Tomorrow Never Dies Review
by Walter Frith (wfrith AT netinc DOT ca)December 22nd, 1997
'Tomorrow Never Dies'
A movie review by Walter Frith
When Pierce Brosnan came on to the scene as James Bond in 1995's 'GoldenEye', there was new hope for the classic spy character. There hadn't been a Bond film in six years since 1989's 'License to Kill' and there hadn't been a truly great Bond film since 1983's 'Octopussy' which was the second last Bond movie featuring Roger Moore as 007.
The 007 franchise has been lacking in insightful screenplays in recent years and while 'Tomorrow Never Dies' is an average action film, it certainly shows no relation to the Bond tradition. It's one of the most poorly edited films I've ever seen and Brosnan's take on the British secret service agent this time around is the shallowest I've ever seen from any of the men who have portrayed the man who likes his Martinis shaken and not...you know the rest. Brosnan has very little dialogue and the plot is a lackluster and cynical one which may not be too far from the truth the future may hold for planet Earth but its music video style presentation and protracted action sequences make it utterly forgettable.
Jonathan Pryce plays the super villain who happens to be an extremely powerful international media mogul who is behind the crimes that eventually make news which his organization capitalizes on and he draws many parallels to some of the corporate manipulation which is very real and there are some good inside jokes on the essence of life in the technologically advanced 1990's. Pryce's wife (Teri Hatcher) is an old flame of Bond's and along for the ride is a Chinese government agent working to achieve the same thing as Bond for her government and she reluctantly hooks up with 007 at the right moments.
For some reason, the forces behind the creation of any James Bond movie seem to think that audiences will enjoy over and over again the fact that James Bond's cars will be jazzed up with violent gadgets and self defence devices and it would be nice if they would look for a different angle. How about something hidden in 007's bow tie, his cigarette lighter or even his belt buckle? In 'Tomorrow Never Dies' Bond has a remote controlled car that saves his life at just the right moment and in many ways the car is more exciting than any of the characters, dialogue or situations that go down.
I felt as if I was watching a Steven Seagal or Jean-Claude Van Damme movie instead of a Bond flick. Trashy but flashy, not boring but not
memorable, 'Tomorrow Never Dies' will disappoint a Bond fan but may please someone who doesn't care about or has never seen a 007 entry in the series, mainly the new generation.
OUT OF 5> * * 1/2
Visit FILM FOLLOW-UP by Walter Frith
http://home.netinc.ca/~wfrith/movies.htm
More on 'Tomorrow Never Dies'...
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
