Tomorrow Never Dies | | Cast : | Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh, Teri Hatcher | | Director : | Roger Spottiswoode | | Studio : | MGM/UA Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | December 19, 1997 | | DVD Released Date : | October 22, 2002 | | Language : | French (Subtitled), English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 04, 2005 | | Summary | Pierce Brosnan Makes Bond His Own | Content
 | Pierce Brosnan returned in 1997 for his second appearance as James Bond in the 18th official Bond film. Pierce appeared to me to be somewhat uncertain at points in "Goldeneye," but in "Tomorrow Never Dies" Brosnan comfortably took on character of James Bond. Double entendres were provided not only by Bond, but by M and Miss Moneypenny. Female characters took the lead throughout the film, with Bond accepting the assistance of a female comparable to him. The villain was truly wonderful and sinister in the grand tradition of Bond villains, and the gadgets were the best yet.
We meet Bond at the beginning of this film doing what he does best, getting in trouble. He is spying on a gathering of merchants selling military merchandise of various types and lethality, including nuclear weapons. Watch this scene carefully as there is an important person at this gathering buying a rather benign looking device. Unfortunately a shoot first ask intelligent questions kind of person ordered a cruise missile launched at the gathering before realizing there was nuclear weapons. Bond is required to think fast to save himself and those who might be exposed to the nuclear fall out. Bond comes through in spectacular fashion to open yet another James Bond movie.
After Cheryl Crow sings the opening credits we see the H.M.S. Devonshire cruising in the South China Sea. We also see a stealth ship launch a weapon at the Devonshire and at passing Chinese MIGs with the intent of building tension between China and Great Britain. The man behind the stealth ship is media magnate Elliot Carver, chillingly played by the Jonathan Pryce ("Pirates of the Caribbean," "Evita," "Something Wicked this Way Comes" and numerous others), who makes being sinister into a fine art. Carver has a nice simple goal: make news and be first to report it through the Carver Media Group Network (CMGN). His master plan is to start a war between China and Britain to coincide with the launch of a new satellite news network. Unfortunately for Carver, James Bond thinks a war with Great Britain is an awful idea.
We soon meet an interesting cast of characters. Teri Hatcher is Paris Carver, Elliot's wife and a former Bond love interest. One of Paris's best lines is, "Tell me James. Do you still sleep with a gun beneath your pillow?" In many ways Paris reminds me of Andrea Anders (Maud Adams) in "The Man with a Golden Gun" because Paris also appears to have been caught in something much bigger than her, and to some extent she knows she is doomed.
Michelle Yeoh is Wai Lin, a Chinese agent who is a counterpart of James Bond, and just as effective. I enjoyed watching as Wai Lin and Bond treated each other with disdain and then slowly realized that they were more effective as a team. Though Wai Lin does not have an equivalent of Q (Desmond Llewelyn), she does have a secret hideout with just as many interesting toys as Q usually has.
Most of the best scenes in the movie involve Bond and Wai Lin, including an escape from a high rise, a leisurely motorcycle ride in Viet Nam, and a pleasurable cruise on a stealth ship. The motorcycle ride is excellent. The moment of surprise when Bond and Wai Lin both try to ride the motorcycle is real. Both actors thought they were supposed to drive the motorcycle.
I keep wondering when the creativity of the Bond series might begin to falter. It has not with this film, which grossed slightly less than "Goldeneye" worldwide. The ideas continued to flow and the plot is sufficiently convoluted to make watching the movie fun without losing the audience. The acting is wonderful throughout, with one of the greatest Bond casts ever. I will admit to being surprised when Miss Moneypenny told Bond that he was always a "cunning linguist." I would have thought that particular pun would not have made it past the censors.
I am usually lukewarm to DVD extras, but I was impressed with those on this DVD. The two audio commentaries contained interesting and relevant information. The "Secrets of 007" is a wonderful feature detailing the history of the series. I was less than impressed with the storyboard overlay feature as well as the separate audio track. However, some people may enjoy this feature. The "Tomorrow Never Dies Video" by Cheryl Crow is also included, and is fun to watch regardless of whether you are a Cheryl Crow fan. There is a visual effects reel, but I did not think it was "stunning."
Sean Connery will likely always be the definitive Bond for a variety of reasons. However, this excellent movie, which won six significant awards worldwide and was nominated for six more, firmly established Pierce Brosnan as the second best Bond. If you are a Bond movie fan or a Pierce Brosnan fan, or Jonathan Pryce or Judi Dench, this film is a perfect addition to your collection.
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| Rating | | | Date | May 27, 2005 | | Summary | The fun never dies | Content
| A ruthless and meglomaniacal media tycoon - comparisons to Rupert Murdoch seem as apt as to Bill Gates - uses his seemingly endless wealth to engineer an Anglo-Sino war. Though the ambitions of Carver (Jonathan Pryce) seem benign compared to the likes of Hugo Drax, Stromberg or Blofeld (he doesn't want to conquer the world, just the ratings, media and corporate worlds - the worlds that already subjugate the rest of us). However, Carver's hopes for higher ratings he'd realize on the opening of war between Beijing and London are actually a first step and mask even darker ambitions.
The sinking of a British warship - apparently by the Chinese - offers hints of Carver's machinations. Unconvinced, British admirals press for immediate retaliation against China. Only the one-time relationship between Carver's wife and agent James Bond offers M (Judi Dench) a way out that doesn't require volleys of cruise missiles.
Picking up the trail in Germany, Bond finds clues to the extent of Carver's treachery. He also meets up with a wily rival - Michelle Yeoh as high-kicking Chinese agent following the same trail.
I actually enjoyed "Tomorrow" better than "The World is Not Enough" - the direction seems better paced, with action scenes that don't seem to take even the directors by surprise. Too much is kept to the end - like how much fun Jonathan Pryce should have as the baddie (are we supposed to not hate a media bigwig) or how much fun Michelle Yeoh is. As his counterpart, Yeoh is probably the biggest challenge Bond has faced in the d'amour department since Barbara Bach in "Spy Who Loved Me" (she was the one who wanted to kill him). The plot seems to come together too comfortably otherwise, with the expected showdown in Carver's stealth-catamaran. Until then, TND tosses in a bullet-proof, remote controlled BMW, a motorcycle and helicopter chase and Michelle Yeoh in a catsuit. Utterly preposterous, but definitely fun. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 14, 2005 | | Summary | Awesome! | Content
| I have all the bonds movies on DVD, but every time I see one on tv I catch myself watching them. Yes, some are better than others, but all and all it's still Bond and Tomorrow Never Dies is no expection. I enjoyed it start to finish just like every Bond. Pierce Brosnan's at the top of his game and I hope to see him in a few more movies, but who ever they pick to be the next Bond I'm sure will be good. I would give this movie ten stars if I could! |
| Rating | | | Date | January 16, 2005 | | Summary | Great fun, Bond style | Content
| Tomorrow Never Dies, the second James Bond film to feature Pierce Brosnan as the super suave secret agent, is one of the more fun films in the long running series. In this installment, Bond finds himself at odds with a media tycoon (Jonathan Pryce) who is attempting to jump start a world war all in the name of global domination. It's a plot that doesn't seem too different from anything else offered in many of the previous Bond films, but the premise works thanks to some slam bang spectacular action scenes and the further development of Brosnan's interpretation of the character. Also on board is Desperate Housewives' Teri Hatcher as one of Bond's former lovers, and Hong Kong action star Michelle Yeoh as a very letal secret agent who Bond teams up with. Handled with exceptional flair by director Roger Spottiswoode (The 6th Day), Tomorrow Never Dies may not be the best Bond film, but it's still one of the most enjoyable. |
| Rating | | | Date | December 29, 2004 | | Summary | Action without substance | Content
| Action without substance. The behind-the-scenes problems really hurt this movie and it shows. Nobody seems to be having much fun in this movie as they race from one lame action sequence to another. Whereas the following movie had too much substance, this one has hardly any at all.
We do have to face a morose 007 chasing after some truly ugly women (only the Danish professor has any appeal), some cardboard cutout Oddjob wannabee (Stamper) and the least interesting, menacing or sinister villain of the series (Carver). Even the plot is rather boring - Britain and China go to war, woohoo, I mean who cares if they do or not?!
Whereas the action is handled better than in TWINE, it is still lame and flat. I suppose we were supposed to find some sadistic glee as (James Bond, curiously jumping back from the death of a woman he professed to love very quickly) is seen grinning like some crack-induced schoolboy as he remotely controls a car around a parking garage. Then his apparent disregard for innocent passerbys as he sends the (potentially lethal) weapon hurtling down to the streets below. What a moron!
Replacing the great score by Eric Serra, we are instead served up a paint-by-numbers score by David Arnold who doesn't appear to have an original bone in his body, relying instead on plagiarising former tracks and the criminal overuse of the James Bond theme. It is unforgiveable that instead of giving us something original. Arnold instead spoils for all-time such an iconic piece of music.
It's hardly surprising that Mike Kitchen decided not to show up in this movie (he probably saw the script and did a pass on it), but we do have Desmond Llewelyn looking like Santa Claus in a ridiculous red car rental uniform. |
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