14. The World Is Not Enough
As you may have gathered by now, I do have something of a soft spot for old Pierce, as he was my first Bond, if not my favourite. And like The Man With The Golden Gun, the real villain in the film, Renard totally elevates the film, and I still admire the little risks the film takes in putting M at the forefront of the action, the twist of Sophie Marceau really being the villain, if not a particularly good one, the opening boat chase and the submarine finale. And keep in mind, this was the first time we see Bond in Scotland since Casino Royale (1967) and until Skyfall. Basically, theres enough in the film to make it a bloody good ripping yarn, even if it does feature Denise Richards. There are a lot of similarities with Die Another Day, even though this is far, far better. It had a lot of potential to be a great Bond film, but instead its just a good one. Theres a lot of nice touches, and a vague strain of darkness I wish the creators had the stones to bring out more- youve got Michael Apted, for gods sake, use him wisely!