Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Pierce Brosnan returns for his second stint as James Bond (after GoldenEye), and he's doing it in high style with an invigorating cast of costars. It's only appropriate that a Bond film from 1997 would find Agent 007 pitted against a media mogul (Jonathan Pryce) who's going to start a global war (beginning with stolen nuclear missiles aimed at China) to create attention-grabbing headlines for his latest multimedia news channel. It's the information age run amok, and Bond must team up with a lovely and lethal agent from the Chinese External Security Force (played by Honk Kong action star Michelle Yeoh) to foil the madman's plot of global domination. Luckily for Bond, the villain's wife (Teri Hatcher) is one of his former lovers, and at the behest of his superior M (Judi Dench), 007 finds ample opportunity to exploit the connection. Although it bears some nagging similarities to many formulaic action films from the '90s, Tomorrow Never Dies (with a title song performed by Sheryl Crow) boasts enough grand-scale action and sufficiently intelligent plotting to suggest the Bond series has plenty of potential to survive into the next millennium. Armed with the usual array of gadgets (including a remote-controlled BMW), Brosnan settles into his role with acceptable flair, and the dynamic Yeoh provides a perfect balance to the sexism that once threatened to turn Bond into a politically incorrect anachronism. He's still Bond, to be sure, but he's saving the world with a bit more sophisticated finesse. In addition to theatrical trailers, this special edition DVD comes with a feature-length audio commentary by director Roger Spottiswoode, more commentary by stunt director Vic Armstrong and producer Michael G. Wilson, a storyboard overlay that compares action-sequence concepts with final footage, a 45-minute "Secrets of 007" featurette covering the evolution of the Bond character, and an isolated music-only track with an interview of composer David Arnold. Bond would be proud.--Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

A bit tedious

The final half hour is an overwrought shoot out aboard a stealth craft that is too long by 25 minutes. Nothing happens except a lot of fake bullets fly endlessly. Otherwise, the plot, thinly disguised as a spoof on Rupert Murdoch, involves the usual megalomaniac -in this case, a media mogul - bent on creating world havoc for his own gain. Brosnan is cool in the early going, and the opener, involving an arms bazaar and a nuclear bomb carrying jet fighter is great, as usual with Bond films. The story line overall is just so-so. The title track by Sheryl Crowe is one of the better Bonds. December 3, 2008

Send In The What?

I love all of the Bond movies, but in order to enjoy this one you have to suspend belief to a greater degree than usual. Why? Quite simply because we are supposed to believe that a media mogul will risk starting World War III just to grab a few headlines.

Even more ludicrous than that is the statement made at the beginning of the film when it appears that the Chinese have sunk a British warship, and a bright spark exclaims, "Send in the Navy!" Send in the what? I consider myself to be a fiercely patriotic, flag-waving Brit, but Britain now has more Admirals than ships, and the mere suggestion that Britain would single-handedly take on the might of China is laughable.

Still, Bond is Bond. Suspend your belief system and enjoy the action - three stars for the action, and the loss of two stars for the ridiculous plot. October 29, 2008

Tomorrow Never Dies (Special Edition) dies dull death

As much as Pierce Brosnan is a favorite actor, pairing him with Terri Hatcher was not a great choice. Watch it for Jonathon Pryce, who is brilliant as the villian, and Dame Judy Dench as the perfect M. June 30, 2008

Classic Bond

Traumatised by my ghasty experience of watching 'Casino Roayle', I decided to cheer myself up by watching a really good Bond movie. I never really cared that much for Pierce Brosnan by comparison with my favourite Bond, Roger Moore, but compared with the dreary nonentity in 'Casino Royale' Brosnan is a prince among men.

This film has everything you want in a Bond movie. Among the many pleasures of this film is an outstanding performance by Jonathan Pryce, clearly enjoying himself hugely playing the mad villain, media mogul Elliot Carver (who bears a striking resemblance to Rupert Murdoch, quite coincidental I am sure). There is lots of humour, plenty of amazing gadgets, a most satisfyingly tough heroine who can do amazing karate kicks, and the most thrilling chase ever in a Bond movie, with Bond and the fesity heroine handcuffed together on a motor bike, tearing through crowded city streets, over rooftops etc, fantastic.

They don't, alas, make Bond movies like this any more. July 10, 2007

Best Bond Film Ever Made!

Ok, so I love a lot of Bond films, but this one is at the very top of my list with "The Spy Who Loved Me" and "The World is Not Enough." The acting is great, the action is better than most any Bond film, (excluding Casino Royale, which blew my mind with it's high impact chases and fights,) and the score by David Arnold is an instant classic.

This is Bond, James Bond at his absolute best. BUY IT!! June 24, 2007

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