Pierce Brosnans third James Bond outing remains one of the more overlooked 007 adventures.
What is the most underratedJames Bondmovie?
TakeOn Her Majestys Secret Servicefor example.
And so it goes.
The stock of Bond is always rising and falling.
I would say the one that just turned 25 years old earlier this month.
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Still, as the years passed,TWINEstands largely forgotten by anyone except diehards.
Nonetheless, there is actually a fairly solid and oft-overlooked soul to this installment.
Obviously, this allowed the opening to have more bang for its buck.
By itself this is just a terrific table-setter, right down to Garbages grooving 90s alt-rock title song.
However, it also introduced one of the most intriguing, and prescient, setups in a Bond film.
He recognizes she is taking it personal that her school chum (and ex-lover?)
from Oxford was killed due to their mutual negligence.
But from that recognition the two develop an unspoken trust and camaraderie.
They have a mutual interest in redemption.
But then, much of the movie is a showcase for Brosnans Bond.
Brosnan walked the line.
And that styling was never so bespoke as inTWINE.
By the timeTWINEcame around, though, the actor and producers knew exactly who this version of Bond was.
The charisma feels like a defense mechanism, and perhaps his weapon of last resort.
The former American model is spectacularly miscast as a nuclear scientist.
NoandTWINEwhile Eons had not.
However, it should be noted that Christmas isnota lead inThe World Is Not Enough.
Which makes the choice to essentially subvert it bold.
He is a dupe as easily manipulated by Elektra King as as 007.
She is the films surprise femme fatale who intentionally echoes Diana Riggs beloved Teresa di Vicenzo.
For like Tracy, Elektra comes from a wealthy family (Bond always loves refined things, no?)
but is damaged from that privileged lifestyle.
However, even that proves a red herring.
As the film unfolds, we learn Elektra has manipulated Bond and M, as well as the viewers.
Beginning with her father.
It makes the actual climax of the film one of the best moments in Brosnans tenure.
Thirty-seven years after Connerys Bond coldly assassinated Professor Dent inDr.
No, Brosnans 007 is forced to shoot Elektra King in cold blood.
It feels uglier than how were used to seeing the Brosnan version of the character.
But doing it to a woman he loved for at least one night is a kind of self-abnegation.
You buy Elektras misplaced confidence when she smirks, You wouldnt kill me.
In the same breath, Denchs M arrives on the scene to witness a perverse tableau.
Bond is visibly mourning the woman he murdered by brushing her hair.
But it is easy to admit the sum is lesser than the parts.
Brosnans interpretation of the character feels incredibly, inescapably rooted in the 90s.
They might have even argued the world had no more use for characters like James Bond.
In this context,TWINEacts as a bookend on elements introduced inGoldenEye.
The film also sees Denchs M and the audience finally recognize an implicit question she had for Bond inGoldenEye.
Can you still be useful?
If only for Elektras funeral.
