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Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

A review by Damian Cannon.
Copyright © Movie Reviews UK 1997
Constructed with the historical strengths of the Bond franchise and anchored by a timely plot of media-baron mayhem, Tomorrow Never Dies is 007's most rewarding outing for a long time indeed. Opening with a robot camera's-eye view of an arms bazaar on the Russian border, terrorists of all colours can be seen haggling fiercely. With the leaders of the globe's dominant underground organisations gathered in one place, this is a tempting target for the guardians of the free world. The military, both British and Russian, are all for lobbing a cruise missile over the surrounding mountains, much to the displeasure of M (Judi Dench). She has James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) in place as an undercover operative and he's far too valuable to lose for no good reason. She is, however, over-ruled; a touch unfortunate given the sudden appearance of some rogue Russian nukes!

Further afield, in the South China Sea, a British destroyer carries out manoeuvres in International waters. All is routine until a brace of Chinese Migs buzz past the vessel at high speed, claiming a violation of their National sovereignty. If the HMS Devonshire refuses to turn around and head for a Chinese port, the situation will escalate. Suddenly, without warning, a torpedo trail is picked up on the destroyer's radar; there is no opportunity for evasive action. A short while later the piercing exhaust flare of an anti-aircraft missile lights the ocean, closing inexorably on one of the planes. With the ensuing explosion the nations of China and Britain are brought to the brink of war.

In the more enchanting surroundings of Oxford, James brushes up on his Danish with a nubile, young language teacher. Regrettably news of the sinking has just reached the Capital, meaning that James must return to London pronto. Here the debate rages heatedly, overshadowed by the knowledge that the British fleet will really breach Chinese territorial waters in 48 hours. Luckily M has kept a few cards up her sleeve; Bond is given a single lead in the form of media mogul Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce). A man with an awful lot of power, Miss Moneypenny (Samantha Bond) takes delight in mentioning that James was once involved with Carver's wife Paris (Teri Hatcher). This may be just the chink which 007 needs.

Astonishingly the eighteenth entry in a series based upon Ian Fleming's suave agent, Tomorrow Never Dies is both faithful to the past and firmly aimed at the future. In a bid to escape from the clutches of ludicrous super-villains and the shadow of the Iron Curtain, here Bond's nemesis is scaled to the human level. Carver is a figure in the mould of Rupert Murdoch or Robert Maxwell, men obsessed by the dream of providing news coverage to humanity. With an empire that reaches everywhere bar China, his ambition is simply to take control of this closed marketplace. Thus the world is still taken over, as in so many other Bond adventures, but here the premise is all too believable. A subtle alteration perhaps but it removes any hint of cartoonish lunacy, making Tomorrow Never Dies a safe bet in the long run.

In a mere two films, Brosnan has settled extremely comfortably into his role as 007. Projecting an aura of cool assurance whatever the situation, yet charmingly boyish with new toys, Brosnan is possibly second only to Connery. Handed some apposite dialogue, which manages to be tongue-in-cheek and knowingly cheesy, Brosnan plays it with aplomb. There's no sense that Brosnan, unlike Moore, wants to undercut the Bond persona; a route which dates badly. On the "Bond girl" issue, Michelle Yeoh (as Wai Lin) is superlative, being attractive and dangerous. Spunky enough to be a female Bond, Tomorrow Never Dies avoids the sense that every good-looking woman will fall into Bond's arms with barely a murmur. Here there is equality, of sorts, and it feels fine. Rounding off the cast, Desmond Llewelyn (as Q) remains dryly amusing, Dench gets some cracking lines and Götz Otto (as Stamper, Carver's muscle) looks suitably nasty.

The wonder of Tomorrow Never Dies is that it includes all of the above detail and still keeps room for jaw-dropping special effects. From the truly splendid pre-credits sequence to the very final explosion, the pace never lags for an instant. Director Roger Spottiswoode does well to throw in motorbikes, cars, boats and planes, blow them up and still retain some distinction between the numerous set pieces. His key seems to be that the effects and fancy equipment must never dominate; instead they propel the script along on a healthy diet of fun. Brosnan is never lost amongst the gadgets in Tomorrow Never Dies, he just has an indecently exciting time using them! The only drawbacks are that product placement features highly, a pity for those who adore British sports cars, and that the soundtrack is purely functional.

All in all Tomorrow Never Dies is a class act. It does almost exactly what's expected, which is provide a near-perfect mix of action, humour, suspense and sex. There should really be no desire for any more than this in the seasoned viewer; if you want depth, pick another movie.

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