Tomorrow Never Dies is the eighteenth in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions and the second to star Pierce Brosnan. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode from a screenplay by Bruce Feirstein, it follows Bond as he attempts to prevent Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce), a power-mad media mogul, from engineering world events to initiate World War III. It was the first Bond film made after the death of producer Albert R. Broccoli (to whom it pays tribute in the end credits) and the last released under the United Artists label. Filming locations included France, Thailand, Germany, Mexico and the United Kingdom. Tomorrow Never Dies performed well at the box office,becoming the fourth-highest-grossing film of 1997 and earning a Golden Globe nomination despite mixed reviews. In the film, Media baron Elliot Carver starts his plans to provoke war between China and the UK. by use , and miss-use, of technology & world-wide media. Carver uses advanced tech to send the British frigate HMS Devonshire off course into Chinese-occupied waters in the South China Sea, where Carver’s stealth ship, commanded by Carver’s chief enforcer Stamper, ambushes and sinks it with a “sea drill” torpedo. Carver’s henchmen then steal one of Devonshire’s missiles and shoot down a Chinese MiG fighter jet investigating the scene. M sends Bond to investigate Carver and his company, CMGN, after Carver released news articles about the crisis hours before MI6 had become aware of it. Bond travels to Hamburg to seduce Carver’s wife, Paris (Teri Hatcher) , who falls for Bond , helps him but is then killed, and common Bond girl fate. Bond cuts Carver off the air during the inaugural broadcast of his satellite network. Carver plans to destroy most of the Chinese government with a stolen British missile, allowing a corrupt Chinese general named Chang to assume power and negotiate a truce between Britain and China, both of which will have begun a naval war. Once the conflict is over, Carver will be given exclusive broadcasting rights in China for the next century, which would then allow his broadcasting network to be completely global. Bond and Chinese agent Wai Lin ( Michelle Yeoh) board Carver’s stealth ship, prevent him from carrying out his plan, while Carver attacks Bond and is killed.
OK, on to the ratings, with one comment first;
This one should have worked. I LOVE Jonathon Pryce, and Michelle Yeoh. But nope. At least not for me.
Bond; 84 out of 100. Brosnan was fine in this, but I think the script fails him. There just aren’t enough interesting scenarios created, either action-related or romantic.
Villain- 86 out of 100. I’d have bet you anything I was going to love Jonathan Pryce as a Bond villain. But it just didn’t “click”. He was subtle, and I don’t think subtle plays in the Bond universe.
Bond Girls- 80 out of 100. Again, With Michelle Yeoh and Teri Hatcher I guess I expected more. But there were NO fireworks between them and Brosnan, and no one else created any sparks either.
Theme; 67 out of 75 Sheryl Crow does a nice job with the theme. It’s her style, but brings in a good, Bond-ish vibe as well.
Henchman; 45 out of 50. Götz Otto as Richard Stamper gives really good henchman and is one of the saving graces of the movie. Not spectacular. Not iconic, but really solid.
M, Q, Moneypenny, etc. 15 out of 25 Judi Dench as “M”, Desmond Llewelyn as Q, and Samantha Bond as Moneypenny. All excellent support . Bonus points for Hugh Bonneville and Gerard Butler cameos, and minus points for the return of Joe Don Baker’s hick CIA operative.
Total; 377
Scoreboard;
- Goldfinger- 419
- Goldeneye- 407
- Spectre-397
- Live and Let Die- 396
- Skyfall- 383
- Casino Royale / Die Another Day / Skyfall- 382
- Tomorrow Never Dies- 377
- The World is not Enough- 367
- A View to a Kill- 359
- Dr. No- 346
- The Man with the Golden Gun. 331
- License to Kill- 321
- Octopussy- 255
- The Living Daylights- 228
- On Her Majesty’s Secret Service- 201
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