Rating: 
Summary: Jane Bond 007
Review: Look everyone! A new hero - Jane Bond! See her kick! See her punch! See her save the world! I just wish they would get rid of that dolt who keeps popping up everywhere. This is the first Bond movie where Bond's presence is irrelevant. It's Michelle (Jane Bond) Yeoh who saves the world here. Bond comes across looking like some blumbling amateur. Barbara Bach's female character in The Spy Who Loved Me complimented Bond well. But she didn't take over the movie. Michelle Yeoh's character does. As a long time Bond fan, I watch Bond movies for escapism and nothing else. I have enjoyed putting my brain on hold for a few hours and just watching our hero save the day in his own non-PC style. Our hero isn't here, however. The whole point of a Bond movie is JAMES BOND is the hero. Not in this movie. If Barbara Broccoli & Michael Wilson want to create a new series about a kick-a**ing female secret agent that saves the world, they're well on their way. And I'll be happily waiting in line to see it. I'd be happy to see more female action/adventure stars. I just don't want them in James Bond movies.
Rating:
Summary: Formulas Never Die
Review: Poor James Bond. It's tough being a womanizing, suave-ola superspy in these politically correct times. But it's even harder being a prototypical action/adventure hero trying to sustain life after having your genre eclipsed by a rash of action stars. Once upon a time, the Bond films were the penultimate showcase of the most bitchin' stunts and car chases and action sequences imagined, accompanied by Monty Norman's signature Bond theme guitar riff and oh-so-deftly enacted by the supercool Sean Connery and then the not-so-serious Roger Moore. Fans could look forward to seeing what each subsequent film would contain, stunt- and gizmo-wise, to "out-do" the previous release. But along came Indiana Jones, Stallone, Arnold, Jerry Bruckheimer, Tom Clancy books-turned-movies, and a wealth of other action/adventure films, surfeited with all the stunts and explosions that the special-effects technology of the day could muster, to steal the 007 thunder. Into this cinematic atmosphere comes the 1990's-2000's Bond; Pierce Brosnan is all growed up and inherited the role he felt was rightfully his practically from the time his Remington Steele character started making women's thighs quake. Unfortunately, no matter how many leading men are cycled through the role to give the series perpetual life, it can't be resurrected--in the wake of the countless stunt-and-explosion films of modern times--to the status it once held. With "Tomorrow Never Dies" the franchise has practically become unwitting self-parody. Sure, the film adheres to the Bond Formula (megalomaniac villain seeking global dominion, ruthless right-hand cronie, and large scale climactic face-off--not to mention gadgets, gizmos, and a gratuitous babe for 007 to woo), but unfortunately, after a zillion incarnations the formula is tired. And, sorry to say, some modern sensitivities just don't seem to sit well with the "established" Bond formula of yore. Now that "M" is a woman (huh?) and 007 is given a "Q"-ed out BMW (double huh?) to drive instead of a trademark British car (such as the classic Aston Martin DB V he teasingly starts out with in the film), it all seems, well, non-Bond. Having been raised on the "original" Bond adventures, I'm naturally biased, I admit. And sorry, all you giddy gals, Brosnan's baby-faced mug somehow just doesn't strike me as Bond--in fact, I thought Timothy Dalton was much better casting in the wake of Moore's retirement. Still, Brosnan is adequate in the role, considering what he's given to work with, whereas Teri Hatcher can't act her way out of a paper bag--especially in the trifle of a part this film offers (but considering some of the horrendous "Bond girls" of the past--witness Tanya Roberts--I suppose that can be overlooked). Michelle Yeoh offers some excitement, but she's no Jackie Chan (but then, who is?)--you get the feeling she's included basically to sate the politically correct turn these films are taking. Plus, an integral element of a Bond film's larger-than-life atmosphere has always been the archvillain, and whereas Dr. No, Auric Goldfinger, Ernst Blofeld, Hugo Drax, et al, have been appropriately maniacal, Jonathan Price's Elliot Carver--the mad media mogul--is just flat-out silly. As well, one element plaguing the more recent Bond films--avoiding an R rating (i.e., portraying violence on par with something out of a Charlie's Angels episode despite the over-the-top action sequences)--merely underscores how they seem out-of-touch in this day of "Lethal Weapon" excess. In truth, as an old Bond fan, I lamented the series' decline in the latter Moore years, and even though curiosity led me to view the initial Dalton outing, it soon became evident that the formula had been played-out, and I gave up on rushing to see the newest adventures as they were released. However, curiosity about the latest 007 bit me again regarding "Tomorrow Never Dies," but the film unfortunately offered nothing to change my feelings. I suppose, however, if you're not indoctrinated by the "classic" Bond films (or maybe just an avid Bondiac no matter WHAT), then this film will satisfy as an adventure yarn with plenty of entertaining action. As for myself, I'd rather pop in my copy of "Thunderball" or "Goldfinger" and revel in the good ol' days.
Rating: 
Summary: Better
Review: Its better than Goldeneye. The action scenes are tighter, beautiful women are there. I really enojoyed it.
Rating: 
Summary: Finally, Bond girls that have braincells.
Review: Pierce Brosnan returns in his second film as the suave and indestructible 007. This latest installment is the least chauvinistic (not saying much) and perhaps the most realistic (is that possible?) of the James Bond Films. It's amazing how much writers can do with Anglo-Russian relations despite the fact the Cold War is over. However, if truth were told, gunrunning and mass media can be equally instrumental in disturbing the fragile peace in today's political arena. Jonathan Price portrays Elliot Carver, Mass-media tycoon, sorcerer of international terror, and Rupert Murdoch's villainous alter ego. In his world of ultimate technology and remote control relations, Elliot Carver plans to shake and stir the world into a panic of mammoth proportions only the kings of the airways can orchestrate. Calling James Bond... calling James Bond...James Bond to the rescue! After several vodka martinis and a car armed to its pistons, Mr. Bond is ready to take to the street and to the casinos. Hong Kong film sensation Michelle Yeoh and superwoman Teri Hatcher star as Bond's obsequious but fiercely independent female counterparts, love interests and pain inducers. It is always refreshing to see new ideas in old-friends. The fact James Bond has been on film now for almost forty years does not take anything away from Tomorrow Never Dies. The idea of a media giant (Jonathan Pryce) taking over a world already in a Big Brother mentality is not so far from the truth as were some plans the previous villains had whipped up. The idea of being conquered via one's living room is a far more tangible way of conceiving ambitious bad guys. For all it's one-liners, chase sequences and gadgets sold only at spy trade-shows (if there is such a thing), this Bond film is more established in its story and "already on the map" stars such as Ms. Hatcher and Ms. Yeoh, where unlike other Bond girls, had careers before their 007 film, and will have them well after.
Rating: 
Summary: Utterly contemptuous level of film stupidity.
Review: This is sadly and decidedly the last Bond film I will grace with my time. Pierce Brosnan's suitability to the role notwithstanding (and it is, along with Q's appearance and M's introduction, frankly the only positive in this entire moronic exercise), this has to be the dumbest, most intellectually insulting piece of garbage I've seen in years. The whole movie is one ridiculously contrived situation after another. A completely retarded handcuffed motorcycle scene, a massive cutting machine that can cut through a warship's hull and innards like butter (jaw-droppingly dopey in itself to begin with) but gets stopped by a control panel after shredding a villain, a female martial-artist spy whose combat exploits make Jackie Chan films look like real-world documentaries but can't even kick her legs enough to swim to the surface when dropped underwater with her arms tied, an uber-villain that gets stabbed in the heart and continues to display a Superman constitution (just about literally)...the list goes on and on and on (for 2 hours). The sheer scope of stupidity this movie represents, even when judged against the over-the-top bent of the Bond series in general, is frankly and utterly vile. If this is the "new" Bond style, I say keep it...personally, I'll mourn the death of the series instead.
Rating: 
Summary: Tomorrow Never Dies
Review: Brosnan's second outing as 007 is better than decent, yet, it lacks the punch of some of the Connery films. This time, the villain is Jonathan Pryce as Elliot Carver. Pryce is campier than Christopher Walken's Zorin and has worse lines than Alec Travelyan, but, is a lot of fun to watch. Even more impressive is Michelle Yeoh as the new Bond girl, who does much more than just look sexy. She kicks, punches, shoots and even turns Bond down more than once. The story is engaging, if slightly implausible. The most overlooked performance is that of Gotz Otto as Carver's Aryan sadist henchman named Stamper, who is a formidable adversary that would give Jaws a good fight. Plenty of pretty women, exotic locations and clever gadgets, including an ill-fated BMW with self-inflating tires, unbreakable windows and a buzzsaw hood ornament. The action sequences are stunning, including a motorcycle chase as Bond flees from a chopper. Some of the fight scenes, however, are a little tedious and Sheryl Crowe's title song has to be the worst since Moonraker. (Why, oh why did they not use kd Lang's more appropriate end credit song instead?) Still, a fun-filled, rip-roaring and entertaining film for 007 fans.
Rating:
Summary: Best new Bond Film
Review: I haven't really been satisfied with a Bond film since Sean Connery left. The Roger Moore ones were fairly dumb(Jaws falls in love?) and Timothy Dalton just couldn't get the role right. i am happy to say the Pierce Brosnan is the best Bond since Connery and has restored my faith in the franchise. Goldeneye was interesting but it was somewhat shakey since License to Kill had bombed and the producers were nervous. Tommorow Never Dies simply lets Bond be Bond and produces one of the most stylish films in the series. The plot is fairly interesting and Jonathon Pryce makes a great villian. It may not be the most origional film, but Tommorow Never Dies takes the classic Bond formula and does great things with it.
Rating:
Summary: Weakest Bond movie in a while . . .
Review: I am happy to say that even though I did not like this movie all that much, James Bond came back with a much better movie in "The World is not Enough." The funk that the writers were in during "Tomorrow Never Dies" was only temporary. "Tomorrow Never Dies" just wasn't all that interesting. The bad guy did not seem all that bad, and you just never really got all that emotionaly attached to any of the characters. For instance, I think we were supposed to feel bad when Terri Hatcher died, but I just wasn't...she just hadn't contributed anything to the movie before she was erased. That said, there were some pretty entertaining action scenes. I particularily liked watching James drive his BMW via remote while sitting in the back seat. Mildly entertaining, though not a classic. Pierce did much better in his other 2 Bond movies, though I wouldn't say that it was he who brought down the level of "Tomorrow Never Dies." I'd actually think that this is closer to a 3-star movie, but since I have such high expectations for James Bond movies, I lowered it a full star for failing to meet that lofty level. If you just watched the new movie "The World is not Enough" and are looking for another great Bond movie to watch, you might want to skip this one (for now) and see "Goldeneye" first.
Rating:
Summary: Brosnan Best Bond
Review: I've been a fan since Connery was Bond,but Brosnan seems born for the role.He brings all the best elements of his predecesors together in this one.Jonathan Pryce is fun as a sort of Bill Gates/Rupert Murdoch/Ted Turner amalgam.Michelle Yeoh is the best female counterpart to Bond since Honor Blackman in Goldfinger. As usual the action is breathtaking,the stunts are over the top,and the entire flick is just fun! The Sheryl Crow video is a great extra and one of the best Bond songs in years. Buy it!
Rating:
Summary: Casting is excellent in this Bond classic
Review: Apart from the absolutely non-stop action (and who can say that's so strange in a James Bond film) and the constant rattle of machine pistols (one of them did run out of ammunition eventually!), this is a very pleasing piece of Bond. Having decided that Brosnan is the genuine article some time ago, I think the casting is one of the film's strong points. Brosnan makes a very good James indeed, in my opinion. I particularly liked his female counterpart, Michelle Yeoh, who played a slightly more independent role than some of Bond's former heroines. Perhaps the weakest part of all fell to the crazed magnate giving the impetus to this typical Bond plot involving imminent destruction on a planetary level. Nevertheless, he too got away with it, most of the time (right up to his predictably sticky end, in fact!). The ultimate bad guy was made to look the fool just a shade too often, but he made up for it with some Herculean efforts at trying to put our James out of his misery. What a silly boy! The stunts are piled one on top of another and you really have to laugh at some of them. As I explained to my son when he expressed disbelief about some of the more amazing sequences, that's the point: we know they are not possible but we love to see James get out of those tight corners anyway. It's definitely classic Bond, but being modern and up-to-date and all, there's a bit too much firepower and a certain old-fashioned Bond subtlety is no doubt lacking. Still... you can't have everything.
|
