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Tomorrow Never Dies: Special Edition

Tomorrow Never Dies: Special Edition

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: "Tomorrow Never Dies" will leave you breathless.
Review: Pierce Brosnan returns as 007 in the awesome "Tomorrow Never Dies." There is some insane action, and it is relentless. A thrilling car chase in an auto garage, Bond and Bond girl Wai Lin's heart-stopping mid-air escape down the side of a scyscraper, and a wild helicopter-motorcycle chase across the rooftops of Saigon are among the finest action sequences ever filmed. The memorable title song is performed admirably by sexy Sheryl Crow, though one wishes the song didn't have to be cut for the titles sequence. Michelle Yeoh is a lethal Bond girl, the first to be truly an equal. Jonathan Pryce(the guy from the car commercials) is an excellent villain as Elliot Carver, and Gotz Otto convincingly portrays his masochistic henchman, Stamper. While he is not in Connery's class(who is?), Brosnan has what it takes to play Bond. Perhaps more than any other actor to take up the role, Pierce Brosnan LOOKS like Bond. Make no mistake, this movie is awesome.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A great Bond film
Review: This is a brilliant film, which I think is the best Bond film for a long time. It starts of brilliantly, and only deterioates towards the end when the violence becomes a little too heavy. At the end of the Cold War, I thought scripts for Bond would dry up, but they keep on coming.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I love DVD
Review: If you are looking for a movie to show off your new DVD player to your friends and family, this would be it, especially the title sequence near the beginning! WOW! Of course you could also buy it because it is a great Bond film;) After the first Brosnan Bond movie I said "This guy stinks!" But Tomorrow made me change my mind!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: ACTION, ACTION
Review: This is a quality Bond type of wall to wall action with excellent special effects and great surround sound. I have watched it twice and have now purchased it.Violence done in good taste and not to be taken seriously. END

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Tomorrow Never Dies
Review: The second installment in the Pierce Brosnan Epoch of James Bond films is at once a "sequel" that manages to exceed the standards set by it's predecessor and a very entertaining film in it's own right.

While one would think the formula of girls, gadgets, and a single, meglomaniacal super villian would be well worn out by now, director Roger Spottiswoode manages to take Bruce Feirstein's script to the next level of spy action/thrillers. This is in no small part due to the incredible talents of Hong Kong action star Michelle Yeoh. A powerfully agile dancer and martial artist, Yeoh finally takes the "Bond Girl" role into the 90's and kicks some royal butt through the course of the movie.

On the DVD side of things, MGM has put together a slightly below average package with wide and standard formats, animated menus, trailers, and language tracks. However, those who want the most value will want to look for the "Special Edition" set which was released a bit later.

This quibble aside, "Tomorrow Never Dies" will make a fine edition to your DVD collection.

Recommended

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A well-oiled machine, but is it worthy?
Review: Although it was originally planned that Pierce Brosnan would take on the James Bond mantle from Roger Moore in the mid-80s, the exhilaration of "Goldeneye" (his actual first Bond film) wears off rather quickly, I'm afraid.

You see, I've been spoiled by superior and definitive renditions of the Moore and Connery Bonds to be swayed by Brosnan's working class efforts. Or maybe the product placement is just too obvious in recent 007 films? Either way, this film is just a blip on the screen of an otherwise unstoppable series.

The pros: the sizzling Michele Yeoh as the latest Bond girl, who's both lethal and beautiful, in the best traditions of the genre.

***The proper use of henchmen--Gotz Otto revamping Robert Shaw's oversized killer who nevertheless is no match for Bond.

***And finally, the suitably grandiose (if unoriginal) world-domination plot that has since been missing in action.

The cons: Teri Hatcher--Bond girls have never been famous for their acting skills, but Hatcher looks and sounds out-of-place here.

***An unappealing villain--Jonathan Pryce doesn't have the charisma or the physical appeal to be a proper Bond villain (much less a memorably one).

***The title song by Sheryl Crow; easily one of the worst in the series. The outro closing torch number by K.D. Lang should have been the title cut; it's classic Bond fare.

***Product placement is far too obvious in this film; enough is enough, guys.

Overall, a briskly paced entry in the Bond canon, but it's not firing on all cylinders.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Do You Believe What You Read?
Review: Years after Ian Fleming's death the "James Bond" series rolls on, recycling the original stories for audiences who never read the original novels. Their villains were in turn Soviet KGB, then organized crime; now one of the most powerful publishers in the Free World! Is Fleming turning over in his grave? This film shows how a powerful publisher can create the news, and not just distort it (use your own example). [Will the viewers make the connection to the Real World?] "Eliot Carver" seems to be modeled after Robert Maxwell (was he the front man for powerful forces who stayed in the background?) There are changes to reflect modern culture and political correctness. James Bond still circulates among high-levels to gather information. But one scene shows him overindulging in vodka, as if to suggest a growing problem in an aging operative.

Bond is caught snooping in the villain's lair, but makes his escape despite the efforts of many guards (who are of various races for this equal opportunity employer, and also recalls Bond's enemies from past films). A former lover of Bond's is murdered (as in "Goldfinger"). The killer in the hotel room looks like he was recycled from "Doktor Strangelove". The car chase in the indoor parking lot recalls "Diamonds Are Forever", but is more spectacular. The skydiving to the wrecked ship recalls other films. Bond and Wai Lin (the female Chinese operative) are caught and brought before Eliot Carver (another recurring scene from Fleming's novels). The villain never delegates these tasks. Their escape shows the product placement of BMW and Land Rover (and reminds me of a Jackie Chan film). They escape the Heckler & Koch MP-5 firing villains. The attack scene in the shop recalls another Jackie Chan film, with its choreographed ballet of action. [Could this ever happen in the real world?] I suspect the scenes in Asia were for that market of film viewers.

The final scene in the "stealth boat" recalls many earlier Bond films. But Eliot Carver seems to be lacking in a villainous character, unlike the classic Bond villains. [Imagine Pee Wee Herman as Goldfinger?] The ending is full of sound and fury, symbolizing the defeat of the villain, his henchmen, and the Plan for World Domination. The earlier Bond films seemed to have had wittier dialogue. The most surprising thing about this film is its villain: a powerful businessman in the Free World, not a parvenu who attacks one of the British Monopolies and has links to the Soviets or the ChiComs.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good Action, Bad Plot
Review: The movie playing last week was As a longtime James Bond fan I had to see Tomorrow Never Dies, or James Bond versus Jonathan Price.

A communications mogul (Price) sets up a communications satellite monopoly, which, unlike DeBeers and other monopolies, is allowed to operate in the United States. To further his power, Price is creating news and having the stories ready as the news happens. His ultimate goal is to start World War III and control all communications afterwards. He will do this by using his armada of communications satellites which will broadcast to a dying world where electromagnetic pulses have rendered televisions inoperable. Oh, I guess he didn't think far enough ahead.

Utilizing the common man's (or should I say scriptwriter's) lack of understanding Geo-Positional Satellites (GPS) he convinces a warship that it is in neutral territory and not in Chinese-controlled waters. Then, utilizing a stealth boat made possible by the theft of some stealth skin (you know, that ultra expensive stuff that becomes completely useless if it gets even slightly damp) and steals a cruise missile. Bond is aided by a Chinese agent (Michelle Yeoh) and they go to Viet Nam where the sunken ship is (oh, didn't they say it was sunk in Chinese waters?). There they confront many bad guys and helicopters that can hover sideways and whose blades can repeatedly chop through buildings with no bad effects.

OK, so the plot, if it can be called that, has a few problems. But it is an action film and plots in action films have less importance than how far the hero can fall. The bad plot is not necessarily because Ian Fleming did not write the story. After all, he did write DOCTOR NO about the madman trying to corner the guano market (the studio gave the madman nuclear capabilities and cut the guano completely from the story). But the movie is fun, nonetheless, with many great lines. While I can't say much for the new Moneypenny, the new M is fantastic.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Very clever plot idea smothered in action...
Review: This is definitely your 007-k Bond film. Brosnan has come back with his smooth style that has just enough razor blade edge to it (as he displays in "The World is Not Enough" and years ago as a KGB agent in "The Fourth Protocol")to foreshadow his playing the role in adventures that are "thrillers" as well as spectacles. Jonathan Pryce has the same sophisticated psychotic air of menace that Max Von Sydow brought to "Never Say Never Again" as SPECTRE chief Blofeld. Except that in this outing Pryce's maniac media mogul, Elliot Carver, manipulates world events to provoke W.W.III for the sake of ratings and exclusive control of Red China's soon-to-boom cable TV market. Isn't this the most nefarious and original threat since Bond faced down Blofeld in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" with its scheme of germ/genetic warfare? TOMORROW NEVER DIES could have been a superbly cynical 007-twist on "Wag the Dog" that might have made it a classic in its own right. Instead the fan/viewer has to settle for great action sequences, exotic locales and the spectacle that the 007 franchise inevitably delivers. Carping about a Bond movie is like complaining about the cost of a free meal. And I'm not; I simply repeat that this could have been a gourmet piece de resistance instead of the usual shaken-not-stirred Aston-Martini-buffet Bond smothered in action.......

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Tommorow Never Dies
Review: Bond no. 18, directed by Roger Spottiswoode, is a solid entry into the franchise, yet fails to reach the heights of the excellent Goldeneye (1995).

The plot is silly and contrived, with the "stealth ship" thing being the most far-fetched concept the Bond writers have ever come up with. Still, considering that Ian Flemming's Novels (that were the backbone of the earlier films) aren't there, the ideas are suitable for the series' continuation of villains and their hideouts.

Pierce Brosnan fits into the role of Bond more smoothly, rather than the "take the money and run" act in Goldeneye, and Michelle Yeoh is good eye candy as the obligatory "Bond chick". The main villain Elliot Carver is a big disappointment, with nothing much to do but talk about the media, making for a very weak bad guy.

But the action is good in parts, including an outstanding scene with helicopters and motorbikes, David Arnold's score marks a return to the staple Bond theme, and there is a welcome amount of things getting blown to bits.


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