Tomorrow Never Dies Review
Q-Branch_2012
Posts: 80MI6 Agent
Goldeneye hit all the right notes in Bonds return to our screens with Pierce Brosnan starring in the title role. The sequel to the movie was always going to be a hard on to follow. Tomorrow Never Dies does deliver on some levels, but fails on many others. In my opinion this movie is a mediocre affair, with some high notes and some low notes.
Tomorrow Never Dies starts off in excellent fashion, for me it follows on right where GoldenEye leaves. We have a great pre-title sequence where Bond is monitoring some arms dealing when the heavy handed Navy decide to send a missile over to interrupt the party. Bond shows the via a camera that one of the planes contain nuclear missiles, so naturally Bond has to save the day, single headedly disrupting the party and getting away in the plane containing the nuclear missiles, but the best part is when a pilot who was previously knocked out in the passenger seat awakens, and tries to kill Bond, but for his troubles Bond hits the ejector seat sending him sailing into the enemy plane above. Great stuff.
We are then given an excellent title sequence and song, which I really enjoy and is one of my favourites. The visuals on screen are stunning and the theme tune is hauntingly deep. Its a shame we can't say the same about the movie.
The movie soon stats to go downhill when we discover the bad guy is a chap named Elliot Carver, who is planning the news of tomorrow, today, by influencing and creating headlines. He looks like Sven Goren Erikkson, and in my opinion is quite week in the role, especially after having such a terrific one in the shape of Sean Bean in the previous movie. Carver is using an American Decoder to start a war between China and the UK, which means the Chinese government being replaced and instead getting a new one that would give him some exclusive broadcast rights. Carver's girlfriend is an old flame of Bond's, Paris, who knows Bond is a spy. Paris is played by Teri Hatcher, who at the time was fresh off the set of the Lois and Clark tv series (This would score Bond some MAN points, taking Supermans girl). Also mixed into this plot is Chinese agent Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh) who is also investigating Carver, who reluctantly ends up working with, and falling for Bond (surprise, surprise).
We do see some great action sequences in the movie, the pre-title sequence needs a worthy mention, as does Bond stelaing the decoder, which includes Wai Lin walking down the wall. I also like the car chase with Bond using his remote controlled BMW in the garage, which takes place shortly after the previous scene mentioned. The remote controlled car is pretty ludicrous as it has the controls built into a mobile phone, with a touch screen to steer, I thought it looked pretty poor on screen, but at least gave us some good action. At least in Back to the Future, the remote control worked looked believable.
I think the main things that let this movie down is the poor plot and in some cases poor acting. The story is rather weak, I really didn't like Eliot Carver the character, and I thought Jonathon Pryce who played him seemed slightly wooden, and at times a little uncomfortable in the role. The character was poor, and I don't think the had the right actor to play the part. I also was really annoyed by Vincent Schiavelli as Dr. Kaufman, he was supposed to be an assassin, but again looked miss-cast, and I always cringe at the lines, where he is about to kill Bond and then says "I feel like an idiot, we need you to open your car, we can't get it open", I think that line just sums up the movie for me.
Pierce Brosnan is again great in this movie, he looks like he thoroughly enjoyed playing the character. Brosnan is very much Bond, and owns the role in this movie, I don't think he puts a foot wrong. He is definitely on form. Judi Dench is great as usual, and I also enjoyed the small role of Teri Hatcher. I have mixed feelings about Michelle Yeoh as Wai Lin, I did like the character at times and thought Michelle was good in the part, she definitely looked like a super-spy, I think my main concern is that she could have done with a little more screen time, particularly at the beginning of the movie so we could get bought into the character a little more. Joe Don Baker as Jack Wade returns from GoldenEye, and is just as entertaining as he was in the last movie, it is a nice touch to see recurring roles, it makes the movies feel more canon with one another, I think there is nothing worse that different actors playing the same role in the same franchise.
All in all this movie has some great sequences and some good Bond moments, but what it makes up for in action and one-liners, it really lacks in plot and character. Elliot Carver is a big let down for me and when it is all over I couldn't help feeling a little let down.
Tomorrow Never Dies starts off in excellent fashion, for me it follows on right where GoldenEye leaves. We have a great pre-title sequence where Bond is monitoring some arms dealing when the heavy handed Navy decide to send a missile over to interrupt the party. Bond shows the via a camera that one of the planes contain nuclear missiles, so naturally Bond has to save the day, single headedly disrupting the party and getting away in the plane containing the nuclear missiles, but the best part is when a pilot who was previously knocked out in the passenger seat awakens, and tries to kill Bond, but for his troubles Bond hits the ejector seat sending him sailing into the enemy plane above. Great stuff.
We are then given an excellent title sequence and song, which I really enjoy and is one of my favourites. The visuals on screen are stunning and the theme tune is hauntingly deep. Its a shame we can't say the same about the movie.
The movie soon stats to go downhill when we discover the bad guy is a chap named Elliot Carver, who is planning the news of tomorrow, today, by influencing and creating headlines. He looks like Sven Goren Erikkson, and in my opinion is quite week in the role, especially after having such a terrific one in the shape of Sean Bean in the previous movie. Carver is using an American Decoder to start a war between China and the UK, which means the Chinese government being replaced and instead getting a new one that would give him some exclusive broadcast rights. Carver's girlfriend is an old flame of Bond's, Paris, who knows Bond is a spy. Paris is played by Teri Hatcher, who at the time was fresh off the set of the Lois and Clark tv series (This would score Bond some MAN points, taking Supermans girl). Also mixed into this plot is Chinese agent Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh) who is also investigating Carver, who reluctantly ends up working with, and falling for Bond (surprise, surprise).
We do see some great action sequences in the movie, the pre-title sequence needs a worthy mention, as does Bond stelaing the decoder, which includes Wai Lin walking down the wall. I also like the car chase with Bond using his remote controlled BMW in the garage, which takes place shortly after the previous scene mentioned. The remote controlled car is pretty ludicrous as it has the controls built into a mobile phone, with a touch screen to steer, I thought it looked pretty poor on screen, but at least gave us some good action. At least in Back to the Future, the remote control worked looked believable.
I think the main things that let this movie down is the poor plot and in some cases poor acting. The story is rather weak, I really didn't like Eliot Carver the character, and I thought Jonathon Pryce who played him seemed slightly wooden, and at times a little uncomfortable in the role. The character was poor, and I don't think the had the right actor to play the part. I also was really annoyed by Vincent Schiavelli as Dr. Kaufman, he was supposed to be an assassin, but again looked miss-cast, and I always cringe at the lines, where he is about to kill Bond and then says "I feel like an idiot, we need you to open your car, we can't get it open", I think that line just sums up the movie for me.
Pierce Brosnan is again great in this movie, he looks like he thoroughly enjoyed playing the character. Brosnan is very much Bond, and owns the role in this movie, I don't think he puts a foot wrong. He is definitely on form. Judi Dench is great as usual, and I also enjoyed the small role of Teri Hatcher. I have mixed feelings about Michelle Yeoh as Wai Lin, I did like the character at times and thought Michelle was good in the part, she definitely looked like a super-spy, I think my main concern is that she could have done with a little more screen time, particularly at the beginning of the movie so we could get bought into the character a little more. Joe Don Baker as Jack Wade returns from GoldenEye, and is just as entertaining as he was in the last movie, it is a nice touch to see recurring roles, it makes the movies feel more canon with one another, I think there is nothing worse that different actors playing the same role in the same franchise.
All in all this movie has some great sequences and some good Bond moments, but what it makes up for in action and one-liners, it really lacks in plot and character. Elliot Carver is a big let down for me and when it is all over I couldn't help feeling a little let down.
Check out all my Bond related Movie Reviews - http://www.Movie-Blogger.com/users/q-branch2012/
Comments
There are some elements which do stand out for me however. First is the PTS as you mentioned, really good! Now, unlike most I do actually enjoy Elliot Carver. Not to say he is in the upper echelons of Bond villains, but he is also certainly nowhere near the bottom of my list. I also enjoy the bike chase in Saigon. Also, some of the quieter scenes are quite good in my opinion, especially the scenes between Bond and Paris Carver. I also particularly enjoy the confrontation with Dr Kaufmann. I think Brosnan does a very good job with the role, so if the film is unmemorable it is not really his fault!
Wait...wait...wait.....Let's start over with viewpoint the that Tomorrow Never Dies is actually a better Bond film than Goldeneye. Then you might actually get my attention.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
#1 The Living Daylights
#2 License To Kill
#3 Tomorrow Never Dies
#4 Goldeneye
#5 Doctor No
#6 Thunderball
#7 You Only Live Twice
#8 The World Is Not Enough
#9 Quantum Of Solace
#10 Goldfinger
#11 Casino Royale
#12 Octopussy
#13 The Man With The Golden Gun
#14 On Her Majesty's Secret Service
#15 Live And Let Die
#16 For Your Eyes Only
#17 From Russia With Love
#18 The Spy Who Loved Me
#19 Skyfall
#20 Diamonds Are Forever
#21 Die Another Day
#22 A View To A Kill
#23 Moonraker
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
I couldn't help but notice this.... (how right you are)
..and the spelling flubs just keep on...errr... coming...
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
Of course it is! Brosnan is more confident in the role (not that he lacked confidence in his debut, of course) and the score knocks GE's into the hole it deserves. The plot works just fine IMHO, and Pryce hams his part up superbly.
Elliot Carver is a joy to watch -{
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
TWINE and DAD have been classic Bond films as well overall, but both have something that has the "unusual" feel about it.
In TWINE it's the plot twist with Elektra and in DAD it's the sci-fi stuff like the invisible car, the Icarus and the Robo-Suit.
As I said overall I'd call both still classic Bond but not to 100%.
Tomorrow Never Dies has all the ingredients it needs, to be the 18th film in line with all that came before.
TND had the great misfortune to come after the worldwide loved GoldenEye that even wrote pop culture history. Even with TND not really much weaker than GoldenEye, it never had the "magical aura" that GoldenEye had two years earlier.
But because it's after GE, the film in general became underrated, a fate that happened to quite a few Bond films that came after pop culture influencing Bond films.
Pierce Brosnan was the definite Bond for the nineties and 00s. His tenure was cut short for all the wrong reasons but there is no doubt he would have continued the great success he had with his four films for EON with a fifth and possibly sixth film.
Tomorrow Never Dies is probably the strongest second film of any actor except Sean Connery, but it even can be argued that DN-FRWL is not a much stronger vehicle than GE-TND, it's all a matter of taste and those are of two very different cinematic times naturally.
The cast in TND is superb and it has many colourful, wonderfully over the top characters and the big contrast to them in Wai Lin who is everything but OTT, even in acting, she is subtle, precise and has great on-screen presence.
Jonathan Pryce is the perfect villain of our times. Still. A media mogul that wants to dominate the news world, creating news and even fake news. There are even hints at Bill Gates omnipresent Microsoft in the nineties.
Elliot Carver remains to date the most realistic of villains that is so deliciously over the top at the same time. We did get LeChiffre who I would rank to be the best villain in the series overall, even if his "masterplan" was only making money and a poker game.
Stamper, the cliché German bad guy is played with such panache by Götz Otto. Every second of screen time is a treat and he is such a perfect fit to Elliot Carver.
And there is the secret sensation of the film, if not one of the true sensations of the franchise.
Vincent Schiavelli's Dr. Kaufman.
Vincent was known to put a universe of character depth into his tiniest roles. He got his recognition, finally with Ghost and became forever remembered through TND. His Dr. Kaufman has more depth in the five minutes of screen time than most villains that came after him.
Pierce Brosnan is at the top of his game in TND, his tenure is especially even concerning him owning the screen as James Bond and his acting and looks.
The fun Pierce has playing Bond is visible in about every scene he is in, something that is true for DAD especially and TWINE as well. Even in GE it's obvious he feels privileged to play Bond, and his few moments of obvious on-screen nervousness are easily forgiven.
This level of fun playing James Bond has since been lost, tragically.
Spottiswoode does a wonderful job, unspectacular (except the PTS) he directs the film precise and visually straight-forward. If anything then it is maybe a bit too "sterile" directing in some parts.
The cinematography is very good and the film is colourful and visually realistic, no nonsense with colour filters, that of course were already present and used in the 90s.
David Arnold is giving his first score of many to follow. David Arnold is the definite successor to John Barry, while he can never outdo him like nobody can ever outdo Sean Connery, he still is almost as iconic.
The score is gripping, rhythmic, melodic, it perfectly underlines the action, the quieter scenes as well. The use of the two main songs of the film is also one of Arnold's strength that he repeatedly showed again in future film.
The story and plot of TND is still so very "today" and "tomorrow". The manipulating media mogul, dominating the media world, it's still there today.
The endgame on the stealth ship gets often criticised. Personally I love it and it was not the first time Bond is using a machine gun in a fight. Moore did it in TSWLM if only briefly. Dalton used assault rifles repeatedly and of course Craig without one is unthinkable.
Therefore to call Brosnan the "video game" Bond as I often hear is completely false.
TND is the definite 90s action/spy film, more than GoldenEye who has a very nice almost 80s feel to it.
The PTS is my personal favourite in the series. The execution, the score, the action, it is its own short full film. Look at the many wonderful actors that participate in that PTS. Judi Dench is having fun and I claim it's the highlight of her tenure.
TND's PTS is more Bond than much that came in next decades.
The quotability of TND is wonderful. So many great lines and so much humour. Every single word spoken by Dr. Kaufman is priceless and unforgettable. Dialogue has always been a strong suit of the EON Bond films up to this point.
Tomorrow Never Dies is 20 years old this year. It's incredible how well it has aged and it could be re-done more or less the same and showed again. The new spy films are all very full of humour, self-parody, colourful and OTT action.
TND is the blueprint to what we should get these days.
I do have to mention Paris Carver. She has been treated very unfairly over all the years due to Teri Hatcher who had an unfortunate time shooting her scenes. She is not the bad actress everyone seems to claim. I rather like her in her few scenes but sure, overall she remains rather boring compared to what came before and what came after her. Her character though is important for the plot and it gives Brosnan wonderful opportunity to show his emotional side which he does so good. He is always believable.
TND has it all, the dialogue, the score, Brosnan in the zone, the action, the fun, the humour, the story, the looks, the wonderful characters.
Unlike most of the second films, TND could have been Brosnan's first and it would not have made a difference on the success of Brosnan's tenure. Imagine that with QOS, LTK or TMWTGG.
....last but not least....Desmond's Q in TND
It is my favourite appearance of Desmond. There may be a few that can be called better but then Desmond always was just perfect.
What I love about this appearance is that it's his last solo Q as in TWINE there was R as well.
Furthermore THAT SUIT!! And just look, look at Brosnan's reaction!!!!! Watch that scene now. Honestly, I miss such things...
THIS is how I define Bond, the looks have to be right.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
I've always liked TND. I remember leaving the cinema really pumped up, I was so excited by it. Great action
and Brosnan was simply so cool. The car chase was really inventive, some great ideas. {[]
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
of course the brilliant double entendre.
A few thoughts:
- I agree with Brosnan that Monica Belluchi would have been a better Paris Carver.
- "Surrender" should have been the title song.
- Tomorrow Never Lies should have been kept as the title.
- I found the scene where Bond Steens the car by mobile phone jarring. He's just found Paris dead, and just moment later he is laughing and smiling like a kid with his new toy. It almost made him look like a psycopath.
On the other hand I did like the PTS and I agree Dr. Kaufmann was an excellent henchman.
The bold red font in the cons section of the TND thread made me believe that you hated the character. (I hope that's you who made that message. Wouldn't want to confuse you for anyone else.)
Excellent write up.
Many think that TND was made by a komitee but damnit if every movie was made that way we would've had some truly remarkable films.
TND remains my favourite of Brozzer's due to its consistency.
GE may have been more iconic but I prefer "Terminator-mode" Bond to snooze-fest Bond.
Pros: EVERYTHING ELSE.
That was my message there. Yes it looks bad for Hatcher when I re-read that now. It was a bold and simple way to express that she is the only weak link in an otherwise practically flawless movie.
Seeing you explain it helped me out a bunch.
I personally believe that TND retained some of the magic that GE had in the hotel scene.
That scene and "sleep with a gun under your pillow" were this film's equivalent to Natalya at the beach.
I won't quote your entire post, but I loved it and agree. {[]
I've said this before, but TND came at a crucial time in my life, both personally and professionally. Without going into details, I was under a lot of pressure. I snuck away to watch the film (ignoring my phone and bleeper) and for two hours or so I was blissfully in James Bond's world. I was captivated by David Arnold's score (yes, "Surrender" should have been the title song), Brosnan's spot-on performance, and the use of Bond plot #2 (which they will use again, nothing surer). For those few hours I was separated from my real life problems, and I will always be grateful to this film for that, which admittedly makes me view it with rose-coloured glasses.
(Bond plot #1: 007 is sent to investigate super-rich villain who is suspected of shady dealings (gold? diamonds? microchips? Faberge egg?) and finds that there is much more going on.
Bond plot #2: Villain is trying to set two world powers at war- 007 teams up with beautiful female agent against their mutual enemy.)
However these two characters annoy me...
Paris just doesn't feel as if she fits into the overall narrative and Brosnan is visibly trying way too hard in the scene in the hotel. It just makes me not believe that she fits into the plot, Bond's background and Carver's life. It's there to get the audience to feel something. It belongs in a soap opera.
Kaufman isn't menacing, he's a comedy act. While I like Vincent Schiavelli, they should've cast someone German, unknown and actually scary. While Schiavelli looks a little odd, he isn't threatening. Brosnan is sitting in the corner brooding and while the kill is satisfactory - it's a little too much there because it's supposed to make you feel a certain way - but fails.
Other than that, I am enjoying TND more each time I watch it. I just has a slight b-film lameness to it based on some badly written characters, some pretty poor acting, completely OTT action (helicopter chopping up the street) and too many machine guns.
"Better make that two."
...later...
"Don't argue with women. They are always right."
I like the running gags that GE/TND have and it is a treat to people who have been paying attention.
It's progress for the character but a sort of detachment from the original Fleming character, as is Bond not smoking cigarettes.
That's adapting to the times for you.
Paris works well into the story and adds some emotional depth into the movie while not being hindered by mediocre/bad acting (TWINE) IMO.
TND is indeed an excellent movie, though I would argue that the last classic Bond film would be LTK.
Tomorrow is taking what they've learned from the previous era of filmmakers and capitalising on everything.
For me CR broke with too many rules and therefore has altered the formula too much, that's why DAD is the last of the classic Bond films. SPECTRE tried to correct that error and succeeded to a good part.
I believe that with a new era we'll get another Moore/Brosnan like era which will be great.
As I said in my review I believe TND is the blueprint for what we should get nowadays instead of the Bond-light overly drama soap stuff.
Now that I can agree with. -{
"Better make that two."
Currently it is ranked 20 out of 24.
Rank your films here: https://www.ajb007.co.uk/topic/22305/the-ultimate-bond-ranking-your-120/page/50/
See the ranking of rankings results here: https://www.ajb007.co.uk/topic/48909/ultimate-members-rankings-spectre-to-2017/
Get ranking folks.
"Better make that two."