The World is Not Enough: how Michael Apted wrenched Bond into a new, darker era The late director, who claimed ignorance of action films, gave Pierce Brosnan’s 007 fresh grit – and upended the ‘Bond girl’ mould forever 12 January 2021 • 12:00pm Michael Apted's brief for The World Is Not Enough was to 'beef up the stuff between the action sequences' Michael Apted once admitted that he was “scared s---less” going into his 1999 Bond film, The World is Not Enough. And the director, who died last week aged 79, was an unlikely choice to take on 007. He was best known for directing the Up documentary series – a sociological experiment that followed the lives of 14 Brits, from kids to adults, every seven years – as well as low-key, serious-minded thrillers and dramas such as Nell, Blink and Gorillas in the Mist.