The World Is Not Enough
Greed, revenge, world dominance and high-tech terrorism – it's all in a day's work for Bond, who's on a mission to protect a beautiful oil heiress from a notorious terrorist. In a race against time that culminates in a dramatic submarine showdown, Bond works to defuse the international power struggle that has the world's oil supply hanging in the balance.
Directed by Michael Apted · Adventure · Action · Thriller · 2h 8m · 1999
Trailer
Director
Michael Apted
Writer
Bruce Feirstein, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Ian Fleming
Studio
EON Productions
Release
1999-11-17
Runtime
2h 8m
Genres
Adventure, Action, Thriller
Full Plot
James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) is back. An oil tycoon is murdered in MI6, and Bond is sent to protect his daughter. Renard (Robert Carlyle), who has a bullet lodged in his brain from a previous Agent, is secretly planning the destruction of a pipeline. Bond gains a hand from research scientist Dr. Christmas Jones (Denise Richards), who witnesses the action which happens when Bond meets up with Renard, but Bond becomes suspicious about Elektra King (Sophie Marceau), especially when Bond's boss, M (Dame Judi Dench) goes missing. Bond must work quickly to prevent Renard from destroying Europe.
Cast & Characters
James Bond
Pierce Brosnan
Elektra
Sophie Marceau
Renard
Robert Carlyle
Christmas Jones
Denise Richards
Valentin Zukovsky
Robbie Coltrane
M
Judi Dench
R
John Cleese
"Cigar Girl": An experienced hitwoman working alone, who appears as an assistant who supplies Bond and Lachaise with cigars during their meeting in Bilbao but tries to kill Bond in London. In the novelisation, the character is given the name Giulietta da Vinci.
Maria Grazia Cucinotta
Miss Moneypenny: M's secretary.
Samantha Bond
Bill Tanner: M's Chief of Staff.
Michael Kitchen
Charles Robinson: M's Deputy Chief of Staff.
Colin Salmon
Dr. Molly Warmflash, an MI6 agent and doctor assigned to examine Bond, as well as describing Renard's seeming invincibility due to the terminal bullet in his brain that will kill him when it reaches the center of his brain.
Serena Scott Thomas
Sasha Davidov: Elektra King's head of security in Azerbaijan and Renard's secret liaison.
Ulrich Thomsen
Bull: Valentin Zukovsky's gold-toothed and gold-haired bodyguard, secretly working for Elektra and Renard. Although listed as 'Bull' in the credits, Zukovsky also refers to him as 'Mr. Bullion' in the film.
Goldie
Gabor: Elektra King's bodyguard who is seen accompanying King wherever she travels.
John Seru
Did You Know?
The World Is Not Enough
Source: Wikipedia · verified 2026-08-13
Did You Know that the film was initially going to be released in 2000, with a rumored title of Bond 2000?
Source: Wikipedia · verified 2026-08-13
Did You Know that the phrase "Orbis non sufficit" is an English translation of the Latin motto of Sir Thomas Bond's supposed real-world ancestor.
Source: Wikipedia · verified 2026-08-13
Critical Assessment
The World Is Not Enough holds 6.4/10 on IMDb (222K votes), 51% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 49% audience score.
Critics and audiences are broadly aligned on this one.
Ratings as of August 3, 2026
Where to Watch
United States
United Kingdom
India
Streaming data from JustWatch via TMDb. Availability changes often — confirm on the provider before watching.
AI Verdict
AI-generatedThe World Is Not Enough's 6.4 IMDb average and 51% Rotten Tomatoes score place it among the more divisive entries in the 60-plus-year Bond franchise.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The World Is Not Enough's Rotten Tomatoes score?+
The World Is Not Enough holds a 51% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 49% audience score.
What is The World Is Not Enough's IMDb rating?+
The World Is Not Enough has a 6.4/10 rating on IMDb from 222K votes.
Is The World Is Not Enough good? What are critics saying?+
The World Is Not Enough holds 6.4/10 on IMDb (222K votes), 51% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 49% audience score.
How long is The World Is Not Enough?+
The World Is Not Enough has a runtime of 2h 8m.
Who directed The World Is Not Enough?+
The World Is Not Enough was directed by Michael Apted.
Where can I watch The World Is Not Enough?+
The World Is Not Enough is available to stream, rent, or buy on Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand, Plex, Rakuten TV, Sky Store.
Fan & Critic Buzz
The public reaction to "The World Is Not Enough" was mixed but generally positive. Many reviewers praised Pierce Brosnan's performance as James Bond, calling him one of the best in the franchise. The film's strong villains and beautiful locations were also notable aspects. However, some critics found the story to be weak and the supporting cast to be average.
Viewer Reviews (TMDb)
Revenge is not hard to fathom for a man who believes in nothing. The World is Not Enough is directed by Michael Apted and adapted to screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Bruce Feirstein, using characters created by Ian Fleming. Music is scored by David Arnold and cinematogr…
John Chard · 7/10_**The oil pipeline in central Asia episode**_ After a British oil tycoon is assassinated, agent 007 (Pierce Brosnan) traces the hit to a crazy ex-KGB terrorist (Robert Carlyle) and travels to the Caspian Sea/Black Sea area to protect a sultry oil heiress, the daughter of the mur…
Wuchak · 6/10I am afraid I struggled with this film right from the get-go. Not that Pierce Brosnan doesn't turn in a decent enough effort as "007", it's the supporting cast that are pretty average and the story - it is just so weak. Arch-baddie "Renard" (Robert Carlyle) has been shot in the h…
CinemaSerf · 6/10Love Brosnan as Bond but man was he straddled with a bad script and even worse casting with Denise Richards playing a nuclear scientist. I get pre-Craig Bonds always had a tongue-in-cheek streak to them and ridiculous scenes (the opening boat chase was laughable once it went to t…
JPV852 · 6/10**One of my favorite Bond films with surprising villains, more profound character development, great action, and a fitting farewell to a beloved character.** The World Is Not Enough's massive box office success resulted from its excellent villains, beautiful filming locations, gr…
The Movie Mob · 9/10So Goldeneye wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either and it was a solid entry into the 007 franchise. Tomorrow Never Dies was fan-freaking-tastic.... ... and then this. Yay, it's 007. What the heck happened? I'm thinking Goldeneye (N64) happened. I'm thinking that they made close…
GenerationofSwine · 1/10This begins the total collapse of Bond films. We have the usual formula of beautiful women and lots of action, but here the action is very unmotivated. Bond finds himself a body guard to a spoiled beauty queen, and we figure out early that the real heroine is the more matter of f…
drystyx · 1/10Not really that fused on this, it's quite silly.
tmdb93836550 · 8/10
From the trailer's comments
1999 was such an awesome year. Truly a wonderful time to be alive.
@dilatedbeholder3865 · 198 likesPierce Brosnan was born to play James Bond
@baldwincollins4344 · 852 likesBrosnan was born to play Bond. In my opinion he gives his best performance as Bond in this movie.
@AENB2016 · 387 likes1999: The World is not Enough 2020: The World has gone Mad!
@MovieGuy1998 · 216 likesMost stylish bond of all time
@c111samakalam5 · 21 likesOne of the better Bond films of the '90s. Excellent plot, special effects and a few surprise twists.
@muffs55mercury61 · 159 likesPierce Brosnan is my favourite Bond ever
@sandocean1764 · 221 likesI wish he got one more movie as bond
@Sky2theRim · 34 likes
