Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Tomorrow Never Dies is directed by Roger Spottiswoode and written by Bruce Feirstein who uses characters created by Ian Fleming. It stars Pierce Brosnan, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Price, Gortz Otto, Teri Hatcher, Ricky Jay, Judi Dench, Colin Salmon, Desmond Llewelyn and Geoffrey Palmer.Music is scored by David Arnold and cinematography by Robert Elswit.

Bond 18 and 007 is called in to investigate media magnate Elliot Carver who appears to be instigating disasters to cause a war between the UK and China.

After GoldenEye had broke records and Pierce Brosnan was firmly accepted as the new Bond to usher in the approaching millennium, Eon wasted no time in getting Tomorrow Never Dies into production. Once again another studio had to be built since Leavesden was being used for the Star Wars sequels and Pinewood simply wasn't big enough! A sign that Brosnan's second film was to be gloriously high in production value? Further snags came and went, Vietnam refused permission to film in the country at the last minute and Brosnan got injured but thankfully pulled through to avert further delays. With a script being rewritten daily by Feirstein it appeared to be a jinxed production, the budget went over $100 million, a new record for a Bond movie. Was GoldenEye going to be a false dawn? Was Tomorrow Never Dies going to end up with the bottom feeders of the franchise?

As it happens, Bond 18 was a roaring success at the box office, it made $334 million even though it went up against James Cameron's Titanic upon release. Reviews were, and still are, mixed, yet it's one of the Bond films that actually rewards upon revisits if you can forgive the clunkiness of the script in the latter half of the picture. The gigantic budget is up there on the screen, great locations, great casting, amazing stunts, hi-tech gadgets/vehicles and outlandish action sequences. A dynamite score from David Arnold helps as well, unashamedly a big John Barry fan, Arnold brought back some traditional Barry strains whilst putting his own energetic composition into the mix. Sheryl Crow's title song is one of the best of the modern Bond bunch and K D Lang's Surrender is also a fabulous addition to the production. There's great spectacle here, a nice blend of traditional Bond with new age Bond, were it not for missteps in the scripting and unrealised character potential, then it surely would have a better reputation.

Michelle Yeoh (Wai Lin) is a fabulous Bond girl, she kick ass, is very pretty and rivals Bond in every department, but she is incredibly underused. The one great ass kicking sequence we get from her only serves to make us lament there's not more. Teri Hatcher (Paris Carver) has all the tools to be another in the line of worthy Bond girls, but she serves only as a plot device to get Bond broody and moody, she's utterly wasted. Pryce is a class act who dominates every scene he is in, but his Elliot Carver's motives and means are weak, and once again we find ourselves with a larger than life villain who we can't accept can give Bond a run for his money. The henchmen score better, though, with Otto's Aryan brute Mr. Stamper a real muscular threat and Vincent Schiavelli's amusing hit-man offering up genuine peril for Bond. Dench continues the good work in Golden Eye as M, Llewelyn as Q gets another round of sparring joyously with 007 and Samantha Bond gets some well written lines as Moneypenny.

It failed to live up to the Bondian standards set by GoldenEye, but it is still a great

Fmovies: "Tomorrow Never Dies" is the 18th James Bond film, with Pierce Brosnan back as 007. This is a very good follow-up to Brosnan's first Bond movie "Goldeneye". "Tomorrow Never Dies" had the unfortunate task of opening on the exact same day as "Titanic" (December 19, 1997). Even though "Titanic" went on to break box office records, "Tomorrow Never Dies" was not left in the dust. It surpassed "Goldeneye" domestically with a box office gross of $125 million ("Goldeneye" grossed $106 million). There are two major assets that make "Tomorrow Never Dies" really work, a great Bond villain and a great Bond woman. Jonathan Pryce is a major standout as Elliot Carver, the megalomaniacal media magnate Bond faces off against. The other standout: Michelle Yeoh as Wai Lin, Bond's female sidekick who makes a fine companion for Bond. Brosnan is fine as 007 as he was in "Goldeneye", and also returning for the second time are Joe Don Baker as CIA agent Jack Wade, Judi Dench as "M", Samantha Bond as "Miss Moneypenny", and Desmond Llewelyn as "Q". As for the other familiar face in the cast, Teri Hatcher from TV's "Lois & Clark" is just adequate as Elliot Carver's wife Paris. "Tomorrow Never Dies" is just as good as "Goldeneye"

***1/2 (out of four)

A far cry from Goldeneye, but It doesn't necessarily deserve all the hate it receives either. Tomorrow Never Dies is a fast paced affair, and an easily agreeable time-waster, but it's not the follow-up Goldeneye deserved, either. It's much too daft for the heavy plot that it has. The main reason this movie is entertaining is the spectacular stunts. It has some great action set pieces, which managed to make the time pass nicely. Michelle Yeoh makes for a refreshingly unique Bond Girl, due to her actual Martial Arts background. I dug the chemistry with her & Brosnan. Speaking of BrosnanÂ… He is very good as Bond. He has charisma and wit to spare. He's not quite as good as Timothy Dalton, but he is excellent nonetheless. Johnathan Pryce is decent as the villain. He is fitfully menacing and did the job overall. Teri Hatcher's character is a bit disposable, but she was good in her role. Desmond Llewelyn & Judi Dench are as classy as ever

Final Thoughts: Instantly forgettable stuff, but it manages to be an effective time-waster. It's not a great Bond film, but it is an OK action film. I didn't mind it at all.

5.6/10

Tomorrow Never Dies fmovies. OK, this is what i call an action movie, a great one, it has everything you need to make your adrenaline flow. And of course it also does it for a Bond movie, it has funny lines, clichés, gadgets, and it deliver us a movie that is pure action and danger without losing the sense of humour (like all Bond movies).

James Bond had always fought to the powerful, but this is the first time, i think, that he deals to a press magnate like Elliot Carver, who cares nothing about an informed world as he says, but to get all the power and money that he can. In WW2, the men who took advantage of the war were those who manufactured weapons, in the 90's, the medias gain as much money as them, so Elliot decides to begin a war to have the complete coverage of the deed, so our fellow agent 007 must stoop this crazy guy from beginning a war just for economic reasons.... So, we can say the plot is quite good and original as well, nobody can say no.

And this movie was a great follow up to the blockbuster mega hit that was Goldeneye, Pierce Brosnan shining as the British agent, as he always did in his 007 period. Michelle Yeoh was great too, and she portrayed perfectly good the woman of the 90's: Independent, fighting side by side with men, even defeating them, smart, pretty, well the 90's woman......

The music by Sheryl Crow is lovely and sweet, and fits great into the atmosphere of the movie, something on what the producers of the Bond movies always lay stress on. A good Bond movie needs a good song, and a good car too, ja.

"The difference between craze and greatness is measured only by success" "There's no news, like bad news" This is an example of Carver's "philosophy" of life, funny thing to hear, you realize he is a crazy that believes what he says....

So, if you are an action lover this movie is for you, and if you are a Bond lover this movie will like you too.

This film isn't quite as good as "Goldeneye", but it still another fun addition to the series.

Pierce Brosnan once again shines as James Bond, and Wai Lin, played by Michelle Yeoh, is quite possibly the toughest Bond girl ever. She does a lot of karate and steals the show as much as Brosnan.

Elliot Carver, played by Jonathan Pryce, is a pretty decent villain. He is nowhere near as intimidating as some of the best Bond villains, but he is certainly passable. His goals were a little more realistic than most Bond villains. His henchmen is just another Red Grant clone.

The story, while not the deepest, has a lot of intriguing elements with Carver writing disasters in his newspaper and making them happen. The media angles makes a lot of sense these days. The locations work, especially Thailand.

This film is up there with "Moonraker" as one of the most relentlessly action-packed entries in the series. We get a spectacular opening sequence, a chase in a parking garage with Bond using his remote-control BMW, a wicked motorcycle chase, and so much more.

This is a very solid if slightly by-the-numbers entry in the series. There is rarely a dull moment, and there is enough action for several movies. Another fun Bond film.

RATING: B

For some reason, Bond loyalists and sometimes Bond fans didn't rate this installment. However, I believe it was one of the best Bond's ever made.

The villain (Pryce) was terrific, even though the nature of his character was a bit overdone. The women were both stunning and were not denied some character development of their own (as is the case in many other Bonds).

The gadgets delivered by Q and the gadgets in Lin's secret office in China were extremely impressive - including that magnificent 7-series BMW.

But probably the stand out aspect of this Bond, above all others, were the terrific comedy and double entendre. After all, this was the film that gave rise to the now often used "cunning linguist." But there were many others that were absolutely hilarious - including "I'm brushing up on a little Danish", "I've always been a fan of Chinese technology" and Bond returning his car to Avis.

That said, the film did not get bogged down in the comedy. Furthermore, it didn't get bogged down in boring, drawn-out plot divergences that other Bonds (especially the older ones) tend to do. It was thrilling and engaging from start to finish and avoid the boring periods that crop up in other bond films. Brosnan is terrific and this was certainly his best effort.

I regard this is one of the best Bond's of all time.