Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Pierce Brosnan leaps into action as Agent 007 in this spectacular thrill ride of death-defying stunts and amazing high-tech gadgets. In the most electrifying Bond film yet the unstoppable action hero must prevent a tremendous disaster ripped from tomorrow s headlines. Someone is pitting the world s superpowers against each other and only James Bond can stop it. When a British warship is mysteriously destroyed in Chinese waters the world teeters on the brink of WWIII until 007 zeros in on the true criminal mastermind. Bond s do-or-die mission takes him to Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce) a powerful industrialist who manipulates world events as easily as he changes headlines from his global media empire. After soliciting help from Carver s sexy wife Paris (Teri Hatcher) Bond joins forces with a stunning yet lethal Chinese agent Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh) in a series of explosive chases brutal confrontations and breathtaking escapes as they race to stop the presses on Carver s next planned news story: global pandemonium! With powerhouse action sequences including a wild motorcycle pursuit through (and over!) Saigon Tomorrow Never Dies is a thrilling action-adventure that roars from start to finish with the throttle wide open (Gene Shalit NBC-TV)!Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE UPC: 027616066794 Manufacturer No: M106681 Product Description

My Fav

This is my favorite Bond film. I was born in 90' so i was 7 when the film was released and did not see it til i was 9 and i have been a Bond fan ever since although the Daniel Craig Films are an insult the the entire franchise as they dis-credit all the original films.

Bond must stop a Media Tycoon from starting WWIII for Higher Television ratings and exclusives for his company. Armed with Expert marksmenship and nifty gadgets bond goes undercover to get close to the tycoon and runs into an old friend as well. June 19, 2008

4.5; a strong Brosnan outing

"Tomorrow Never Dies" in a strange way feels like that "other" Bond movie since to many people, the first 90's revival film, "Goldeneye", was very well-received and brought a classic Nintendo 64 game with it. This film, Pierce Brosnan's second outing, is a bit more stronger in terms of pacing and its action sequences though it doesn't have that reverence the previous film did which is a shame. Sure there's some elements, like all Bond films, which don't quite make it perfect, it's got plenty of bullets, quips and babes for any Bond lover to be entertained by.

A British naval ship, the Devonshire, had drifted too close to Chinese waters and the event leads the Devonshire sunk and a Chinese fighter destroyed. But a third ship, a stealth ship owned by media mogul Elliot Carver, used technology to fool both sides and the result creates a possible start to World War III. 007 James Bond is sent in to investigate Carver's plans and with the help of Carver's wife Paris (and an old flame of Bond's) and Wai Lin, a chinese agent, Bond tries to stop 2 powerful governments from declaring war on each other.

I'm going to get the negatives out of the way so it doesn't sound like I'm complaining too much. For one, the lack of a strong villain kind of hurts the film and though we have acclaimed actor Jonathan Pryce ("Brazil") playing the role, he seems more like a man behind the scenes playing with toys than a threat. And the plot isn't exactly new and Carver's whole reason for doing it is kind of "...wha?". However, this film has some of the best action sequences of the Brosnan era, from the pre-credit fighter jet scuffle, to Bond literally backseat driving as well as my favorite, when they drive up and all around a city on motorcycle. This scene is right up there with the tank chase in "Goldeneye" or the boat chase in "World is Not Enough".

Acting-wise, there's not a whole lot to nitpick about, aside from the villains. Carver's muscle "Mr. Stamper" is kind of laughable and M. played by Judi Dench nearly loses her strong confidence she exerted last time but she's still a nice foil to have around. Brosnan, the fifth Bond, is starting to get more and more comfortable in his role which is sad since the series started to get more laughable and a bit silly but his charm and wit combined with handling the rifles and fight scenes works very well and special kudos to Michelle Yeoh for doing probably the best Bond girl.

"Tomorrow Never Dies", complete with one of the few Sheryl Crow songs I can tolerate, is probably the last good Bond before it went into decent-ish followups and I'd recommend checking it out. June 10, 2008

A Good Bond Film

Quality of film is good with actors involved makes it even better. The storyline makes for an exciting movie. January 27, 2008

Shaken, not stirred

What can I say, its James Bond 007!
I am glad they released these separate for us who can not dump a large sum for the whole set at once!

....this review will self destruct in 30 seconds

*oops*
wrong show! December 23, 2007

One of the best action-intensive Bond films

Tomorrow Never Dies is directed by Roger Spottiswoode. The film stars Pierce Brosnan and co-stars Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh, Teri Hatcher, Ricky Jay, Gotz Otto, Joe Don Baker, Vincent Schiavelli, Judi Dence, Desmond Llewelyn, Samantha Bond, Colin Salmon, Geoffrey Palmer, Julian Fellowes. David Arnold contributes the film's score and Sheryl Crow sings the title song. K.D. Lang and Moby also make contributions.

Following a mission to an arms bazaar, in which he successfully stops a potential nuclear disaster, James Bond is given another assignment. Elliot Carver, one of the most-renowned media moguls in the world, has recently published a report on a disaster in the South China Sea. However, M becomes suspicious when his publications all get their information suspiciously fast, so Bond is sent to investigate. Teaming up with a Chinese agent, Bond pursues this new threat, who is ultimately trying to turn the east and west against each other, and start another world war.

Tomorrow Never Dies is a far cry from other James Bond films, because it's more of a straight action film, with far less emphasis on espionage. What's even more surprising is that this change of pace still makes for an enjoyable film. It's not quite the masterpiece Goldeneye was before it, but it's still one of the above-average entries in the series.

Once again Pierce Brosnan is excellent as Bond. Easily one of the best actors to play the role, he wins the audience over in scene after scene. Whether he's trying to woo over Carver's wife to get information out of her or in the midst of a motorcycle chase in eastern Asia, he gives another great Bond performance here.

And yet again, the supporting cast is brilliant. Jonathan Pryce does a great job as Elliot Carver, James Bond's latest nemesis. I'm not sure how best to describe his performance or character, but I'll put it this way - this is one of the more memorable Bond villains of recent years. Also great is Michelle Yeoh, who portrays Bond's Chinese ally in the battle against Carver and his schemes. As tough and daring than Bond, she's a great character and steals the show in every scene she is featured in. Some brief but still memorable roles include Joe Don Baker reprising his role as CIA agent Jack Wade, and Vincent Schiavelli as an assassin hired by Carver. Great cast, need I say more?

As far as action scenes go, this film offers more of them than a good many Bond films, and these are some of the finest around. Amongst the great scenes are its pre-credits scene with Bond attempting to stop a nuclear disaster, a motorcycle chase through an Asian village, and of course, the final battle in Carver's ocean hideaway. You'll never take your eyes off the screen.

The only real weakness with this film is its plot. The whole "turning two nations against each other to start another world war" thing essentially carbon-copied from You Only Live Twice - Carver is trying to do the same thing Blofeld tried in that earlier film. Likewise, the "tomorrow's news today" thing is nothing new. Still, there aren't enough issues here to derail the film.

This was the first James Bond film to be scored by David Arnold, now the regular scorer of Bond films. Unlike the experimental and often ill-received Eric Serra score from the previous Bond outing, Goldeneye, Arnold's score is vintage Bond. He borrows heavily from John Barry's style and, of course, reprises Monty Norman's classic Bond theme. He puts his own unique spin on things as well, giving this classical-styled music a modern twist. The multi-talented Sheryl Crow performs the title song, one of the best Bond opening themes of recent years. Equally impressive is the film's closing credits song, Surrender, performed by K.D. Lang. And also not to be overlooked in the music is a remix of the James Bond theme done by Moby - which is better than you might think! There is a lot of great music here, adding to an already-great film.

Ultimately, Tomorrow Never Dies is a success. It's not the most plot-intensive Bond film out there, but that doesn't matter. This is an above-average Bond film with action scenes galore, and a memorable cast of characters in every scene. Easily one of the best post-eighties Bond films.

Thumbs up

This film, like all of the other official EON productions, was remastered and reissued in 2006. Be sure to get one of the new remastered versions, because the frame-by-frame remaster job is incredible.
December 8, 2007

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