The World Is Not Enough
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corporation (MGM) | Release Date: November 19, 1999 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 38 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
17
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A splendid comic thriller, exciting and graceful, endlessly inventive. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Despite a few places where the air of déjà vu is a bit too thick, it's a class act, with a textured script, one of the series' more stunning title sequences. Read full review
80
Dallas ObserverAndy Klein
Whatever its flaws -- and it has some lulus -- it's a textbook model for how to structure action of this kind. Read full review
80
Film.comTom Keogh
Puts the Bond film series (this one makes number 19)-- back on track by stressing the fundamentals and applying a bit of authentic drama for a change. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
There's nothing special, shocking, or precedent-setting about the film, but it functions on a level that 007 fans will appreciate - as eye and ear candy for those who prefer action to exposition and character development. Read full review
75
USA TodayAndy Seiler
Fans will appreciate not only that the film is predictably solid and surprisingly sharp but that parts of it are just plain bad. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
There's the script -- and that's the problem. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldHoward Cohen
You can't beat a Bond film for adventure on a grand scale. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
A thoroughly satisfying, completely entertaining film that's also, rather surprisingly, an emotionally full experience. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
That's what Bond is all about -- dazzle, some really bad puns and the kind of sexy fun that satisfies high-school urges while masquerading in tux and tails. Read full review
75
New York PostJonathan Foreman
Comes closer to what a Bond movie should be and once was. Read full review
70
Film.comSean Means
Isn't quite enough to save the Bond franchise -- but it does prove that 007 is Y2K-compliant. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Not enough to add up to a fully satisfying movie. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyJohn Patterson
The formula, with its comforting arrangement of familiar elements, is what we're after, and The World Is Not Enough certainly comes through on that front. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Apted ("Gorillas in the Mist," "Coal Miner's Daughter") keeps things low-key and low-tech, which makes some of the cliched Bondisms a bit easier to swallow. Read full review
63
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Fair, overlong James Bond from the second shelf. Read full review
63
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
The movie's already peaked, even before the opening credits. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Spoofing James Bond in the '90s may lack an original comic bite, but making James Bond in the '90s is positively toothless. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeJay Carr
This 19th Bond installment is passable, but only just. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter Bradshaw
Brosnan brings an intelligence and wit, together with a lightness, to the role - his softly Celtic vowels pleasingly reminiscent of Sean - along with a plausible virility Roger Moore never quite managed. And Pierce wears some beautifully tailored suits as to the manor born. Read full review
60
Total FilmStaff (Not Credited)
The World Is Not Enough is, without a doubt, a solidly entertaining chapter in the Bond franchise's chequered history. But while Apted fiddles with the format, this is far from an overhaul of the blueprint, and so lacks the whiff of freshness long-time fans may have been sniffing for. Read full review
60
Orlando SentinelJay Boyar
The latest 007 extravaganza has enough plot developments, double-entendres, emotional underpinnings and, of course, Bond girls, action scenes and explosions to furnish at least a couple of Bondfests, with plenty left over for an episode of Nash Bridges. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
This keeps one reasonably amused, titillated, and brain-dead for a little over two hours. Read full review
60
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
In his third and most comfortable effort to model the Bond mantle, Pierce Brosnan bears noticeably more resemblance to a real human being. Read full review
60
NewsweekAndrea C. Basora
There still is enough tightly staged action and sly humor to earn this latest installment a memorable place in Bond canon. Read full review
60
VarietyTodd McCarthy
007 is undone by villainous scripting and misguided casting and acting in a couple of key secondary roles. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
The hero himself has been denatured for a young, late 1990s audience with little appreciation for real suavity or sex play. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
If moviegoers really thought about the violence, sexism, and materialism at the core of the series, the whole shebang might vanish overnight. Read full review
50
SlateDavid Edelstein
The movie is better than you've heard, although that's not saying a lot. Read full review
50
SalonCharles Taylor
If Bond long ago became part of your fantasy life or your pop iconography, then the anticipation of a good Bond movie would probably survive even if The World Is Not Enough were worse than it is. Read full review
50
San Francisco ExaminerWesley Morris
The World Is Not Enough, like a 19th version of anything, is inanely self-parodic. So much so that one wonders why Austin Powers need have bothered in the first place. Read full review
50
Village VoiceDennis Lim
Makes the strongest case for retirement since late-period Roger Moore. Read full review
50
Washington PostStephen Hunter
The new Bond movie is pure nonsense art of the dadaist school; it follows the rules of the ridiculous as it turns narrative convention, thriller formula and special-effects set pieces into a manifesto of the purest gibberish. Read full review
45
TNT RoughCutChristopher Brandon
James Bond hasn't been this boring since Timothy Dalton carried the license to kill. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Bond spends an awful lot of time being rescued from peril by supporting characters. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Solid 007 entertainment -- not as bad as some of the recent Bonds but not as spunky as some of the series' originals. Read full review
20
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Most of all, though, I wondered how much longer people will pay to see a walking, running, driving, diving, punning, smirking, swimming, skiing, shooting, parachuting corpse. Read full review
19
Mr. ShowbizCody Clark
If you're desperate for a James Bond fix, skip the movie and blow your 007 bucks on a copy of the soundtrack. Read full review
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