Review of Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) by Scryptkeeper — 21 Jul 2023

“Tomorrow Never Dies” is a serviceable entry in the 007 franchise that excels in setting up an interesting scenario for James Bond to navigate; placing him in the crosshairs of a looming world war in opposition to an influencial madman. Though it stumbles a bit with a number of contrivances, the presentation as a whole draws in a fair measure of intrigue due largely in part to the on screen chemistry between the actors and the concise pacing of the story. Concerning the plot, the film introduces a curious angle wherein the main antagonist, Elliot Carver, weaponizes his news organization to spread misdirection and fallacies in the hopes of sparking a war between China and the Western world. With time running short before both sides are at each other’s throats, Bond is tasked with gleaning information from Carver’s wife; coincidentally an old flame of his. After her demise at the hands of Carver’s henchmen, however, Bond must swiftly alter his plans to accommodate this film’s “Bond Girl” Wai Lin, an agent of similar status within the Chinese government who crops up whenever the story decides that she should. After the two eventually team up to take down Carver and his lackeys aboard his formidable stealth ship, a final act occurs that is satisfactory overall. The greatest strength to the story overall is its palatable narrative and smooth pacing, as Bond’s romantic flings are kept to a reasonable minimum with some logical merit within the story. The greatest weaknesses, however, are the aforementioned contrivances that riddle the plot. These primarily include the character of Wai Lin showing up inexplicably multiple times with no direct through line, and a lack of consistency with Bond’s car’s armor and performance, alongside it happening to contain some abstract gadgets that would have stopped the agent cold in their absence. Though they didn’t destroy the tone completely, they were distracting nonetheless and begged further questions that could have been avoided with better writing.

As for the characters, Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond brought an enjoyable level of wit and humor alongside his debonair mannerisms that fit the role like a glove. Furthermore, this meshed well when placed against the eccentric and megalomaniacal tendencies of Jonathan Pryce’s Elliot Carver, who managed to hold up an intimidating (albeit stereotypical) villainous presence whose greatest downfall stemmed from his penchant for monologueing. Michelle Yeoh’s Wai Lin was fun and competent in equal measure, though could have used a dose of polish to fully flesh out her role within plot, which goes the same for the head goon - Stamper - whose Schwarzenegger-esque performance was only undercut by his lack of backstory. As always, gadget maker “Q” was a treat in his brief appearance, and Bond’s boss “M” was serviceable in her balance of intellect and responsibility for her position without appearing overreaching.

In conclusion, “Tomorrow Never Dies” is a solid entry within the franchise that lends enough plausibility for its streamlined plot and dynamic action sequences to work well alongside each other. Though a tolerable degree of suspension of disbelief is required to enjoy the film for what it is, it doesn’t detract too much from the experience being fulfilling for fans of series and newcomers alike.