Film no. 19 · 1999 · Brosnan era

The World Is Not Enough

TMDB rating: 6.3 / 10 · View on TMDB

Plot

James Bond recovers oil magnate Sir Robert King's missing money in Bilbao. Back at MI6 headquarters in London, however, a booby-trapped banknote explodes and kills King. Bond pursues the assassin across the Thames in a Q jet boat but cannot prevent her suicide. M then sends him to Azerbaijan to protect King's daughter Elektra. Renard, a terrorist whose lodged brain bullet has robbed him of pain, appears to be threatening her new oil pipeline.

Bond accompanies Elektra into the Caucasus and survives an attack by airborne snowmobiles. In Baku, Valentin Zukovsky reveals that Elektra's security chief Davidov is working with Renard. Taking Davidov's place, Bond travels to a Kazakh nuclear facility where Renard steals a bomb. Nuclear physicist Christmas Jones joins Bond as he follows the device into Elektra's pipeline. They remove part of the charge and fake their deaths when the remaining bomb detonates.

At Zukovsky's caviar factory, Bond realises that Elektra engineered her own kidnapping and is Renard's willing partner. Their real target is not merely the pipeline. In Istanbul, Renard plans to seize a Russian nuclear submarine and use the stolen plutonium to force a reactor meltdown in the Bosphorus. The radioactive blockade would close rival oil routes and make Elektra's line indispensable. Bond rescues M from Maiden's Tower, kills Elektra and boards the sinking submarine. While Christmas stabilises the reactor, he fights Renard, expels the plutonium and prevents the catastrophe.

Facts

James Bond: Pierce Brosnan
Director: Michael Apted
Screenplay: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Bruce Feirstein
Producers: Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli
Music: David Arnold
Title song: „The World Is Not Enough“Garbage
Running time: 128 minutes
Budget: $135 millionProduction budget according to The Numbers and Box Office Mojo
Box office: $362 millionworldwide theatrical gross according to The Numbers; Box Office Mojo reports $361,832,400
Release: UK: 26 November 1999US: 19 November 1999Germany: 9 December 1999

Travel route and filming locations

Gold numbers trace Bond's journey through the story, light markers show the real filming locations. Each layer can be hidden separately.

Bond's route · 12 stops

Total distance (great-circle)≈ 13,115 km

Bond meets banker Lachaise and recovers Sir Robert King's money. After a shoot-out, he escapes with the case from the office near the Guggenheim Museum.
Bilbao → London · ≈ 938 km
At MI6 headquarters the rigged money kills Sir Robert King. Bond chases the assassin in the Q Boat as far as the Millennium Dome.
London → Castle Thane, Scotland · ≈ 732 km
The fictional Scottish MI6 base is represented by Eilean Donan Castle. Bond is assigned to protect Elektra and receives equipment from Q and R.
Castle Thane, Scotland → Baku · ≈ 4,314 km
Bond reaches Elektra's villa and the King Industries works. He begins investigating the pipeline project and the circumstances of her earlier kidnapping.
Baku → Caucasus near Baku · ≈ 176 km
The precise mountain stop is fictional; the coordinates mark a plausible position in the Azerbaijani Caucasus. Bond and Elektra inspect the pipeline on skis and are attacked by Parahawks.
Caucasus near Baku → Casino L'Or Noir, Baku · ≈ 179 km
The casino is fictional. Bond meets Zukovsky, learns of Davidov's link to Renard and watches Elektra's reckless gamble.
Casino L'Or Noir, Baku → Azerbaijani airfield · ≈ 11 km
The airfield is not named in the story and is therefore placed fictionally. Bond overpowers Davidov and continues the journey under his identity.
Azerbaijani airfield → Nuclear facility, Kazakhstan · ≈ 2,494 km
The facility is fictional; the coordinates plausibly mark the former Soviet Semipalatinsk test site in Kazakhstan, while the scene was filmed at Bardenas Reales in Spain. Bond meets Christmas Jones but cannot prevent Renard from stealing a nuclear warhead.
Nuclear facility, Kazakhstan → King pipeline terminal near Baku · ≈ 2,502 km
The terminal is fictional. Bond and Christmas enter the inspection PIG, remove part of the bomb and fake their deaths when it explodes.
King pipeline terminal near Baku → Zukovsky's Caspian caviar factory · ≈ 13 km
The exact industrial complex is fictional. Bond confronts Zukovsky before saw-equipped helicopters attack the works and destroy the BMW Z8.
Zukovsky's Caspian caviar factory → Istanbul · ≈ 1,752 km
Bond, Christmas and Zukovsky trace Elektra's plan to her Istanbul command centre. M and Christmas are held captive there.
Istanbul → Maiden's Tower, Istanbul · ≈ 3 km
Bond escapes the torture chair, kills Elektra and rescues M. He then pursues Renard to the departing submarine.
Maiden's Tower, Istanbul → Bosphorus · ≈ 3 km
Aboard the hijacked submarine, Bond kills Renard and ejects the plutonium from the reactor. Christmas prevents the meltdown before the vessel sinks.

Filming locations · 26

Bank-sequence exteriors and Bond's escape through the streets and across Puente de la Salve
MI6 headquarters, the explosion and the start of the Q Boat chase
Section of the boat chase through London's docks
The Q Boat dives beneath the closing bridge; additional dockside jumps
The Q Boat climbs the canal steps and crashes through a purpose-built clubhouse
Street, market and restaurant passages in the boat chase
Q Boat jumps and barrel roll
End of the boat chase and Bond's leap to the hot-air balloon rope
doubles for King estate, Scotland (United Kingdom)
Sir Robert King's funeral on the family's Scottish estate
doubles for Castle Thane (United Kingdom)
Exteriors of temporary MI6 base Castle Thane; aerials and dishes were added digitally
Wide views of Elektra's oil fields and Bond with the BMW Z8
Burning hillside used for Renard's first substantial appearance
doubles for Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan)
Pipeline construction site and small chapel in the Azerbaijani landscape
doubles for Caucasus, Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan)
Ski chase and Parahawk attack in the Caucasus
doubles for Baku (Azerbaijan)
Exteriors of Elektra's villa in Baku
doubles for Baku (Azerbaijan)
Interiors of Elektra's villa and parts of Casino L'Or Noir
doubles for Baku (Azerbaijan)
Ballroom and interiors of the fictional Casino L'Or Noir
doubles for Airfield near Baku (Azerbaijan)
Azerbaijani airfield where Bond assumes Davidov's identity
doubles for Kazakhstan (Kazakhstan)
Roads and exteriors of the Kazakh nuclear facility
doubles for Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan)
Exterior of the King pipeline terminal
doubles for Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan)
Mountain exteriors of the oil pipeline
doubles for Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan)
Additional oil-field and industrial exteriors for Azerbaijan and the caviar factory
doubles for Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan)
Closer oil-field views and the debris and escape following the pipeline explosion
Interior and set work including MI6, Elektra's villa, the caviar factory, pipeline, Maiden's Tower and submarine
Exteriors of Elektra's command centre and M's prison in the Bosphorus
doubles for Bosphorus (Turkey)
About five weeks of exterior photography with the 45-foot submarine model; sources specify only 'offshore Bahamas', so the marker is approximate

Characters and cast

Bond

James BondPierce Brosnan

Bond girls

Dr. Christmas JonesDenise RichardsAmerican nuclear physicist working in Kazakhstan

Villains

Henchmen

Allies

Valentin ZukovskyRobbie ColtraneFormer KGB officer and businessman in Baku

MI6

Others

Vehicles & Gadgets

Vehicles

The displayed film vehicle carries the two torpedoes fitted to the Q Branch design.Photo: Karen Roe from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Riddle Marine Q Boat
Boat1999
Jet boat with dive function, torpedoes, GPS and reinforced hull
Bond takes the unfinished prototype from Q's laboratory and pursues the assassin across the Thames, docks and streets. Doug Riddle designed the agile racing craft to remain airborne for nearly 90 feet; as many as 15 stunt and camera boats operated during the six-week shoot.
Driven by
James Bond
Specs
V8 engine, 300 bhp, up to 80 mph
Sources: 007.com: Q Boat
Sunseeker Superhawk 34
Boat
The assassin's escape boat on the Thames
The assassin escapes from the MI6 building towards the Millennium Dome in the open sports boat. The Q Boat repeatedly vaults over the Superhawk; the chase ends when Bond's jump damages it and the driver transfers to a hot-air balloon.
Driven by
Giulietta da Vinci
Sources: 007.com: Q Boat and Sunseeker chase · Sunseeker: Superhawk heritage
A film car from The World Is Not Enough at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu.Photo: Karen Roe from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
BMW Z8 (E52)
Car1999
Remote start and two concealed surface-to-air missiles
R introduces the then-new roadster to Bond in the Scottish Q laboratory. Bond drives it from the pipeline to Zukovsky's caviar factory and destroys one saw helicopter with a missile before the second aircraft slices the car lengthwise. Because series production was only beginning, several driveable replicas were built for hazardous shots; the photographed film car displays its deployable missile launcher.
Driven by
James Bond
Specs
4.9 L V8, 400 bhp, 155 mph (electronically limited)
Sources: 007.com: BMW Z8 car gadgets · BMW Group Classic: BMW Z8 (E52) · IMCDb: BMW Z8 in The World Is Not Enough
Eon Productions Parahawk
Other1999
Film-built hybrid of snowmobile and powered paraglider
The attackers descend on Bond and Elektra in flying machines designed specifically for the film. On the ground the Parahawks operate like snowmobiles, while in the air they hang beneath a canopy; the sequence combined practical stunts, models and visual effects.
Driven by
Renard's attackers
Sources: 007.com: The World Is Not Enough – Parahawks · IMPDb: The World Is Not Enough aircraft
Production Silver Shadow II, the saloon type used by Zukovsky.Photo: Alexander Migl · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II
Car1978
Cream saloon with Zukovsky's walking stick stored in the door
Zukovsky travels to his Caspian caviar factory in the formal saloon. The car does not survive the attack; the walking-stick gun kept in its door trim later becomes crucial to Bond's escape.
Driven by
Valentin Zukovsky and chauffeur
Specs
6.75 L V8; output was described by Rolls-Royce only as “adequate”
Sources: 007.com: The World Is Not Enough – vehicles · IMCDb: The World Is Not Enough vehicles
Production AS355F1, the exact variant used for the two saw-equipped helicopters.Photo: Colin · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Eurocopter AS355F1 Écureuil 2
Aircraft
Two helicopters carrying suspended circular saws
Two aircraft in King Industries markings attack Zukovsky's caviar factory with large saws suspended on cables. Bond destroys one with a BMW missile, while the other cuts the Z8 in half. At least one of the aircraft has been identified as G-BPRJ, serial 5201.
Driven by
Renard's pilots
Specs
two Rolls-Royce 250-C20F turboshafts, 2,400 kg maximum take-off weight
Sources: 007.com: Caviar factory attack · IMPDb: The World Is Not Enough aircraft · Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand: AS355 type acceptance
Production AS365 N2 matching Elektra's personal transport helicopter.Photo: Antonin JLY · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Eurocopter AS365 N2 Dauphin 2
Aircraft
Elektra's personal transport helicopter
The twin-engine helicopter carries Elektra across her sprawling pipeline territory. It serves as an executive transport and does not take part in the aerial combat of the ski or caviar-factory sequences.
Driven by
Elektra King's pilot
Sources: IMPDb: The World Is Not Enough aircraft
Production C-212 matching Renard's transport aircraft to Kazakhstan.Photo: Rjcastillo · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
CASA C-212CB Aviocar
Aircraft
Transport aircraft carrying men and equipment to Kazakhstan
Bond kills Davidov at the Azerbaijani airfield, assumes his identity and boards the transport in his place. Film aircraft F-GOGN, serial 092, carries Renard's men and their equipment to the Kazakh nuclear facility.
Driven by
Renard's team
Specs
two Garrett AiResearch TPE331 turboprops, up to 232 mph, 1,193-mile range (early series)
Sources: IMPDb: The World Is Not Enough aircraft · Spanish Air and Space Force: C-212 Aviocar
Production Lada Niva 2121 matching Bond's transport inside the nuclear facility.Photo: Rutger van der Maar · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Lada Niva 2121
Car1986
Off-road transport inside the Kazakh nuclear facility
After landing, Bond is driven through the test site in a Niva while posing as Davidov. The compact Soviet off-roader suits the remote military facility and serves purely as transport without special equipment.
Driven by
Renard's men; James Bond as passenger
Sources: IMCDb: The World Is Not Enough vehicles · BMT 216A: The World Is Not Enough vehicle gallery
Production UAZ-469, the off-road type used for Bond's escape from the Kazakh facility.Photo: Piergiuliano Chesi · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
UAZ 469 B
Car1980
Stolen military off-roader used to escape the nuclear facility
Bond and Christmas take the open military off-roader as Renard's men destroy the Kazakh facility. Its simple, rugged construction makes it suitable for their escape across the rough test site; it carries no film gadgets.
Driven by
James Bond
Sources: IMCDb: The World Is Not Enough vehicles · BMT 216A: The World Is Not Enough vehicle gallery
Production EC135 matching the allies' unarmed liaison helicopter.Photo: Jan Brüggemann · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Eurocopter EC135
Aircraft
Unarmed liaison helicopter used by the allies
The modern twin-engine helicopter appears as an allied MI6 transport carrying Bond into the operational area. Unlike the Parahawks and saw helicopters, the EC135 is unarmed and takes no part in a chase.
Driven by
MI6 pilot; James Bond as passenger
Sources: IMPDb: The World Is Not Enough aircraft · BMT 216A: The World Is Not Enough vehicle gallery
King Industries Pipeline Inspection Gauge (PIG)
Other
Maintenance vehicle travelling inside the oil pipeline
The pressure-resistant inspection vehicle travels on rollers through the pipe and carries Bond and Christmas towards the planted bomb. Its journey through the long tunnel used an entirely computer-generated environment; both passengers jump clear shortly before the explosion.
Driven by
James Bond and Dr Christmas Jones
Sources: 007.com: The World Is Not Enough – gadgets and technology · 007.com: The evolution of visual effects on 007
Princess Yachts Princess 40
Boat
Motor yacht used by the conspirators in Istanbul
The motor yacht provides Renard's team with discreet transport in Istanbul harbour. It forms part of the maritime operation surrounding the hijacked nuclear submarine but displays no modifications or weapons.
Driven by
Renard's men
Sources: BMT 216A: The World Is Not Enough vehicle gallery
Hot-air balloon representing the assassin's final escape craft at the Millennium Dome.Photo: Tomas Castelazo · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Unknown Hot-air balloon
Aircraft
Escape craft at the end of the London boat chase
At the Millennium Dome the assassin transfers from the damaged Sunseeker to a hot-air balloon. Bond hangs from the mooring line until she detonates the balloon and crashes into the Dome, while he drops safely onto the roof.
Driven by
Giulietta da Vinci; James Bond as an involuntary passenger
Sources: 007.com: Q Boat
Victor III class representing the Russian submarine in the finale.Photo: unbekannt · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Soviet Navy Project 671RTM / Victor III-class submarine
Other
Fictional Russian nuclear submarine used for Renard's Bosphorus attack
Renard seizes the submarine in Istanbul and takes it into the Bosphorus, intending to use stolen plutonium to force a reactor meltdown. Bond boards while Christmas is trapped in a torpedo tube. Exterior footage used an approximately 45-foot model off the Bahamas, while interiors were built on the 007 Stage.
Driven by
Captain Nikoli and Renard
Sources: 007.com: The World Is Not Enough in pictures · U.S. Naval Institute: Soviet Navy and Victor III design · Propstore: Victor-III Class submarine maquette

Gadgets

Walther P99, Bond's service pistol during the mission.Photo: U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Walther P99
Bond carries the semi-automatic pistol as his service weapon throughout the mission. He uses it during the London pursuit, in Kazakhstan and aboard the submarine.
Sources: 007.com: The World Is Not Enough – gadgets and weapons
Inflatable avalanche jacket
Pulling the cord inflates the ski jacket into a protective sphere. Bond and Elektra survive an avalanche inside it after R has accidentally demonstrated the feature.
Sources: 007.com: The World Is Not Enough – gadgets and weapons · 007.com: A fond farewell to Q
Omega Seamaster with piton
Bond's wristwatch fires a small piton attached to a line. During the finale he uses it to pull himself through the flooding submarine.
Sources: 007.com: The World Is Not Enough – gadgets and weapons
Detonator spectacles
The spectacles conceal a remote detonator. Renard uses a pair as part of his plan involving the stolen nuclear weapon.
Sources: 007.com: The World Is Not Enough – gadgets and weapons
Lapel-pin transmitter
A miniature transmitter is concealed inside a lapel pin. M activates it while captive so Bond and Christmas can locate her in Istanbul.
Sources: 007.com: The World Is Not Enough – gadgets and weapons
Locator card
A transparent card plots transmitter signals on a regional map. Bond uses it to trace M's activated beacon to Maiden's Tower.
Sources: 007.com: The World Is Not Enough – gadgets and weapons
Visa-card skeleton key
The apparent credit card contains an electronic skeleton key. Bond can use it to open secured doors without carrying an obvious tool.
Sources: 007.com: The World Is Not Enough – gadgets and weapons
X-ray spectacles
The spectacles reveal weapons and objects hidden beneath clothing. Bond wears them in Casino L'Or Noir to spot armed guests and Zukovsky's concealed pistol.
Sources: 007.com: The World Is Not Enough – gadgets and weapons · 007.com: Q Lab's gadgets
Walking-stick gun
Zukovsky's walking stick conceals a single-shot gun. Mortally wounded, he fires at one of the restraints on Elektra's torture chair and gives Bond a chance to escape.
Sources: 007.com: The World Is Not Enough – gadgets and weapons
Torture chair with neck restraint
Elektra's mechanical chair gradually tightens a metal restraint around Bond's neck. It is intended to kill him while she explains her plan.
Sources: 007.com: The World Is Not Enough – gadgets and weapons
Pipeline inspection PIG
The maintenance vehicle travels inside the oil pipeline carrying the stolen plutonium charge. Bond and Christmas ride it towards the bomb and escape before the explosion.
Sources: 007.com: The World Is Not Enough – gadgets and weapons · 007.com: The evolution of visual effects on 007
Nuclear warhead
Renard steals a nuclear warhead, removes part of its plutonium and uses the remainder as a decoy in the pipeline. The retained fissile material is meant to trigger a meltdown in a submarine reactor.
Sources: 007.com: The World Is Not Enough – film overview
Flamethrower bagpipes
The Scottish Q laboratory tests a set of bagpipes that doubles as a machine weapon and flamethrower. It remains a workshop demonstration and is not used by Bond.
Sources: 007.com: Q Lab's gadgets

Production and trivia

Barbara Broccoli developed the oil-pipeline setting after watching a recorded Nightline report about the geopolitical difficulty of moving Caspian oil to market.
Neal Purvis and Robert Wade wrote the story and screenplay, with Bruce Feirstein also receiving screenplay credit. Dana Stevens strengthened the female characters without an on-screen credit.
Michael Apted was hired partly for his experience directing strong female performances. The film placed M more centrally in the plot than earlier Bond adventures.
Official 007 pages disagree on the first day of principal photography: an older feature gives 11 January 1999, while a newer pictorial gives 17 January. Filming ended in June.
This was the first Bond production since The Living Daylights to be based again at Pinewood. Sets there included Elektra's villa, the caviar factory and the submarine interiors.
The 14-minute pre-title sequence was the series' longest when released. The Thames chase required six weeks of filming with as many as 15 stunt and camera boats operating at once.
Stuntman Gary Powell barrel-rolled the Q Boat using side-mounted Vickers air mortars. Six cameras recorded the jump.
A crew of 170 spent four weeks near Chamonix creating four and a half minutes of ski action. Work reached roughly 12,000 feet, and snow, cloud, frozen diesel and avalanche warnings put the schedule five and a half days behind.
The Parahawks were designed specifically as hybrids of snowmobile and paraglider. A small remotely controlled camera helicopter supplied additional aerial views of the chase.
Pinewood's outdoor tank was enlarged by about half for Zukovsky's caviar factory. Hundreds of poles and thousands of metres of fibre optics created the industrial complex; the saw-helicopter concept dated back to GoldenEye's development.
The interior of the pipeline was entirely computer-generated. Moving lights and volumetric effects made the digital tunnel resemble a photographed miniature.
The crew spent five weeks filming submarine exteriors with an approximately 45-foot model off the Bahamas. Its interior was built on Pinewood's 007 Stage.
An early working title was Elektra. The final title translates the Bond family motto 'Orbis non sufficit', previously seen in On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
Desmond Llewelyn took his farewell after 17 Bond films as Q, while John Cleese was introduced as his assistant R. Q's final advice is never to let anyone see Bond bleed and always to have an escape plan.
Berliner Synchron GmbH Wenzel Lüdecke produced the German dub. Thomas Danneberg wrote and directed the German dialogue, with Frank Glaubrecht again voicing Pierce Brosnan.