as I tolerate sharp dialogue and well-written scripts more favourably. However, when the action is so good, everyone should be easily satisfied after two hours.
The extras
If Brosnan was present on a commentary I would have had difficulty justifying anything less than top marks for this delightful package. The two commentaries which are included however do not realm into the spectacular even though Vic Armstrong is always very informative with his humorous tales. The featurettes are excellent though with the 'James Bond: Down River' and 'Bond Cocktail' additions well worth a look. Even more space is dedicated to the Thames chase in the form of an interactive 'Alternate Angle View' extra which is exceptional, if only for the novelty value! The Hong Kong press conference is interesting along with the deleted scenes and the customary image database and 'Making Of'.
The summary
The Bond for the Millennium is an action-adventure film with a subtle 007 presence throughout, constantly pumping the adrenaline with Apted in place to make sure the quality also delivers to meet, and in some cases exceed, expectations. This film illustrates how a well-acted Bond can also handle the pyrotechnics of the modern age.
