Review of Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) by Connor G — 14 Jan 2012

From the director of "Air America", "Shoot to Kill", "Turner & Hooch" and "Hiroshima" comes... a "Bond" film. I can't tell if this is gonna be cheesy, super serious or something no one has ever seen. Heck, even I didn't here about "Hiroshima" until I looked this guy up, and I just got "Mr. Nobody" on Canadian-imported blu-ray for Christmas. Well, needless to say that Roger Spottiswoode has had quite the diverse career by 1997, making it hard to build expectations, because you don't know what he's going to bring to the table; unless, of course, you just walk in expecting to see Bond and his goofy dog sidekick trying to fly a plane out of a Japanese city as it's about to be nuked. Boy, imagine the disappointment those people felt when they walked in and saw it was just a formulaic "Bond" film, and boy, that's pretty formulaic. "James Bond" is right up there on the scale of formulaic filmmaking; just above "Lifetime" and just below cop drama TV shows. No, this film isn't even close to that formulaic of a "Bond" film, but it's still fairly familiar, which isn't to say that that's its only flaw.

Remember how awesome that plane dive stunt in the opener of "GoldenEye" was and how impressive it was that they made it seem perfectly plausible? Well, in this opener, Bond engages in a fighter jet battle, only to be attacked by a stow-away in the backseat, until he hits the eject button and sends the stow-away flying into Bond's enemy's fighter jet that explodes shortly after the stow-away pierces the jet and lands perfectly in the backseat, leaving Bond to smoothly utter, "Backseat driver..." Yeah, as if that's not ridiculous enough, that whole opener was another cuttable opening mission sequence that had nothing to do with the main story. Come on guys, we got rid of it in "GoldenEye" for a reason! Seriously though, that's just one of a couple of dumb, over-the-top moments that not only take you out of the film, but contradict a surprisingly serious tone, which isn't to say that the serious tone doesn't already lose a bit of steam here and there, thanks to the some cheesy melodrama, a weak performance by Teri Hatcher, as well as familiarity in the story, not just as a "007" film, but an espionage thriller of this type. As expected, the series has fallen back right after "GoldenEye", and while there is some smarts in this film, there's not enough for this film to match its predecessor. However, this isn't a "'Moonraker'-After-'The Spy Who Loved Me'" drop in momentum; it's not a revival of that seemingly endless streak of "average" "Bond" films - from "Moonraker", all the way to "Licence to Kill" -, because, unlike those films, this film has enough seriousness in its execution to back up what seriousness there is on paper.

Spottiswoode is certainly no Martin Campbell when it comes to bringing seriousness to this series, seeing as he does cheese things up now and again with this film. Still, Spottiswoode gives us plenty of intrigue and seriousness, whether it be through the solid score, or just the way he sets up tone, because that aura of superstyle from most "Bond" films have been diluted and substituted with a very theatrically-scoped tone of tension and realism, even if that serious tone is contradicted by the handful of over-the-top moments. Don't get me wrong, the film is still fun, but where most Bond directors would have brought that fun to the forefront, Spottiswoode gives us substance-with-style, and it's a better film for it. Still, that doesn't mean that the guy doesn't know how to deliver on action, because whether they're serious, or just plain fun and campy, each action sequence - of which, there are many - is so slickly-executed, not just in tone, but in choreography, staging and tightness, making every punch thrown, gun fired, explosion set off and, well, every beat of every stunt thrilling and enjoyable. Still, Spottiswoode can't keep this machine pumping forever. He's got to have a strong lead to back him up, and let me tell you, Pierce Brosnan is that. Now, I've heard a lot of complaints about Brosnan, and sure, he's no Roger Moore or Sean Connery, but I must say that this guy is a more fitting Bond than people give him credit for, as he is able to really embody the charisma, a bit of the mystery and even some of the vulnerability in Bond, portraying the icon in a very human fashion that really helps in punching tension into the situation and making this film extra enjoyable.

At the end of the day, genericism, as well as the writers' occasional camp - that contradicts the director's seriousness - and the director's occasonal cheese - that contradicts the writers' coolness - keep the film from really delivering, but with awesome action, as well a generally compellingly serious, when not fun tone created by the strong team of director Roger Spottiswoode and lead Pierce Brosnan, "Tomorrow Never Dies" stands as one of your better "Bond" films, as well as a consistently entertaining thrill ride, by its own right.

3/5 - Good.