Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) User Reviews

Another Fun and Action-Packed Bond Adventure

[carologletree · 7/10 · 9 January 2016]

This film isn't quite as good as "Goldeneye", but it still another fun addition to the series.

Pierce Brosnan once again shines as James Bond, and Wai Lin, played by Michelle Yeoh, is quite possibly the toughest Bond girl ever. She does a lot of karate and steals the show as much as Brosnan.

Elliot Carver, played by Jonathan Pryce, is a pretty decent villain. He is nowhere near as intimidating as some of the best Bond villains, but he is certainly passable. His goals were a little more realistic than most Bond villains. His henchmen is just another Red Grant clone.

The story, while not the deepest, has a lot of intriguing elements with Carver writing disasters in his newspaper and making them happen. The media angles makes a lot of sense these days. The locations work, especially Thailand.

This film is up there with "Moonraker" as one of the most relentlessly action-packed entries in the series. We get a spectacular opening sequence, a chase in a parking garage with Bond using his remote-control BMW, a wicked motorcycle chase, and so much more.

This is a very solid if slightly by-the-numbers entry in the series. There is rarely a dull moment, and there is enough action for several movies. Another fun Bond film.

RATING: B

A good example of what the Bond films have always been- superior escapist entertainment

[JamesHitchcock · 7/10 · 15 September 2004]

One of the standard received ideas of film criticism is to say that sequels are almost never as good as the original film. (There are also a few standard exceptions to this rule, such as 'The Godfather Part 2' and the second and third parts of the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy). Subject to these exceptions, however, there seems to be a law of diminishing returns to the effect that the more sequels a franchise spawns, the worse they become. The Bond films, however, seem to me to provide the most striking exception to this principle. The franchise started with 'Dr No' in the early sixties, and 'Tomorrow Never Dies' amounts to 'James Bond XVIII', or 'James Bond XIX' if one includes 'Never Say Never Again' in the total. Despite this, one can watch the latest offerings with as much pleasure as the original Sean Connery films from the sixties and seventies.

The Bond films are highly formulaic. They typically start with an action sequence before the opening credits that has little or nothing to do with the film that is to follow. The main story will involve Bond thwarting a dastardly plot by some megalomaniac bent on world domination. It will always involve at least one extended chase sequence, and possibly two or more. The main character, apart from Bond and the villain, will always be a beautiful young woman who helps Bond in his quest and who will end up by falling for him. There will always be at least one other beautiful girl, either as a secondary heroine or as a villainess. The villain will always have a small army of henchmen ready to do battle on his behalf. The story will always end with a shoot-out, normally in the villain's headquarters, in which Bond manages to avert the threatened disaster at the last minute.

'Tomorrow Never Dies' contains all these formulaic elements. It is, nevertheless, in my view one of the better entries in the Bond canon, for a number of reasons beyond the fact that Pierce Brosnan is the best Bond since Connery. These can be summarised as follows:-

1. The Villain. Jonathan Pryce plays Elliott Carver, a newspaper and media tycoon intent on whipping up a war between Britain and China. The reason is to facilitate the accession to power of his ally, a renegade Chinese general who has promised to give his organisation exclusive broadcasting rights in China. Bond villains have always provided scope for some splendidly over-the-top displays of acting, going back to Lotte Lenya's Rosa Klebb and Gert Frobe's Goldfinger. Although Pryce's Carver is more restrained than some, it falls within this tradition. At first sight the silver-haired bespectacled Carver seems mild-mannered and soft spoken, but soon reveals the raving megalomania which is the hallmark of the Bond villain. Particularly noteworthy is the speech where Carver states his ambitions as being 'power' and 'world domination'. Although he puts a liberal, metaphorical interpretation on these two concepts, the audience is left in no doubt that he means what he says quite literally. There is also a good performance from Gotz Otto as Carver's brutal German henchman, Stamper.

2. The Girl. Admittedly, Teri Hatcher is rather wasted as the secondary Bond girl Paris Carver, Elliott's wife and a former girlfriend of Bond. Michelle Yeoh, however, is superb as the main female lead, the Chinese secret agent Wai Lin. (That's how it's spelled, although the pronunciation used in the film suggests that the name should actually be transliterated as Wei Lin). Apart from Michelle's striking looks, she is also an accomplished martial arts performer, and her skills are put to good use in this film. (Part of a trend of giving Bond girls a more active role, in contrast to the earlier films in the series where they were required to do little other than look decorative.) 3. The Chase Sequence. The main one, in which Bond and Wai Lin escape on a motorbike through the streets of Hanoi from the villains in a helicopter, is excellent. 4. The Opening Sequence. As usual, this has little to do with the main plot line. It does, however, fit in with a growing tendency in the Bond films, that of mocking or undermining the militaristic, macho values which the series was once accused of promoting. This film introduces a new comic character, the gung-ho, blustering Admiral Roebuck, a sort of naval equivalent of Colonel Blimp, who clashes with the more liberal 'M', the female chief of the British Secret Service. (I was interested to learn that the actors who play them, Geoffrey Palmer and Judi Dench, are husband and wife in real life). In the opening sequence, Bond narrowly prevents Roebuck's blundering attempt to bomb a gathering of international terrorists from setting off a nuclear explosion. The more active roles for female characters are also part of the trend towards a politically correct Bond, as is, perhaps, his remark that smoking is a 'filthy habit'. (The earlier films were often criticised for glamorising the habit by making Bond himself a smoker).

As with all the Bond films, one can probably pull holes in the plot of 'Tomorrow Never Dies'. (The scene where Carver sinks a British warship by cutting a hole in the side with what looks like a giant chainsaw struck me as particularly implausible. What's wrong with a torpedo?) Nevertheless, the Bond films are not meant to be works of social realism and unlike, say, the novels of John Le Carre, have never purported to give an accurate picture of life in the British Secret Service. 'Tomorrow Never Dies' is a good example of what the Bond films have always been- superior escapist entertainment. 7/10

What this movie needed was more backstory about the legend, Dr. Kaufman n his methods of disposal, specially his specialty of celebrity overdose.

[Fella_shibby · 6/10 · 11 May 2021]

I first saw this in the early 2k on cable tv.

Revisited it recently.

This is the eighteenth in the Bond series and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as James Bond.

After the sinking of HMS Devonshire in the Chinese-occupied waters in the South China Sea and the killings of Devonshire's survivors with weaponry loaded with Chinese ammunition, Bond has only 48 hours to investigate its sinking and avert a conflict between the People's Republic of China and the United Kingdom.

This one doesn't have a good pre credit scene but it has an awesome motorcycle chase sequence.

There is not sufficient action towards the end.

The villain Elliot Carver ain't that good.

This time Bond faces a psychopathic media mogul, Elliot Carver, hell bent on securing exclusive broadcasting rights in China for hundred years.

Bond also faces Dr. Kaufman and his student Stamper.

Bond gets to cool off with Cecilie Thomsen, Michelle Yeoh n Teri Hatcher.

We have idiot henchmen in this movie.

They try to break the car's windshield by hammer n other stuff but to no avail, they cud have tried shooting guns cos later when Bond flees with the car, the windshield breaks due to shooting.

The car chase sequence is silly cos Bond manages to evade everything including a bazooka by just remote controlling the car.

Some info on the great Dr. Kaufman : a professional assassin and a professor of forensic medicine (way before Dexter).

Kaufman loves bragging about his professionalism and how his services as an assassin are in demand all over the world. Of all the methods at his disposal, apparently his specialty is the celebrity overdose.

An Average Movie

[rupak_speaking · 6/10 · 23 March 2018]

It is more like a remake of the overused formula plot of old Bond movies where a megalomaniac steals and strikes the superpowers from a hideout to create a misunderstanding and start WWIII and become the principal bargainer in the process. It lacked intrigue, suspense, twists, not that many of Bond movies have that, but was far too straightforward, predictable and cliche. I always liked Brosnan , he is one of the better Bonds I felt, hope he had something more play to with in the opportunities he got to play this iconic character. 6/10

Overwhelming and thrilling entry in which Bond/Brosnan goes after a powerful media mogul

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 21 April 2013]

Elloit Carver (Jonathan Pryce) is a megalomaniac and selfish media baron. Carver has the power to reach every person on the planet through his Carver Media Group Network- except for the People's Republic of Chinese who refuse his presence in their nation . The mogul is tied to the disappearance of a British battleship in the South China Sea . James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) heads to stop the media mogul's plan to induce war between China and the UK in order to obtain exclusive global media coverage and whose tentacles reach around the world . Carver, whose spouse (Teri Hatcher) was a former flame of 007 , is supported by a computer genius (Ricky Jay) and a nasty hunk man (Gotz Otto) . Along the way Bond join forces with a Chinese secret agent (Michelle Yeoh) , expert on martial arts . In addition , there appears the usuals , such as M (Judi Dench), Q (Desmond Llewelin) , Lois Maxwell, ¨MoneyPenny¨ (Samantha Bond) , Minister of Defense (Julian Fellowes) and Jake Wade (Joe Don Baker) . But not counting the regular characters of Bond, Q, M and Moneypenny, this is the first Bond movie to contain absolutely no Ian Fleming references .

Likable Pierce Brosnan in an amazing adventure set on wonderful outdoors located mostly on Vietnam , being actually shot in Thailand . The original title of the film was "Tomorrow Never Lies", which makes sense when you consider media mogul Elliot Carver was creating the next day's headlines in advance, then causing those events to happen , but a typo on an early script draft was adopted by the producers, and ¨Tomorrow never dies¨ was used instead . This is a Bond's good outing in which faces dangerous adventures around the globe . Brosnan's outing with overwhelming action and spectacular scenarios , the film teams Bond with Michelle Yeoh as endearing ally in an effort to stop a technological communication mogul . After his first introduction in ¨Golden eye¨ as tough and attractive James Bond of the Ian Fleming's famous creation , Pierce Brosnan went on playing various 007 , as ¨Die Another Day ¨ and this ¨Tomorrow never dies¨ . The picture starts with an overblown opening and following other impressive action set pieces . This solid , slick thriller with magic mix of action-packed , dazzling stunts, gadgetry, and romance provided by sexy company as Teri Hatcher and Michelle Yeoh . Pierce Brosnan as James Bond is fine , he does remarkably well , he earns in irony, humor ,suavity and sympathy, however also has coldness ,cunning , intelligence and toughness . Here Bond is an efficient , relentless agent trying to chase obstinately the criminals , traveling around the world as always , as this globe-trotting story is set in Pucket, Bangkok, Thailand (Saigon, Vietnam) , Hamburg , London and many other places . Because the second half of the film is set in Vietnam, the production negotiated for some time for permission to film there ; although it appeared close, the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture and Information eventually refused to allow it , the production decided to use Thailand as Vietnam, with Bangkok substituting for Saigon . Bond to achieve his aims , along the way uses violent means even pulling off brutal killings against enemies who wreak all sorts of havoc . As always Bond will use fantastic gadgets and spectacular cars (here 15 BMW 750's were destroyed in the making of the film) provided by ¨Q¨ (Desmond Llewelyn) . The stealth ship is not a fictional invention , Lockheed secretly constructed and demonstrated one in the early 1980s, but the US Navy finally decided they didn't want any ; the prototype, called the Sea Shadow, was 160 feet long . The picture contains comic-strip adventure , sensational pursuits , silly set pieces , great stunts , tongue-in check humor, automovile chase, frantic unstopped action , a breathtaking tour around the world , amazing gimmicks and stimulating images like are the happenings on the spectacular pursuits on the motorcycle and helicopter . As is like a roller-coaster , as is fast-paced , light , excitement, funny and entertaining ; it's a winner for oo7 fans and non-fans alike . The chase and suspense formula wears strong in this entry .

The film made particularly heavy use of gadgetry because some fans thought there was too little of it in GoldenEye . Enjoyable title song by Sheryl Crow and stirring musical score fitting to action by David Arnold , following the John Barry's classic style . Riveting and fancy main titles , furthermore eye-popping production design by Allan Cameron . It's brimming with colorful and fascinating cinematography by cameraman Robert Elswit . The motion picture produced by habitual producers, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson and dedicated to the memory of long-time Bond-film producer Albert R. Broccoli ; being professionally made by Robert Spottiswoode who filmed other successes such as ¨the 6th day¨, ¨Turner and Hooch¨, ¨Air America¨ , Shoot to kill¨and Under fire¨ . Robert keeps this moving at an incredibly fast pace and this story about every's favorite super-spy facing off dangerous mogul . The film will appeal to James Bond series's buffs but good for fans only ; because this one goes on far too long and has provoked so much debate among 007 followers . Rating : 6'5 , well worth watching .

The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success.

[Sylviastel · 7/10 · 24 September 2018]

Jonathan Pryce is the evil Elliott Carver in this James Bond version with Pierce Brosnan in the role. Dame Judi Dench is M and Geoffrey Palmer (her costar from her British comedy series) is also in the film. Samantha Bond played Ms. Moneypenny. Teri Hatcher and Michelle Yeoh played his love interest. It's the same routine with exotic stunts; a romance; and adventure around the world. A typical James Bond film.

One of the Cooler Bond Concepts

[gavin6942 · 8/10 · 2 September 2017]

James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) heads to stop a media mogul's plan to induce war between China and the UK in order to obtain exclusive global media coverage.

The Bond films are both hit and miss as well as an acquired taste. And each time there is a new Bond, people readjust and some people just will not move on. Personally, I think Brosnan was a great Bond, and I actually think this is one of the best films in the series, contrary to popular opinion.

Much of the series is either about Soviet issues or post-Soviet issues. This one, however, is about global media dominance. Now 20 years old, it seems more appropriate than ever with its satellites and cell phones. This movie could have been made today with only the most minor of adjustments.

It's kind of like a Fast Food Burger. You consume it, enjoy it, but forget all about it as soon you are finished

[callanvass · 5/10 · 15 September 2013]

A far cry from Goldeneye, but It doesn't necessarily deserve all the hate it receives either. Tomorrow Never Dies is a fast paced affair, and an easily agreeable time-waster, but it's not the follow-up Goldeneye deserved, either. It's much too daft for the heavy plot that it has. The main reason this movie is entertaining is the spectacular stunts. It has some great action set pieces, which managed to make the time pass nicely. Michelle Yeoh makes for a refreshingly unique Bond Girl, due to her actual Martial Arts background. I dug the chemistry with her & Brosnan. Speaking of Brosnan… He is very good as Bond. He has charisma and wit to spare. He's not quite as good as Timothy Dalton, but he is excellent nonetheless. Johnathan Pryce is decent as the villain. He is fitfully menacing and did the job overall. Teri Hatcher's character is a bit disposable, but she was good in her role. Desmond Llewelyn & Judi Dench are as classy as ever

Final Thoughts: Instantly forgettable stuff, but it manages to be an effective time-waster. It's not a great Bond film, but it is an OK action film. I didn't mind it at all.

5.6/10

My seventh favorite James Bond 007 movie Pierce Brosnan second best movie

[ivo-cobra8 · 10/10 · 20 November 2017]

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) is my seventh favorite James Bond 007 movie and Pierce Brosnan second best movie he did in my opinion. It is not better than GoldenEye but it is good decent action movie with great explosions, dangerous stunts and great action. Who is my favorite James Bond 007? That will definitely be Pierce Brosnan no one else, since his first film GoldenEye. I saw this movie as a fifteen year old teen I even have a poster at home from this movie. I love this movie I thought Roger Spottiswoode did a good job directing it. I thought it had decent stunts, decent action, less humor than Roger Moore. If you agree with me good, if you disagree with me that is your opinion. Tomorrow Never Dies is the 18th entry in the official James Bond film series.

Pierce Brosnan makes his second appearance as Agent 007, James Bond heads to stop a media mogul's plan to induce war between China and the UK in order to obtain exclusive global media coverage.

I love the opening scene in which in Russia Bond steals airplane with military missals and weapons who are been sold to international terrorist and brings them home. We see Pierce Brosnan flying an airplane. In real life Pierce Brosnan was scared of that airplane he thought the crew will killed him. You have a beautiful explosions from those airplanes. In Hamburg, Germany Bond breaks into the headquarters of Carver's media company and finds the office occupied by Henry Gupta, Carver's communications specialist and known techno-terrorist. He is been chased from security guys, because Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh) makes entry and she touches the alarm. Bond is being fired by machine guns in which he flees great action sequences.

Bond drives a new car BMW 7 Series with a remote control on a cell phone Ericson. I miss those times in which we used Ericsson cell phone. In 2004 I had that phone for a year until it got broken and I had to buy a new phone. Bond with cell phone drives with his cell phone as a remotely without touching the steering wheel. I did read a complaint about this scene on IMDb that is not realistic and it shouldn't have been in this movie. Listen folks it is a fiction not realistic, it James Bond so who cares. I never mind that scene it was great action sequence in which Bond eluded his attackers and he drove his car off the wall ha ha.

James Bond and Wai Lin in Saigon, Vietnam jumped off the building in Carver's HQ. They escaped Carver's henchman and the flee off the building. They slide down Carver's poster while been handcuffed. Great action sequence in which Pierce Brosnan and Michele Yeoh drove handcuff on a motorcycle. That was incredible dangerous stunt. I read Michelle Yeoh did her own stunt on the motorcycle and it was really painful too sit on that bike her legs and body hurt her. Cars and helicopter chased them until they hanker the helicopter and it explodes. Practical effect real explosion no CGI or shaky cam real action. Bond in Vietnam that was interested story well done acted.

Bond on the ship a stealth craft that is invisible on the radar uses hand grenade and he actives with his watch the grenade explodes and he makes the ship visible on the radar. Bond kick's ass and he kill's on the end Carver. He throws Carver in to the sea drill excellent. Bond is fired with machine guns and he fires back killing several Carver's man.

Jonathan Pryce plays a good memorable villain, 'the emperor of the air,' Elliot Carver who was prepared to go to any length to increase the power of his media empire. If you think actor Jonathan Pryce did not a good job playing a bad guy. Watch him Ronin (1998) with Robert De Niro a year after this movie he played another bad guy.

Götz Otto plays Stamper, the loyal psychopath henchman who follows Carver's orders murdering a group of shipwrecked British sailors. He was a good second bad guy but he wasn't memorable like Famke Janssen as Xenia Onatopp.

Judi Dench is once again as M and she is more handsome and awesome than she was in GoldenEye. She is a good heart person in this movie I thought the actress did her job well. Samantha Bond, Joe Don Baker and Desmond Llewellyn - all reprise their "GoldenEye" roles.

Michelle Yeoh did a good job as Wai Lin the new Bond girl she was awarded for the role of Wai Lin. A martial artist of considerable skills, she preferred to work alone - until she begins to trust 007.

Carver's wife Paris was played by the great beauty, Teri Hatcher was excellent as Paris Carver's wife. She was good in her role and her performance. After an assassin kill's Carver's wife here we seen Bond's remorse and feelings, not a stone killer like Daniel Craig in Quantum of Solace.

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) is the eighteenth spy film in the James Bond series to be produced by Eon Productions, and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode, with the screenplay written by Bruce Feirstein.

10/10 Great Bond theme, it is my seventh favorite James Bond 007 movie in top ten favorite Bond films. I love this film to death and in my opinion it is way underrated.

A Run and Gun Movie........... and Nothing More

[BrohmaBull007 · 7/10 · 29 January 2006]

This is a good movie and all but this isn't a James Bond like movie. You take a war plot....... with an Sylvester Stallone gun fights and you just add bond into it. Brosnan does a good job here.......... you cant notice his age and he doesn't shove the one liners down our throats like Moore. I think the bad parts of this movie were the useless henchman who gets little buildup and doesn't do anything but stand around and look tough. I hated this air thin plot because the main villain completely destroys it. The villain should do something evil or have a nice background and buildup but this villain is just irritating and boring. Michelle Yeoh is OK here but you can tell that she doesn't have any chemistry with Brosnan and you barely know what shes doing. I enjoyed the remote control car sequences (including the hilarious part with Q). The best part was the the car chase with Bond using the remote control to drive. I was a little surprised at how they changed Bond to using machine guns and killing people without a heart or hesitation. The theme song was good as were some of the action scenes, It just doesn't feel like a Bond film.

"Martinis, girls, and guns... It's murder on our love affair."

[majikstl · 5/10 · 6 December 2006]

You don't review James Bond movies, you evaluate them, rate them according to how well they meet expectations. There are certain things one has come to expect, even demand of a Bond film and each individual effort either delivers or it doesn't. So, here are ten elements that make a Bond film a Bond film and how TOMORROW NEVER DIES rates on a scale of 1 to 10:

Title: TOMORROW NEVER DIES: Poetic pretension aside, the "Tomorrow" in this case is the name of a newspaper. And the film's original title was "Tomorrow Never Lies," a more mundane slogan, but not nearly suitable for a Bond film. 8 points.

Pre-Credit Teaser: Bond interrupts the sale of various illegal weapons and casually stops a nuclear disaster in the bargain. Another elaborate teaser with Bond escaping the bad guys at the last minute, leaving a bunch of explosions in his wake. Nicely done, I suppose, but old hat. 5 points.

Opening Credits: After Daniel Kleinman's debut work on the credits for GOLDENEYE, his graphics here are particularly disappointing. There is almost a generic quality to Kleinman's choice of images, reflecting the worst of Maurice Binder's prototypes. Worse, the disturbing shots of the female body made up of circuits and micro chips is rather creepy re- enforcing the clichéd concept of Bond Girls as mere objects. 2 points.

Theme Song: It may not be the all-time worst Bond theme song, but Sheryl Crowe's "Tomorrow Never Dies," cowritten with Richard Froom, just might be the most sleep-inducing. Perhaps she is trying to imitate the great Shirley Bassey, but Crowe's drowsy rendition is listless and just downright dreary. A second theme song ends the film; k. d. lang's "Surrender" is somewhat better than Crowe's contribution -- but not by much. It's strange, but by this time the producers of the series are picking and choosing from multiple submissions from various noted artists, yet they still end up selecting themes songs that are, at best, mediocre. 2 points.

"Bond, James Bond": As Bond, Pierce Brosnan seems to be trying awfully hard to not crack so much as a smile, thus when he does seem to be enjoying himself it's cause for applause. After the sardonic style he restored to the character in GOLDENEYE, it is disheartening to see him returning to the glum approach that Timothy Dalton took. 4 points.

Bond Babes: Somewhere between being Lois Lane and becoming a Desperate Housewife, Teri Hatcher added "Bond Girl" to her resume. Alas, she brought none of her proved gift for playing spunky heroines with a comic touch to the role; as the villain's depressed ill-fated wife, she may be the most morose Bond Girl of all time. But she is balanced out in glorious style by Michelle Yeoh as Wai Lin, a Chinese agent who teams up with 007, both on his mission and on some of the best staged stunts of the series. While sex and sexiness have all but faded from the Bond films, Yeoh personifies the evolution of the Bond Girl to that of a strong and dynamic professional. 10 points.

Bond Villain: Of all the villains James has faced, Elliott Carver just might be the most insipid. Though played by the very talented Jonathan Pryce, the character is a power-mad media mogul who hopes to start World War III, so he can have exclusive rights to cover it with his print and broadcast outlets. That is a lot of effort for such a meager pay back. Though prone to occasional temper tantrums, the owlish Carver is about as threatening as a junior high school principal who is upset about graffiti on the boys room wall. 1 point.

Bond Baddies: Vincent Schiavelli is one of those actors born to play a bad guy. With his sad, droopy Salvadore Dali face, he instantly gave character to any role just by his presence. Here, as assassin Dr. Kaufman, he is rather subdued, but he gives a nice comic twist to the character's dour professionalism. He is assisted by his protégé, Stamper, who unfortunately is played far less memorably by Götz Otto. Stamper is yet another cold, emotionless Ayran killer in the Donald Grant mold and, while he is a formidable opponent in battle, he is a dull character otherwise. 7 points.

Sinister Plot: There are just so many holes in Carver's dastardly plan that even the most far-fetched Bond action stunt is more believable. The idea that a publisher has to create news in order to have something to print is as old as yellow journalism, but there just isn't a whit of common sense in Carver's reckless drive to create a world war that would endanger, not expand his own media empire. Plus, what idiot would place in print stories about his own crimes, even before he committed them. He is just a stupid, stupid man and it is a stupid, stupid plot. 0 points.

Production values: The film's saving grace is the remarkable stunt work featuring Bond and Wai Lin handcuffed together and escaping via motorcycle from the villain's helicopter, through the slums of Saigon. Obviously influenced by the over-the-top stunts work of Asian cinema, it provides quite a kick to an otherwise lackluster film. 8 points.

Bonus Points: I don't know if it is social commentary or just motion picture showmanship, but once again we are treated to the mindless destruction of a poor Third World community. Though expertly done, the chase that runs amok in a crowded, impoverished Saigon neighborhood, terrorizing the poor and destroying their meager homes, all without a second thought, paints a vivid portrait of Super Power arrogance. We'll pretend it is meant as social commentary and add 5 points.

Summary: What this film does best, it does very well. But it's negatives far outweigh its positives. TOMORROW doesn't die; it's already DOA.

Bond-o-meter Rating: 52 points out of 100.

The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success.

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 28 July 2012]

Tomorrow Never Dies is directed by Roger Spottiswoode and written by Bruce Feirstein who uses characters created by Ian Fleming. It stars Pierce Brosnan, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Price, Gortz Otto, Teri Hatcher, Ricky Jay, Judi Dench, Colin Salmon, Desmond Llewelyn and Geoffrey Palmer.Music is scored by David Arnold and cinematography by Robert Elswit.

Bond 18 and 007 is called in to investigate media magnate Elliot Carver who appears to be instigating disasters to cause a war between the UK and China.

After GoldenEye had broke records and Pierce Brosnan was firmly accepted as the new Bond to usher in the approaching millennium, Eon wasted no time in getting Tomorrow Never Dies into production. Once again another studio had to be built since Leavesden was being used for the Star Wars sequels and Pinewood simply wasn't big enough! A sign that Brosnan's second film was to be gloriously high in production value? Further snags came and went, Vietnam refused permission to film in the country at the last minute and Brosnan got injured but thankfully pulled through to avert further delays. With a script being rewritten daily by Feirstein it appeared to be a jinxed production, the budget went over $100 million, a new record for a Bond movie. Was GoldenEye going to be a false dawn? Was Tomorrow Never Dies going to end up with the bottom feeders of the franchise?

As it happens, Bond 18 was a roaring success at the box office, it made $334 million even though it went up against James Cameron's Titanic upon release. Reviews were, and still are, mixed, yet it's one of the Bond films that actually rewards upon revisits if you can forgive the clunkiness of the script in the latter half of the picture. The gigantic budget is up there on the screen, great locations, great casting, amazing stunts, hi-tech gadgets/vehicles and outlandish action sequences. A dynamite score from David Arnold helps as well, unashamedly a big John Barry fan, Arnold brought back some traditional Barry strains whilst putting his own energetic composition into the mix. Sheryl Crow's title song is one of the best of the modern Bond bunch and K D Lang's Surrender is also a fabulous addition to the production. There's great spectacle here, a nice blend of traditional Bond with new age Bond, were it not for missteps in the scripting and unrealised character potential, then it surely would have a better reputation.

Michelle Yeoh (Wai Lin) is a fabulous Bond girl, she kick ass, is very pretty and rivals Bond in every department, but she is incredibly underused. The one great ass kicking sequence we get from her only serves to make us lament there's not more. Teri Hatcher (Paris Carver) has all the tools to be another in the line of worthy Bond girls, but she serves only as a plot device to get Bond broody and moody, she's utterly wasted. Pryce is a class act who dominates every scene he is in, but his Elliot Carver's motives and means are weak, and once again we find ourselves with a larger than life villain who we can't accept can give Bond a run for his money. The henchmen score better, though, with Otto's Aryan brute Mr. Stamper a real muscular threat and Vincent Schiavelli's amusing hit-man offering up genuine peril for Bond. Dench continues the good work in Golden Eye as M, Llewelyn as Q gets another round of sparring joyously with 007 and Samantha Bond gets some well written lines as Moneypenny.

It failed to live up to the Bondian standards set by GoldenEye, but it is still a great action movie full of vim and vigour and dotted along the way are some truly great scenes. Bond and Wai Lin on a bike, Bond and remote controlled BMW, Bond and Stamper face off and Bond sitting in chair brooding whilst knocking back neat vodka. These are great Bond moments. It loses its way once 007 gets to Vietnam (Thailand standing in) and the gun toting finale is more akin to a Stallone/Schwarzenegger movie, but there's still plenty here to enjoy and be thankful for. 7/10

Irredeemably dumb

[ametaphysicalshark · 24 March 2008]

"Tomorrow Never Dies" manages to top "Diamonds are Forever" and J.W. Pepper as the dumbest thing to happen to Bond's cinematic incarnation, until "Die Another Day" came along, that is. It's blisteringly, unrelentingly, unbelievably stupid from start to finish. Yes, I've heard the defenses: "it's a Bond film, what do you expect?" seems to be a popular one. What's even sadder is that certain people relish this stupidity, and wish that this was how most Bond films were.

I hate to say it, as he is a friendly and intelligent person and based on what those who are properly acquainted with him say, a remarkably professional and careful director, but Roger Spottiswoode's work as director here is poor for the most part, with the exception of the one truly great sequence in the film- the chase scene with Michelle Yeoh tied to Bond on a motorbike (probably thanks to a second-unit director anyway). It's not a confidently directed movie at all, and only looks somewhat good thanks to Robert Elswit's photography.

I wish the direction at least was good, as it is hard to compound how atrocious this script is. The vast majority of the dialogue is among the most ridiculous you've ever heard (no, seriously, take a Michael Bay film and dumb down the worst scene then you've got "Tomorrow Never Dies" for basically its entirety). What's most insulting about this script is that Bond barely features in it. Oh, sure, Bond is present in most scenes, but for all he actually does and says it could have been just about anyone in the scene. He speaks strictly in short sentences the writer thought were witty or clever (boy, was he wrong), or partakes in action scenes. I've always defended Brosnan's Bond, but I realize now that I am defending his better Bond, and not the terribly-written and lazily performed version present in this flick and "Die Another Day". What's going on here?

Let's end this with some positive comments: The score is good. It's much, much better than the "GoldenEye" score (oh why couldn't they have hired David Arnold for that movie?), and relies heavily on Barry-like arrangements of the Monty Norman theme, but the original parts are nice too. There are a couple of solid action scenes, and the motorbike chase really is terrific, but this movie is too dumb and too awkwardly-directed for it to work on any level.

3/10

Modern retelling of the Spy Who Loved Me

[mikayakatnt · 7/10 · 4 March 2020]

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

Great Bond film

[masonsaul · 8/10 · 2 December 2021]

Tomorrow Never Dies is another great Bond film that's suitably thrilling, action packed and fun, even if it doesn't do anything new. Pierce Brosnan is a perfect James Bond once again and Michelle Yeoh is definitely one of the best Bond girls. Jonathan Pryce is fantastic as a reliably over the top villain. Roger Spottiswoode's direction is great with some impressively shot action sequences. The music by David Arnold is really good and the song by Sheryl Crow is excellent.

Bond #18: Bad news

[unbrokenmetal · 7/10 · 14 March 2009]

The first 9 minutes consist of a great opening sequence, Bond saving the world from a nuclear disaster, and that's just the little appetizer before the titles. Due to the success of "Goldeneye", the expectations for the second Bond with Pierce Brosnan were high, but - after the mentioned opening sequence - couldn't be 100% fulfilled. "Tomorrow Never Dies" gives away very early who the villain is and what he wants ("there is no news like bad news"), and after that, Bond just has lots of fights and chases, but there is neither much suspense nor unexpected twists or turns. Jonathan Pryce isn't one of the most impressive villains during the series. So the best thing about "Tomorrow Never Dies" is Michelle Yeoh who had so much more to offer than just good looks, namely her huge experience with fight scenes in countless movies; I strongly recommend "Chao ji ji hua" aka "Supercop". Some footage for "Tomorrow Never Dies" was shot in my hometown, must say it looked more like product placement for their hotel than a great location. Anyway. Not a bad Bond - an average Bond.

A warning of things to come?

[nitsua125 · 10/10 · 10 November 2020]

I grew up with Brosnan's Bond so I may be a little biased, but I love this movie.

As time has gone on it has aged very well too. In 1997 a billionaire media mogul spreading fake news seemed incredibly far fetched, but in the current age of information it's almost prescient.

A stellar performance from the cast and a nice blend between dark moments and classic light hearted Bond.

Entertaining, good action, likeable stars

[Meredith-7 · 7/10 · 23 July 1999]

There are two things that appeal to me in the latest James Bond installment. Pierce as James Bond the very suave, sophisticated and incredibly good looking spy and Michele Yeoh. It was nice to see a Bond girl who could really fight, even better than Bond himself who seems to run away from trouble rather than Yeoh who seemed to attract it. Teri Hatcher was a waste of space, it was a poor role, made worse because she was in it. Jonathan Pryce was a great villain as the media mogul, was he based on anyone in particular? I think So! The product placement was a bit much, although i'm sure it provided most of the funding for the film. Bonds gadgets were great but the story was a bit stupid. I guess they are a little stuck for ideas since the Cold War ended. Still it was fun to watch.

All the Bond tropes, as per the manual

[Mr-Fusion · 5/10 · 12 November 2015]

Coming off the heels of "GoldenEye", "Tomorrow Never Dies" always felt to me like a by-the-numbers OO7 entry. the filmmakers know what we've come to expect from a Bond film and it confidently delivers: high-end extravagance, globe-hopping, explosions, lots of shooting. And it's fairly methodical in that respect. even the quips are businesslike. And while we're talking about "GoldenEye", Bond is much less of a precise gunman; here, he just picks a direction and sprays. It's probably nitpicking, but that's always jumped out at me.

Brosnan's still great, but it's his fellow actors that get the shaft. Michelle Yeoh's a Hong Kong badass who's always getting saved, and Jonathan Bryce is playing a media tycoon bent on world domination. Sure, he's mean about it, but c'mon, Bond's fighting Rupert Murdoch. It's lame! Not really a bad movie, but also pretty forgettable.

5/10

Fairly Good Bond Romp

[Theo Robertson · 7/10 · 16 January 2003]

I`ve noticed that a lot of Bond fans dislike TOMORROW NEVER DIES but I don`t really see what the problem is . The plot often borders on the realistic which not something you can say about most Bond films . A media mogul conspiring to cause a war between Britain and China in order to get high news ratings ! Face it , it`s not impossible and there`s no doubt more than a few journalists in the real world are hoping for a war in Iraq so they can get a reputation as a go getting war correspondent .

The production values are excellent , the visuals here are far better and slicker than anything you`d find in the Moore films . But the best aspect is the performance of Jonathan Pryce as Elliot Carver . Pryce is one of Britain`s finest and underrated actors and he really shows his joy on screen at being a Bond villain . And anyone who " Slimes " President Clinton is my kind of guy .

Having said that however I still preferred GOLDENEYE , and I feel somewhat uneasy that the producers didn`t actually realise that this film should be called TOMORROW NEVER LIES

Seems To Be A Bit Forgotten

[slightlymad22 · 7/10 · 25 March 2020]

I really enjoy this one, from its pre title sequence Tomorrow Never Dies is superior to Goldeneye in many respects. It continue to approach which proved so popular with the previous film: a modern, high-tech look in the 1990s combined with the traditional elements of the earlier classics including large larger than life girls, gadget and villains. The film looks expensive and every penny was up there on the screen.

There are some wonderful and memorable elements in tomorrow dies, among them an outstanding cast. Even the supporting characters are played by a diverse group of highly talented actors. Pierce Brosnan is even more impressive this time round and seems far more comfortable in the role of 007. The movie beautiful beautifully photograph by Robert Elswit, with one scene standing up in particularly: Bond is sitting in a chair is his hotel room awaiting the arrival of an unknown assassin. The image of Brosnan, clad in a white shirt and shoulder holster. It seems intentionally to recall the the sequence in Dr.No in which Bond awaits the arrival of Professor Dent. It is little touches like these which make Tomorrow Never Dies a 007 fans delight.

Whilst there is a real spectacle which has been lacking from the last several Bond movies Tomorrow Never Dies is not without a few errors. It's main plot playing one country off the other has been used twice before (in YOLT and TSWLM) and when Bond goes to Vietnam, the movie goes full action movie mode, The Motorbike chase is spectacular as is the climatic finale but both ran a bit too long for me. Nevertheless Tomorrow Never Dies is a classy, exotic entry in the series and can proudly rank as one of the best Bond films.

I love Michelle Yeoh as Wai Lin, she is a great Bond girl who kicks ass, Teri Hatcher looks great as Paris Carver but there is a serious lack of chemistry between her and Brosnan. It's no secret I love Jonathan Pryce, so I think Elliot Carver is great. I love him teasing Lin "pathetic". Judi Dench really comes into her own in this movie as M, telling Bond to "pump" Paris Carver for information, whilst I always love to see Desmond Llewelyn.

Oh I forgot to mention this is only the third time we see Bond in full dress uniform as a Royal Navy commander. The other too being You Only Live Twice and The Spy Who Loved Me.

Tomorrow Never Dies opened the same day as James Cameron's Titanic. Bond had the weekend first and when Titanic movie from its summer release date, Bond didn't flinch. Even with THAT competition it still grossed $124 million at the domestic box office.

Enjoyable, if strictly by-the-numbers, James Bond outing

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 1 December 2008]

Pierce Brosnan's second Bond movie is not quite as good as "GoldenEye", mainly because it's so derivative of previous Bond flicks and brings little that's new to the table: the "play two superpowers against each other" plot comes straight out of "You Only Live Twice", the antagonism-turned-to-attraction relationship between Bond and his leading lady follows the pattern of "The Spy Who Loved Me" and "Moonraker" (complete with a scene where Bond plays around with his counterpart's gadgets), the chase in narrow and overcrowded exotic streets is reminiscent of "Octopussy", etc. It feels as if the Bond producers, anxious to solidify Brosnan's position as the new Bond after the success of "GoldenEye", decided to play it safe this time and stick to the formula. On the bright side, this is a formula that (usually) works, and the film is fairly consistently enjoyable. Brosnan is Bondishly Cool: action, fights, luxurious living, flirting with the ladies, emotion, humor, wits - there is hardly an aspect of the role that he doesn't pull off. Michelle Yeoh is also terrific as the main Bond girl; she is gorgeous and nearly unstoppable physically, although her character barely appears during the film's first hour. Jonathan Pryce is more hammy than menacing as the villain, and his plan is not the most sound one (a media baron igniting WWIII just for the ratings?), but he has his moments. Most of the other roles are fairly brief, though credit must go to Vincent Schiavelli for the memorable Dr. Kaufman, and to Judi Dench as M (back in the day where she wasn't in nearly every scene, like it's happening now with Daniel Craig's films). To sum up: a formulaic Bond flick that the capable leads and some admittedly spectacular stunts (like the motorcycle jump over the helicopter) get you through with no problems. (**1/2)

Mindless action done well

[cartesianthought · 6/10 · 22 December 2015]

This is more of an action film than a spy film. Lots of bullets will fly, motorcycles will rev up and the main characters will iconically rappel down a giant building tearing down the banner. It features some of Bond's best gadgets, including a remote controlled BMW stocked with plenty of features. Chases and other action scenes are quite thrilling. Pierce Brosnan's performance in this movie is slightly darker than Goldeneye but he still keeps his cool and charm.

The plot is paper-thin, the villain is a bit cartoonish and his plan is far-fetched even for a madman's standards. A Bond film about yellow journalism is a definitely a unique direction, but I feel like the story was a wasted opportunity. At the end of the day, it's a fun action movie. Oh, and it has Dr. Kaufmann in it too.

James Bond-Still saving the world after all these years

[crowrobot · 10/10 · 19 March 2005]

'Tomorrow Never Dies' is a superb Bond film, and if you're not looking for anything else, it provides some great entertainment.

The story: Bond (Pierce Brosnan) has the save the world from a megalomaniac again, but this time, the threat is Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce, clearly having the time of his life), a worldwide media baron who wants to start a war in order to get higher ratings. All the Bond regulars are here: Q (Desmond Llewelyn), who gives Bond a new BMW complete with rocket launchers, machine guns, and a remote control (there's a fun chase sequence in a high-rise garage where Bond sits in the backseat and drives the car by remote); M (Judi Dench), still frosty and unamused with some of Bond's... questionable tactics; and Miss Moneypenny, who gets one of the best lines in the film.

The Bond girl this time around is Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh), a Chinese agent who has also been sent to find out what Carver's up to. Lin and Bond team up in the last part of the film, and their chemistry is impeccable. Lin also gets to kick some butt, which is always fun to see.

Overall, if you're looking for some good IL' action and adventure, you can't go wrong with James Bond. 10/10

You always were a cunning linguist, James

[Magenta_Bob · 7/10 · 29 July 2012]

It's funny how the Brosnan Bond films, which I thought were genuinely cool when they were released, now kind of feel more dated than the ones with Sean Connery that were made more than 30 years earlier. That being said, Tomorrow Never Dies passes the time, despite containing some of the worst dialogue and/or puns the franchise put out pre-Die Another Day.

After a rather badass opening sequence and a top-tier theme song by Sheryl Crow, this is basically the average bond fare, although the plot, where an unusually megalomaniacal media mogul, played by the ludicrously cartoonish Jonathan Pryce, aided by his unusually bland henchman Mr. Stamper (Götz Otto) is trying to start a new world war so that he can get exclusive TV rights in China, or something, makes me longing for the old Spectre days.

If the plot and the sometimes poor writing drag the film down, the excellent set pieces keep it at a reasonable high level. Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh), who is one of the coolest female characters in a Bond film, provides a really good martial arts fight scene, and there is an exhilarating motorcycle sequence that belongs to the top chases in the series. Bond's remote car gadget is also put to great use in an extended garage segment. Pierce Brosnan might be one of my least favourite Bond actors, but those scenes are enough to make Tomorrow Never Dies my favourite film starring him as Bond.