I love James Bond. I love Pierce Brosman's performance of 007.
But honestly, the video game is better than this film. Tomorrow Never Dies has some underlying messages of the power of media-gone-wrong, but nothing about this film proves memorable. I actually had to refresh my memory by Youtubing scenes to remember what happened in this movie.
2/5. Good action but forgettable in the era of the late 90s/early 2000s action movie boom.When I first watched this film, I didn't like it. Revisiting this film, I learned to appreciate it more as a true installment in the franchise.
The first film without Albert Broccoli (RIP) that was true in spirit to his vision of James Bond.
Tomorrow Never Dies (such a silly name) is a modern retelling of The Spy Who Loved Me with some changes to make it more fitting for a modern audience. It's my honest opinion that this film should be revisited and reexamined.
Pierce Brosnan's portrayal of a more stylish, sleek, and tongue-in-cheek Bond is there. Action is satisfying and locations are exotic. Instead of a malevolent USSR or SPECTRE, we get the capitalist bogeyman as the antagonist. This makes the film much more relatable to today's world.
Tomorrow Never Dies is a world where mass media has gotten too powerful and tries to start WWIII. Though I find it hard to imagine a media mogul buying a top-of-the-line stealth cruiser without anyone noticing, themes still echo today. Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce) is an excellent hybrid of Steve Jobs' visionary idealism with Rupert Murdoch's ruthlessness. An artistic difference from the USSR or the evil shadow empire of SPECTRE.
The anti-Bond strongman of Stamper (Gotz Otto) was an enjoyable portrayal that echos of Robert Shaw's performance of Red Grant in From Russia with Love. Though a bit more expressive, Gotz had an intimidating appearance on screen.
Another aspect that I enjoyed about this film is the role of strong female characters. Early on we get M's flawless clapback of a general. Also, the Bond girl in this film, Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh) plays a strong female counterweight to Bond. She acts as a non-passive character, acts independently of Bond, and is strong/smart enough to hold her own.
Of course, there are some faults. Besides the title name makes no sense, there are some things I wished the film developed more. TND could have built more upon the media causing mayhem for views (something we can all relate to in 2020). Also, I was saddened to see that Paris Carver's (Teri Hatcher) and Dr. Kaufman's (Vincent Schiavelli) characters were not developed. They could have been much more interesting characters.
But, it's a Bond movie. It's meant to be enjoyed more than examined for deep thinking.
3.5/5. Good movie but with some flaws. Still a good watch many years after
But honestly, the video game is better than this film. Tomorrow Never Dies has some underlying messages of the power of media-gone-wrong, but nothing about this film proves memorable. I actually had to refresh my memory by Youtubing scenes to remember what happened in this movie.
2/5. Good action but forgettable in the era of the late 90s/early 2000s action movie boom.When I first watched this film, I didn't like it. Revisiting this film, I learned to appreciate it more as a true installment in the franchise.
The first film without Albert Broccoli (RIP) that was true in spirit to his vision of James Bond.
Tomorrow Never Dies (such a silly name) is a modern retelling of The Spy Who Loved Me with some changes to make it more fitting for a modern audience. It's my honest opinion that this film should be revisited and reexamined.
Pierce Brosnan's portrayal of a more stylish, sleek, and tongue-in-cheek Bond is there. Action is satisfying and locations are exotic. Instead of a malevolent USSR or SPECTRE, we get the capitalist bogeyman as the antagonist. This makes the film much more relatable to today's world.
Tomorrow Never Dies is a world where mass media has gotten too powerful and tries to start WWIII. Though I find it hard to imagine a media mogul buying a top-of-the-line stealth cruiser without anyone noticing, themes still echo today. Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce) is an excellent hybrid of Steve Jobs' visionary idealism with Rupert Murdoch's ruthlessness. An artistic difference from the USSR or the evil shadow empire of SPECTRE.
The anti-Bond strongman of Stamper (Gotz Otto) was an enjoyable portrayal that echos of Robert Shaw's performance of Red Grant in From Russia with Love. Though a bit more expressive, Gotz had an intimidating appearance on screen.
Another aspect that I enjoyed about this film is the role of strong female characters. Early on we get M's flawless clapback of a general. Also, the Bond girl in this film, Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh) plays a strong female counterweight to Bond. She acts as a non-passive character, acts independently of Bond, and is strong/smart enough to hold her own.
Of course, there are some faults. Besides the title name makes no sense, there are some things I wished the film developed more. TND could have built more upon the media causing mayhem for views (something we can all relate to in 2020). Also, I was saddened to see that Paris Carver's (Teri Hatcher) and Dr. Kaufman's (Vincent Schiavelli) characters were not developed. They could have been much more interesting characters.
But, it's a Bond movie. It's meant to be enjoyed more than examined for deep thinking.
3.5/5. Good movie but with some flaws. Still a good watch many years after