Tomorrow Never Dies

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh, Teri Hatcher, Joe Don Baker, Judi Dench, Desmond Llewelyn
Directed by: Roger Spottiswoode
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
1997

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: A media mogul (Jonathan Pryce) is determined to start World War III for the ratings for his news network. Only James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) can stands in his way.

Review:

Tim: After the franchise saving Goldeneye (the best Bond movie ever), there was some question of whether or not Tomorrow Never Dies could live up to those expectations. While this is a good movie, it can't match its predecessor. I thought this was a good, enjoyable Bond movie, but certainly not one of the best. There are too many weaknesses which detract from this movie.

One of my biggest issues with this film is that the villain is a bit hard to believe. In the previous film, we had 006 as the main villain, which is pretty much the coolest villain you could have. In this film, we had a media mogul, whose main objective is to supply his news network with exclusive news stories for ratings. There is just a big drop off here. I am sure the idea that news reporters sometimes stray into actually making the news is relevant, but it just isn't that exciting. It is hard to believe, too. We're supposed to believe that the villain is willing to start a massive war between Britain and China for some good ratings. That's a big ridiculous.

Pierce Brosnan is once again good as Bond. I liked that he was getting more comfortable in the role, but I wish he had better lines of dialogue. I think the "They'll print anything these days" line is an example of the lazy writing that went into this film. I wish Bond had some better lines. The supporting cast isn't great, either. Jonathan Pryce is fine as the main villain, but I think he went too over the top a number of times. I really liked Teri Hatcher as one of Bond's allies, and I thought they had an interesting, fleshed out history together. I wish Hatcher had more screen time, though. I wasn't a huge fan of Michelle Yeoh. I thought she did a servicable job, but was not great by any stretch.

The biggest problem I have with this film is that while entertaining in the moment, there is almost no staying power. The story and the events are almost completely forgettable. When I saw this film in theaters, I almost completely forgot it immediately. Watching it again, much of the film has disappeared from my memory within days of watching it. The film is simply not memorable at all. Now, I do admit that while watching the film, it was fairly enjoyable. It is simply a lightweight kind of entertainment.

I really like Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, although I was a bit disappointed with this movie. It is a solid Bond film, and enjoyable, but after the booming success of Goldeneye, this film can only be viewed as a letdown. I believe that Brosnan's first film suggested a new era of Bond films, maybe even giving us the best run of films in its history. However, the drop in quality from the first Brosnan film to the second one is significant. I hope this doesn't become a trend.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Goldeneye, The World is Not Enough, Die Another Day