Review of Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) by Corey B — 05 Jul 2009

Tomorrow Never Dies has lots of great action scenes, but a less than stellar script that puts together bits and pieces from other, better Bond films keeps this from really making a mark on the series.

Once again (like You Only Live Twice and Spy Who Loved Me) a madman is trying to make two countries declare war on one another. Once again Bond teams up with a fellow spy on the opposite side (Spy Who Loved Me). Once again the villain's henchman is a blonde strongman (From Russia With Love, The Living Daylights). And once again there's an elaborate shootout in the villain's lair (too many to name).

The Bond films have certainly never been original, so yes, it's odd to fault this one for slavishly following the formula, but at least the others brought something new to the table. The big problem with Tomorrow Never Dies is there isn't anything to set it apart.

Michelle Yeoh is probably the best part of the movie, but she's basically a tougher, more capable, version of Agent XXX from Spy Who Loved Me.

And while Jonathan Pryce is a great actor, Elliot Carver just isn't all that threatening. I don't know, but a plot to create World War III just to get broadcast rights seems like a waste of energy.

Fortunately, Spottiswoode knows how to shoot a good action scene and Tomorrow Never Dies does have some great scenes. The motorcycle vs. helicopter chase is incredibly fun as is Bond's attempt to escape a parking garage using a remote controlled car.

But sadly, I've always found the last half hour of this movie to be a painful bore. All that gunfire on the stealth ship should be exciting, but after a while it just becomes numbing.