When "M" says to James Bond, "I think you're a sexist, misogynist dinosaur, a relic of the Cold War", who can disagree? To ram home the point, "M" is played by a woman (Judi Dench) and a key scene is set in a Russian park that is now a dumping ground for statues of redundant communist heroes. However, Pierce Brosnan, on his first mission as 007, quickly established himself as the best Bond since Sean Connery and makes a fetish out of the old-fashioned values of loyalty and patriotism. The villain is not immediately evident - the mysterious Janus - but director Martin Campbell does provide a stunning chase between car and tank through the streets of St Petersburg. There are also splendid Bond girls, including Izabella Scorupco and feisty Famke Janssen, who kills by crushing her victims between her thighs.

When a powerful satellite system falls into the hands of Alec Trevelyan, AKA Agent 006, a former ally-turned-enemy, only James Bond can save the world from a dangerous space weapon that -- in one short pulse -- could destroy the earth! As Bond squares off against his former compatriot, he also battles Xenia Onatopp, an assassin who uses pleasure as her ultimate weapon.