The World Is Not Enough – The Reimagining of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service?
Sam Rogers delves into the similarities between the films in detail, exploring whether the overlaps are merely coincidences, nice easter eggs or whether there is something more substantial going on.
Two films separated by 30 years, an almost entirely different cast (one cast member shared between them), a different production team and a completely different narrative. With that in mind, why do I believe that 1999’s The World Is Not Enough is a potential reimagining of 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service?
Following the death of Dame Diana Rigg in 2020, I wrote an article about her with most of my time talking about her iconic portrayal of Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo (Tracy). In that article I made a brief reference to one piece of Tracy’s wardrobe, specifically the outfit worn when she meets Bond in Switzerland (and puts him to shame with her own driving prowess) and stated that Elektra King wears a contemporary version of this look in The World Is Not Enough. Upon completing that article, I had a look at other articles and references and saw that there had been some links between these two films (aside from the obvious family motto) that I had never thought about or heard before. From there I began to delve deeper myself into what I could see in both films.
“You understand? Nobody can resist me.” Elektra King
I’d be remiss by not stating during this analysis that On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is my favourite Bond film and that The World Is Not Enough is currently ranked sixth favourite. These two films have gone on completely different trajectories when it comes to fan response with On Her Majesty’s Secret Service rising in many people’s rankings over the past three decades whilst The World Is Not Enough has slowly but surely stayed near the bottom of people’s rankings since its release 22 years ago. Many people may think the idea of comparing these two films blasphemous because of the perceived difference in quality and execution and even though I believe that On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is the superior film in numerous ways, The World Is Not Enough holds its own by also taking some risks, creating a solid story and being a thrilling ride from beginning to end.
Since her death in 1969, references of Tracy have appeared throughout the Bond franchise in subtle and explicit ways but one of the more interesting reflections of Tracy Bond comes in the form of Elektra King. Within the film’s narrative, Elektra is shown to be the lead Bond girl and ally of Bond after the death of her father. As she appears to be the next target of the supposed main villain, Renard, Bond is sent to protect her, but little does Bond and MI6 know that the entire villainous scheme is Elektra’s.
As mentioned earlier, much of this article focuses on these two characters which I believe are two of the best elements of their respective films. Tracy and Elektra are so unique within the Bond franchise and the power that they have is like a magnet; you can’t help but get drawn to them (even if one of them is actually a villain). I’d question that they are two of the most important female characters in the franchise, Tracy due to her romantic relationship with Bond (along with her other qualities) and Elektra as she is first and so far, only main villainess.
Tracy’s power comes from her ability to match Bond, be of help to him and to be the one to truly make him re-evaluate his life. Elektra’s power seems to come from matching Bond as well, especially at the beginning of the film. However, we quickly learn that her true power comes from her deception and sociopathic tendencies which allow her to almost create an international disaster that would thrust her further into the celebrity spotlight. As a gay man, having two strong female characters is empowering in a way as some female characters are barely given much to do and are just there to fill in the gaps of the story whereas Tracy and Elektra are weaved into the story, and without them there would be nothing or at the least would certainly not be as interesting! Their actions affect Bond deeply, with Tracy it’s her love and personality that captivates him and makes him believe that he could step away from his dangerous work life. Again, this appears to be the case with Elektra too (the seeds are planted at least). However, as soon as he believes that she isn’t what she seems, he immediately puts a stop to what he feels and focuses on finding out the truth.
Michael Apted: “They had to pay a lot of money to get Sophie. I begged them. It was money well spent because she’s so great, and she’s so beautiful without putting it on. And she’s also tough. [spoilers] We all wanted her to be killed. We wanted Bond to kill her, otherwise what were we doing? I just thought she was wonderful, and I think she made that film.” (Murrian, 2017)
Elektra is one of the most complex characters to ever be presented to us in a Bond film. It’s interesting that it took 19 films for there to be a main leading villainess and even more dramatic by adding elements of Tracy’s character to Elektra. Clearly nothing that we see is coincidental and it was very much on the mind of the producers to use elements of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service to help build Elektra’s character, but how is this done? How does she convey qualities of such polarising characters?
Unlike many female characters, Elektra is given a bit more time when it comes to her backstory as we find out that she is the only child of Sir Robert King and was part of a kidnapping plot involving the terrorist, Renard, so that he could extort her father out of millions of pounds. We find out that Sir Robert didn’t pay the ransom in large part due to advice from M (a close friend of Sir Robert’s) leading to Elektra using her own means to escape, which included seducing and killing her guards. Video footage of Elektra following her escape shows her as frightened and wounded as she tells her interviewee about her experience while she cries, allowing the audience and Bond to feel sympathy for her and immediately putting her into our minds as a victim - but more importantly a survivor. This makes the ultimate reveal of her villainy and ruthlessness shocking and confusing. Not only is she on the side of Renard, but she is also actually the lead villain who has formed a plot that drives the narrative of the entire film. She truly plays a game and her confidence and façade allow her to play this through to the film’s final act. Elektra also strongly condemns her father for somewhat using her mother to control the oil that her family had originally found (her mother’s family being brought up throughout the film and in a deleted scene) which adds another layer of betrayal on top of her motives for her plan to reclaim the oil.
Sophie Marceau: “It's a great part. She's not a Bond Girl. She is one of the characters who make the story happen - the villain. She is not a proper Bond Girl because the character requires nothing that is specifically feminine. It's very well written. There is a real love story between her and James Bond; they're two human beings except they are on opposite sides. My part has a real story.” (Girls On Bond - The World Is Not Enough, 2007)
On the surface, it’s easy to see why Bond would gravitate towards her even before they officially meet. Like Tracy, Elektra is intriguing and, due to her highly publicised kidnapping and place in society, it’s easy for Bond to find out who Elektra is (or at least the false side of Elektra King). If we do put this film several years after On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, then Bond’s interest in Elektra is expected. I don’t believe that he wants to save all his love interests, but he seems more interested by those who are complex and who aren’t perfect, yet display specific qualities and, years after Tracy’s death, he sees some of those qualities within Elektra.
Elektra and Tracy are both the only children of rich, powerful businessmen whose mothers have seemingly died when they were very young and their relationships with their fathers are strained. Prior to the films, both characters have gone through tragedy, Elektra being kidnapped and tortured, Tracy facing events that led to her wanting to commit suicide (in the novel this is at least partly attributed to the death of her child and husband). Like Elektra, Tracy is a survivor and both characters present a confident front in the presence of others and show a vulnerable side when alone or with Bond. These elements combined are what I believe truly attracts Bond to both women.
“Sophie Marceau’s spoilt heiress Elektra King is allegedly protecting her father’s oil concerns…But it is really Secret Service’s Tracy di Vicenzo that Elektra is emulating – with her scary gambling foibles, kneejerk forays onto the piste and annoyance at being forever rescued by James Bond 007.” (O'Connell, 2012)
The two characters share some other similar qualities such as their questionable gambling choices and although both can afford to lose, Bond comes to the rescue in both instances. Unlike with Tracy however, Elektra’s loss at Zukovsky’s casino is fake and is part of the narrative that Elektra wants to present to Bond. Conversely, Tracy is just throwing caution to the wind, and I guess is doing it “for a thrill”, amongst other things. Similarly, in the ski scene Bond and these two characters are under attack by henchmen and Bond again wants to protect his love interests. Although we don’t see much of Elektra once the attack begins, we know that she can ski very well, as can Tracy. But of course, the attack was never meant to harm Elektra and is another scene for her to play out in order to gain Bond’s trust and positioning her as the vulnerable target.
“Clothes are not mere accessories, but are key elements in the construction of cinematic identities.” (Bruzzi, 2012)
The clothing worn by these two female characters are both striking and, in many cases, quite extravagant, highlighting that they come from money and can afford lavish gowns/dresses and stylish couture outfits. Despite the 30-year gap between when these characters appear on screen, they do wear similar styles of clothing. One of the clearest resemblances are the aforementioned winter/ski outfits where both Elektra and Tracy wear fur hats with the former adding a matching fur shoulder-piece to the ensemble whilst Tracy has a matching fur coat instead. Both outfits scream wealth yet aren’t “loud” pieces, which in part is due to the use of muted colours and the fact that the outfits aren’t overly designed (very few accessories, two main colours on each outfit that complement each other etc.). They wear the clothes, and not the other way round which showcases that they know how to dress fashionably and just dress well in general.
One of Elektra’s most signature pieces is the red sequined gown that she wears to Zukovsky’s casino, which includes a silk stole and gold heels. Traditionally, a red dress can symbolise desire and seduction (e.g., Goldie Hawn’s character in Death Becomes Her, Jessica Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) but can also symbolise uniqueness and glamour (e.g., Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face).
“In cinema, the woman in red is always the one you notice.” (Reynaud, 2020)
I believe that Elektra is trying to portray both meanings of the red dress in this sequence, wanting to stand out in the casino and reinforce her celebrity status as well as look desirable to Bond who she wants to manipulate (and is willing to sleep with him to do this). This dress is more like it’s one side of a coin, whilst Tracy’s wedding outfit/jumpsuit is the other side of the coin. Like Elektra’s gown, Tracy’s wedding outfit is a unique couture piece which is embroidered and includes a chiffon coat in place of Elektra’s stole. Both outfits are embroidered, Elektra’s with red glitter pattern whilst Tracy’s is made up of flowers. The core difference is that Tracy’s outfit is white and symbolises purity and innocence, a complete 180 from the dress that Elektra wears. Both outfits are worn at important moments for these women in their respective films and are two of the most iconic costume pieces showcased in the Bond franchise.
Natalie Bochenski notes the similar costumes and references used in both films in her article on The World Is Not Enough here which has further side by side imagery to compare.
“Interesting how Elektra’s relationship with Renard is up to so much interpretation. You can imagine they’re legitimately in love or that Elektra simply enjoys he control over him.” (@RetroCaptain1, 2021)
During the ski scene in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Tracy is captured by Blofeld and taken back to Piz Gloria and, although Elektra isn’t captured in her ski scene, she was captured and taken prisoner by Renard in events prior to the film (and yes, let’s note that both women were captured by men who happen to be bald). Although we only see one of these situations play out on-screen, we are informed about Elektra’s capture and know that she manipulated the guards and works with Renard to escape and begin her evil scheme. Tracy manipulates Blofeld, although in different ways, she teases him with her sexuality slightly but uses her words to gain his trust. It’s not entirely clear if Elektra is truly in love with Renard or if he too is part of her manipulation as she certainly doesn’t seem sad that she won’t see him again once he enters the submarine, but Bond also brings up a great point that Elektra could have developed Stockholm Syndrome and fallen in love with him. I’m inclined to lean towards the former as Elektra is 100% in control of her life and situation and Renard has done everything she says and couldn’t hurt her when she was his captive during her kidnapping. In both cases, these manipulations of Renard and Blofeld work as Elektra and Tracy do manage to escape with Elektra allegedly shooting the guards whilst Tracy fights with Blofeld’s guards and kills Grunther before her final escape with Draco and his men. It’s interesting to note how these two characters’ stories both converge at certain moments and then completely diverge! Bond and Draco go to rescue Tracy whilst Elektra is left alone and must rely on herself to survive. This information helps form the basis of her complex arc as she wasn’t given the same opportunities as Tracy. It’s likely that Elektra had sociopathic tendencies prior to her kidnapping with that ordeal being the trigger for her realise what she could do. She had to use undiscovered strength and unconventional ways to form an elaborate plan and kill anyone who would get in her way which includes the two people who didn’t help her when they had the chance, her father and M.
Potentially a stretch here but I feel that Bond is tortured by both women: Elektra more obviously tortures him in the final act of The World Is Not Enough with the antique torture chair (which is where Bond utters his family motto first heard in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service) whilst Tracy indirectly tortures Bond mentally as he clearly feels shaken and stirred following her kidnapping by Blofeld and is anxious to go after her. Clearly this isn’t Tracy’s fault as she isn’t trying to hurt Bond or wants to overpower him but we as the audience can clearly understand his frustration and anger that Tracy has been taken. Both situations demonstrate the power that both women have over Bond whether they actively wanted to have this power or not.
One of my final links between these women is that both are killed during a moment of change in their life. Tracy has just married Bond and is envisioning a new life and a happy marriage whereas Elektra is about to cause a catastrophe that will lead her to become richer and more famous than ever as well as being more heavily relied on due to her oil pipeline. Two completely different lives which are ultimately cut short due to a single gunshot. Interestingly, Bond looks down and caresses both fallen women (albeit only a few seconds for Elektra) which emphasises his strong feelings.
“With Elektra, Bond thinks he has found Tracy, but he's really found Blofeld.” Barbara Broccoli
It’s easy to put Renard and Blofeld together and Elektra and Tracy together purely based off visual representation and audience perception. However, that makes it more interesting that Elektra has more similarities with Blofeld than Renard. Despite the bald head and lack of earlobes, the two male villains don’t have much in common aside from being played by Elektra and Tracy at one point or another. What I did notice very recently, and i’m not 100% sure whether this was on purpose or not but the skin around Renard’s right eye drops slightly, reminiscent of Pleasance’s right eye (without the scarring). Assuming this is intentional, in-universe this could have been due to the bullet entering Renard’s head on the right side, this is an interesting decision and would be potentially another way of throwing audiences off the scent that Elektra is actually the main villain.
Especially in the last few decades, bald men in film are usually perceived as tough and aggressive (see actors such as Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Bruce Willis, Dave Bautista as examples of this) and in the two films, Blofeld and Renard are quite hands on and fight Bond one on one. Telly Savalas’s Blofeld is a step up from Donald Pleasance’s version as Blofeld becomes more of a physical threat to Bond, chasing him during his escape from Piz Gloria and the fight during the bobsled sequence. Similarly, Renard has two fights with Bond and almost gets the better of him. Outside of action films however and perhaps moreso in the 20th century, baldness in men could be seen as weak, the idea that a man has lost his hair and therefore not the picture of masculinity that springs to mind. Luckily, the past two decades especially has shifted this mindset.
Blofeld arguably is one of the most iconic villains and part of that is due to the “evil bald guy” trope that began with his appearance in You Only Live Twice. Bald villains are not common place in Bond outside of Blofeld himself and so to have Renard appear bald as the apparent lead villain is just another way that the past is referenced in The World Is Not Enough.
“I want a female M again, more female Double-0s and we’re definitely overdue another female villain with the ambition of Elektra King.” (Lowbridge-Ellis, 2021)
I find it interesting that Elektra cuts off her earlobe to make the kidnapping look real, to let the world and her father know that the situation was more serious and dangerous than could have been imagined. In On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, we find out that Blofeld also no longer has earlobes with Bond quipping that “it’ll take more than cutting off your earlobes to make you a count”. Both Elektra and Blofeld have done this to fit a story/false façade. We can also take the manipulation element that Elektra and Tracy share and apply it to Blofeld too. Elektra manipulates Renard to do most of the dirty work for her whilst she retains overall control of the plan…as does Blofeld while he manipulates the ‘Angels of Death’ who are to carry out his plan if his demands aren’t met. Although the villains’ plans are entirely different, they share several means and ways to make their plans come to fruition with the ultimate goal to come out on top and unscathed, with Elektra retaining her celebrity status (including her continued humanitarianism) and Blofeld receiving the title of Count Balthazar de Bleuchamp and a full pardon for previous crimes. Elektra stating “Ha they will believe they will all believe. You understand? Nobody can resist me.” amplifies the fact she wants to use her status and control of her own narrative to manipulate public perception and she’s completely confident that it will work. Due to her sociopathic nature I’m inclined to believe that the financial monopoly that she would control after the nuclear meltdown wouldn’t be her main end goal and that instead she is fame hungry and totally in love with the knowledge that she can control anyone and spin a narrative to fit her vision, “When I’m through the whole world will know my name, my grandfather’s name, the glory of my people!”.
On a smaller note, both villains hide their true selves whilst in full sight (Elektra especially) but for part of both films these characters put on a front although it’s not shocking at all to find out that Blofeld is the villain!
This screams gay panic for those of us who are gay and at one point weren’t out of the closet (or maybe aren’t out of the closet yet). Hiding who you really are in plain sight is unfortunately what many of us have had to do and perhaps that’s one of the reasons why I love the character of Elektra. Sometimes all it takes is one sentence (“There’s no point living if you can’t feel alive”) or one gesture (Renard squeezing Bond’s shoulder) that allows the penny to drop for someone and to realise that someone isn’t who they really are. And like many of us, Elektra denies that she’s the villain and turns emotional in order to combat this threat to her narrative. She drops the façade and effectively comes out to M as the villain when the time is right FOR HER (and does it fabulously too) which is another demonstration of her using her power and own narrative to control events that take place.
Bond: “You used the girl as bait?
M: “...Yes.”
Throughout The World Is Not Enough we find out details about Elektra King’s kidnapping by Renard in which it is implied that she was abused sexually and mentally. In some ways I do understand her bitterness towards her father for not paying her ransom, and it makes it a bit more understanding that she would feel as if she wasn’t worth anything. That, along with her fragile state of mind, could have been the point of no return for her, making her realise that, despite her wealth and fame, no one can save her apart from herself. Echoing On Her Majesty’s Secret Service when Tracy is kidnapped, M doesn’t agree with going after her. With Judi Dench’s M being a close family friend, this would seem like a betrayal to Elektra once she found out and somewhat justifies why she also wants M to die (even though M does appear to truly care for Elektra throughout the film).
“It would be a crime to destroy what little is left of our past.” Elektra to James
The World Is Not Enough also offers other call-backs to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, one of my favourites being the cracked glass reference when Bond attempts to kill Renard. The bullet doesn’t break through the glass and creates a crack in the glass matching the base of Renard’s forehead which is remarkably close to the final scene in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service where Tracy is shot by Irma Bunt through the windshield of the Aston Martin DBS with the crack in a similar position, the bullet unfortunately passing through to kill Tracy.
The rejected theme song by Straw (also titled The World Is Not Enough) has a line which is a direct reference to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and hasn’t been used since For Your Eyes Only 18 years prior, “We’ve got all the time in the world”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRrL3d4qrMo
Not a complete copy and paste of the line (the original is “We have all the time in the world”), this of course was the song performed by Louis Armstrong which was used as part of Tracy and James’s love montage and is used throughout On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The line is also uttered by Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service too. It’s interesting to think about whether this was just a coincidence or if producers had given a brief which mentioned On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (which I think is pretty unlikely) but either way it makes this rejected theme song a bit more special!
Upon Bond gaining consciousness in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Blofeld proclaims “Merry Christmas 007!” which is one of the few times that the series addresses the holiday. Whilst the character of Dr Christmas Jones is the other lead female character that Bond ends up with at the climax, “I’ve always wanted to have Christmas in Turkey” and “I thought Christmas only comes once a year”. I will not be going into any more detail about those lines!
It’s rare that Bond films focus on a person’s injury yet in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and The World Is Not Enough, lead characters are shown to be injured to a point that we can see that they need medical support. In On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, it’s Blofeld who following his fight with Bond on the bobsled is pushed up into a tree, severely injuring his neck meaning that he wears a neck brace. In The World Is Not Enough, Bond is injured during the pre-title sequence with the diagnosis from Dr Molly Warmflash being a dislocated collarbone. Although he doesn’t wear it for long, Bond does sport an arm sling for a few minutes of the film.
Beluga caviar is a smaller link between the films which shows the level of dedication I have for looking at both films intensely (and indubitably haha). Valentin Zukovsky owns a factory in the Caspian Sea which produces Beluga caviar and following his fight with Che Chee in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Bond makes a quip after eating some Beluga caviar stating “Mm…Royal Beluga, North of the Caspian”.
The films also include action sequences that feature helicopters/attacks from the air, in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service it’s the final assault on Piz Gloria and in The World Is Not Enough there are two attacks on Bond including during the ski and caviar factory scenes. Linking to both snow settings, avalanches occur in the films which trap Bond and the lead female character.
Elektra asks Bond “Have you ever lost a loved one, Mr Bond?” which he brushes off but is clearly a reference to all he’s lost in his life including Tracy. Based on what we end up knowing about Elektra, it wouldn’t surprise me if she found out information about Bond including that he is an orphan and a widower and purposely asked this question to get underneath his skin.
The actions of a member of staff from MI6 affects how Bond begins his mission. In On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Miss Moneypenny changes Bond’s resignation request to a holiday request which allows him to do some work relating to Blofeld which he then relays back to M who approves. The World Is Not Enough’s Dr Molly Warmflash agrees to clear Bond for active service despite being diagnosed with a dislocated collar bone. Had Bond not been able to return to active service then the events of the film may have gone in a completely different direction.
Linking to this, it’s rare that Lois Maxwell’s Moneypenny wears a blazer or jacket in her films yet in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service she does wear a tartan blazer in the pre-title sequence and when Bond returns following his meeting with Draco. Samantha Bond’s Moneypenny wears blazers much more often and wears a tartan blazer once in The World Is Not Enough during the briefing scene. This doesn’t affect the plot at all but is a nice coincidence or call back at least!
There’s an extended period spent in the UK, with Bond spending more time at the MI6 building than usual, meeting with Sir Hilary Bray at the College of Arms and even visiting M’s home in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. In The World Is Not Enough there’s of course the MI6 sequences in England and Scotland whilst also featuring the boat chase through the Thames and streets of London. Deleted scenes from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, which unfortunately appear to be lost to time, would have seen an extended scene in London where Bond gives chase to a SPECTRE assailant undercover at the College of Arms. Like The World Is Not Enough, this would have showcased more of London and featured Bond chasing the assailant over rooftops and underground in order to stop him from leaking the plan to take on the Sir Hilary Bray guise at Piz Gloria. The reflection in The World Is Not Enough would’ve been that Bond would be trying to get information from the ‘Cigar Girl’ rather than stopping information from being shared.
All of the core MI6 members of staff of M, Q and Miss Moneypenny all do something in The World is Not Enough similar to what they/their predecessors did in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Dench’s M has a friendly chat with Sir Robert King, Lee’s M does the same with Draco; Q also has a friendly exchange with Bond revolving around teaching or learning something in both films (can’t complain that Bond is being irresponsible as he’s chosen someone like Tracy to marry and the lessons he’s wanted to teach Bond before his retirement); Maxwell’s Moneypenny is upset when Bond marries Tracy whilst Bond’s Moneypenny is clearly annoyed that Dr Warmflash has had the pleasure of being with James.
Finally, to link back to the gambling and money specifically, Bond helps Tracy by paying the money that she lost at the baccarat table. And although he doesn’t do the same for Elektra, he does retrieve her father’s money (which in turn was the same amount as Elektra’s ransom so in a way was meant to save her).
I’m probably just scratching the surface when it comes to links between these two films and hope to grow this list with more tangible links!
“I am part of a legacy of strong women in Bond.” (Funnell, 2021)
General audiences might define a Bond girl as a less than helpful woman who may or may not wear a bikini or scantily clad clothing and is just there so that Bond can have sex with them. Whilst I challenge that most, if not all, leading women in Bond do much more than that, Elektra and Tracy stand out as not only being strong, independent women within the series but also being the best parts of their respective films. Whether this is just how the characters are written or if it’s the fact that they are played to perfection by Diana Rigg and Sophie Marceau, these characters are some of the very best and should be looked back on by audiences and filmmakers in a very positive way. Their portrayal allows audiences to grow fond of them much like Bond does and they are part of the Bond legacy.
What I find interesting, and frustrating is that sometimes it is the franchise itself that harms the work and legacy that has come before whether that’s potentially suggesting that new lead actresses share that their character is better and more formidable than previous characters or through marketing. I recently found a 007 Spy Cards collection that I started around the time of Quantum of Solace’s release and realised that although Tracy is given her own card, Elektra (and Renard) doesn’t get that same spotlight. I distinctly remember that a previous collection of 007 Spy Files cards had a separate Elektra King card and so to not only have her share a card with Renard but also be positioned behind him (and get second billing) is questionable and could potentially add to the confusion on who is supposed to be the main villain of The World Is Not Enough. Of course, Renard should have had his own card too but even things as small as this suggests that the legacy of the women in Bond is somewhat overshadowed by their association and it seems that even with a character like Elektra, the main villain of the film, that she is overlooked to protect the stereotypical image of the male villain taking precedence.
Bond: ‘The World Is Not Enough’.
Elektra: Foolish sentiment.
Bond: Family motto.
Is The World Is Not Enough a reimagining of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service? In a sense, I think I lean towards yes. Many Bond films share certain themes or character types but these two have a sense of connectivity and seem to go hand in hand. I watched both films (along with Moonraker) at the BFI in London in 2019 and watching them both in proximity on the big screen was a real treat. Whilst working on this article I’ve been able to think back to this experience and think about their similarities and differences. Of course, a reimagining doesn’t work if everything is the same and so things are different. The World Is Not Enough could have begun with Bond rescuing Elektra from the kidnappers much like he rescued Tracy in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and the film could have run from there (undermining her father and taking him out later in the film) but instead we see different narrative beats and that seems to have been the right way to go.
It’s fine of course to see these films as complete separate entities which just so happen to share some similarities but, given the fact that by the 1990s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was becoming more popular, especially with home video releases, then I think it would’ve been a benefit for the filmmakers to look back and inject elements that made that film work into The World Is Not Enough.
Could The World Is Not Enough be re-appraised during its third full decade of release much like On Her Majesty’s Secret Service did in the 1990s? Potentially but perhaps not to the same scale especially when Goldeneye continues to retain and grow its popularity as Brosnan’s best and one of the best in the series. Nevertheless, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and The World Is Not Enough certainly share common threads that diverge into the stories that unravel in each of the films and I believe that both do what they need to do successfully, creating some of the most engaging stories and characters in the whole series. And thinking like Elektra in her final moments, I would miss them if they weren’t around.
As well as being a lifelong Bond fan, Sam Rogers is also a Marketing Executive with a degree in TV and radio. He lives in Manchester, England.
You can find him on Twitter @SamR_1995
References
Bruzzi, S., 2012. Undressing cinema. London: Routledge.
Funnell, L., 2021. 0098: Tomorrow's News Today. [podcast] James Bond & Friends. Available at: <https://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/articles/podcast> [Accessed 8 August 2021].
Lowbridge-Ellis, D., 2021. A bevy of Bond Boys — Licence to Queer. [online] Licence to Queer. Available at: <https://www.licencetoqueer.com/blog/a-bevy-of-bond-boys> [Accessed 13 August 2021].
MI6-HQ. 2007. Girls On Bond - The World Is Not Enough. [online] Available at: <https://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/articles/twine_girls_on_bond.php3> [Accessed 13 August 2021].
Murrian, S., 2017. Michael Apted Talks About Powerful Women, Doug Liman and Unlocked. [online] Parade: Entertainment, Recipes, Health, Life, Holidays. Available at: <https://parade.com/597611/samuelmurrian/michael-apted-talks-about-powerful-women-doug-liman-and-unlocked/> [Accessed 13 August 2021].
O'Connell, M., 2012. Catching Bullets: Memoirs of a Bond Fan. Splendid Books Limited, p.298.
@RetroCaptain1, 2021. [online] Twitter. Available at: <https://twitter.com/retrocaptain1/status/1426288875471785987?s=21> [Accessed 13 August 2021].
Reynaud, F., 2020. The secrets behind Sophie Marceau's red dress in “Le Monde is not enough”. [online] Vogue Paris. Available at: <https://www.vogue.fr/fashion-culture/article/sophie-marceau-the-secrets-behind-her-red-dress-in-le-monde-is-not-enough> [Accessed 13 August 2021].
