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.Written by
simon
The scene in which James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) grabs the cables on the Millennium Dome required extraordinarily difficult stunt work. Director Michael Apted intentionally left a shot of one of the stuntmen missing a cable he was attempting to grab in the final cut. Apted included the miscue in order to highlight how difficult the scene had been to film, and as an honor to the stunt performers who worked on the movie. See more »
Goofs
When the Helicopter with the saw blades is cutting through the BMW, the amount of sparks would have set off the gas tanks blowing the car up. Even if it didn't, after the car was cut in half there was no fluids of any type dripping from the car. No gas, oil, anti-freeze, etc. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Lachaise:
So good of you to come see me, Mr. Bond, particularly on such short notice.
James Bond:
If you can't trust a Swiss banker, what's the world come to?
See more »
Crazy Credits
"JAMES BOND WILL RETURN" Unlike other Bond films where this text appears at the end of the credits, in this film this text appears at the start of the credits. See more »
Alternate Versions
Press screenings ran at ca. 160 minutes. For general release the film was later cut down to 128 minutes. See more »
The first time I saw this in the cinema in '99, I remember actively disliking it - the first time I'd had that reaction to a new Bond release. I saw it a second time at the cinema, and disliked it less - but still wasn't keen. Now, in the dying days of 2002, and quaking with hatred for - and disappointment at - 'Die Another Day', I re-evaluated TWINE for a second time. And I have to say, compared to this year's farce, TWINE is bathed in a golden glow. In terms of character development, plausibility (always tenuous in Bond films, but still), acting, and script, TWINE is far and away and without a shadow of doubt superior to 'Die Another Day'. Above all, this is a Bond film that does occasionally treat its audience like they have brain cells, rather than a ghastly exercise in sci-fi pretensions with MTV production values.
The opening sequence reveals itself to be one of the very best in the series, taut and exciting, flawlessly directed and perfectly executed. There's nothing else in the film that can quite top it, but some inspired casting helps immeasurably. Sophie Marceau is superb, and it's great to see Robbie Coltrane reprise Valentin Zukovsky, who bags many of the best lines. Judy Dench as 'M' is given a high profile in this entry, which is all to the good as she's clearly the best thing to happen to the Bond films in the Brosnan era. Alas, Desmond Llwelyn makes his final appearance as 'Q' - it would be thus even had he not died the following year - and his exit is well-handled.touching, even. On the downside, Robert Carlyle is not quite convincing as Renard, but it barely matters as Marceau is so firmly in control. Denise Richards isn't as bad as she's been made out to be - indeed, she actually seems smarter and less bland than Halle Berry in DAD.
Plot and action sequences throughout the film are deftly handled, but there are some areas where TWINE seems a little derivative, cheerfully looting the Bond back catalogue, for example in the Caucasus skiing sequence which fuses together action setpieces from YOLT and OHMSS. There are also moments of alarming silliness more redolent of the 1970s and '80s, such as the scene with John Cleese making his debut as future-'Q' and all scenes with Goldie in as Bullion. And for those of us who aren't fans of Pierce Brosnan, there's plenty to annoy - excessive jaw-clenching, lots of posing, inherent charmlessness. I'm sure he's lovely in real life, mind.
Generally, though this is a competent entry in the series, and its attempts at depth just about succeed. It is also the most `how'-and-`why'-proof Bond film since the 1960s, a refreshing change from those Bond films that arrogantly command the audience to suspend their beliefs and do all the maths themselves. Quite why it all went wrong three years later is anyone's guess, but I blame 'XXX' and a continuing adoration of 'The Matrix'.
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The first time I saw this in the cinema in '99, I remember actively disliking it - the first time I'd had that reaction to a new Bond release. I saw it a second time at the cinema, and disliked it less - but still wasn't keen. Now, in the dying days of 2002, and quaking with hatred for - and disappointment at - 'Die Another Day', I re-evaluated TWINE for a second time. And I have to say, compared to this year's farce, TWINE is bathed in a golden glow. In terms of character development, plausibility (always tenuous in Bond films, but still), acting, and script, TWINE is far and away and without a shadow of doubt superior to 'Die Another Day'. Above all, this is a Bond film that does occasionally treat its audience like they have brain cells, rather than a ghastly exercise in sci-fi pretensions with MTV production values.
The opening sequence reveals itself to be one of the very best in the series, taut and exciting, flawlessly directed and perfectly executed. There's nothing else in the film that can quite top it, but some inspired casting helps immeasurably. Sophie Marceau is superb, and it's great to see Robbie Coltrane reprise Valentin Zukovsky, who bags many of the best lines. Judy Dench as 'M' is given a high profile in this entry, which is all to the good as she's clearly the best thing to happen to the Bond films in the Brosnan era. Alas, Desmond Llwelyn makes his final appearance as 'Q' - it would be thus even had he not died the following year - and his exit is well-handled.touching, even. On the downside, Robert Carlyle is not quite convincing as Renard, but it barely matters as Marceau is so firmly in control. Denise Richards isn't as bad as she's been made out to be - indeed, she actually seems smarter and less bland than Halle Berry in DAD.
Plot and action sequences throughout the film are deftly handled, but there are some areas where TWINE seems a little derivative, cheerfully looting the Bond back catalogue, for example in the Caucasus skiing sequence which fuses together action setpieces from YOLT and OHMSS. There are also moments of alarming silliness more redolent of the 1970s and '80s, such as the scene with John Cleese making his debut as future-'Q' and all scenes with Goldie in as Bullion. And for those of us who aren't fans of Pierce Brosnan, there's plenty to annoy - excessive jaw-clenching, lots of posing, inherent charmlessness. I'm sure he's lovely in real life, mind.
Generally, though this is a competent entry in the series, and its attempts at depth just about succeed. It is also the most `how'-and-`why'-proof Bond film since the 1960s, a refreshing change from those Bond films that arrogantly command the audience to suspend their beliefs and do all the maths themselves. Quite why it all went wrong three years later is anyone's guess, but I blame 'XXX' and a continuing adoration of 'The Matrix'.