Tomorrow Never Dies

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Runtime: 119 minutes

Directed by: Roger Spottiswoode

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh, Teri Hatcher, Ricky Jay

From: United Artists

As of late I have rewatched a few older Bond films. Tuesday night I decided to see one I never reviewed here before. I can only say this is fine at best but it is better than the next two movies in the franchise after this one. My Letterboxd review is below:

I continued my Bond watching and this time I went to a film I never reviewed here before, as it's been awhile since I had seen it. While not great I always thought the movie was fine and another movie only reaffirmed that.

The bad guy here is outside the box thinking: basically, an evil Rupert Murdoch (or an even more evil Rupert Murdoch, depending on how you feel about him; I won't start talking about my feelings as I know better than to possibly stir the pot like that), a media mogul who wishes to start a war for ratings and newspaper sales-yep, this is dated-..and out of the deal he'll end up getting a lot of moolah. For a long while I have noticed the power of the media and how it delivers information... and too often, misinformation.

That seems a lot more true now than it did back then, with those garbage cable news networks (don't get me started on how awful they are to the core) and the 24/7 online news cycle where it's more important to report first than report right. Anyhow, Elliot Carver is not such a bad idea for a character; Jonathan Pryce does a quality job with what he was given but originally it was to be played by none other than Anthony Hopkins; he quit after a few days as production started with no script! That is the biggest problem with this, the rushed production.

It is a shame they planned so poorly and things were so rushed, as I know this would have been better and I'd rate it higher. As is I can enjoy all the action scenes (which there are many of), even if I am not sure if Roger Spottiswoode was the right choice for this. It just seemed odd considering his pedigree. The second unit director is Vic Armstrong and he has all sorts of experience doing odds and ends in the action world, but I have a feeling he was handcuffed by the shooting schedule. And what a thankless role they gave Teri Hatcher.

Complaints aside, at least this wasn't bad. The opening sequence is very good; it's a swell way to start things off. There are such characters as Stamper, the typical “tough huge European bodyguard” you often find in the franchise, and he looks like a cross between Dolph Lundgren and Billy Idol. 007 teaming up with Michelle Yeoh sounds awesome; it's not always effective but the idea is great. This globetrotting adventure goes to such places as Germany and Vietnam (actually Thailand; Vietnam dragged their feet so they couldn't shoot on location). There are some quality action beats, especially the remote control BMW 750 scene.

By the way, with Ricky Jay (as a “techno-terrorist”) and Vincent Schivaelli in the cast, I laugh to myself thinking what a Mamet, Milos Forman or a Paul Thomas Anderson Bond picture would have been like... I think it would have been better than having Sheryl Crow sing the title song; no offense but she isn't the type of singer to do such a tune. There's a k.d. lang closing credits song and while not a "hip popular" singer like Crow was at the time, that would have been a better choice to hear during the colorful title sequence.

To quote other people, this is like a lesser version of The Spy Who Loved Me, and when I do a new review of that later in the year, I'll talk about how that really is the case. And to think things got worse for the Bond franchise in the next two movies.