Tomorrow Never Dies – Brosnan is on a roll

It was pretty much the general consensus that Pierce Brosnan’s first outing as Bond (‘Goldeneye’) was actually a vast improvement on the brief ‘Dalton era’ (sorry Tim!).  So, there was some speculation as to whether ‘Goldeneye’ was a fluke or not when it came to the next film in the franchise ‘Tomorrow Never Dies.’ I think I was as pleased as any Bond fan when I say that I was pleasantly surprised.  I could almost say that – overall – ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ is actually the highlight of the Brosnan reign.

The film does its best to steer clear of the slightly more fanciful notion of a supervillain trying to take over the world, instead choosing for almost satirising one of today’s real life media moguls (Rupert Murdoch anyone?) in their attempts to gain global positioning as the one and only source of news for the entire planet.  And, in typical Bond style, this  isn’t done in the boardroom, but by starting a war between the UK and China, then filming the carnage that ensues.  But, whatever carnage the villain can create, Bond does his best to match.  And he does it very well.  If you’ve seen one Bond film (especially one of the more modern ones with the higher budget) you should know what to expect.  You get the fights, the chases and the exotic locations.  It’s all here for your enjoyment.  I’m not dwelling on the details because it’s all pretty standard when it comes to Bond films (please don’t take that as a put-down of the film – it’s actually the opposite!).  This could almost be the ‘perfect’ Bond.  That doesn’t mean that it’s the best of all that have ever been made.   It has a formula like the rest and crosses all boxes, it just does it really well and, despite not giving anything that original, still is totally enjoyable – maybe even for people who aren’t fans of the series.

There are a few things that are ‘extra’ good about the film, such as the satirical take on the media (obviously filmed before the internet took off and you could probably take over the world or start a war via Twitter).  Bond’s boss, ‘M,’ gets more screen time (and with Judi Dench playing the role, then that’s no bad thing), plus Michelle Yeoh is possibly the most capable and coolest Bond girl so far.  The gadgets and Q are back, even if Desmond Llewelyn is looking more and more frail by now.  
I didn’t see much in the way of negative points, however, if I’m going by other people’s opinions of the film, I would mention that some felt than Jonathan Pryce was a little ‘weak’ as the villain/media mogul ‘Elliot Carver.’ Personally, I thought he was great, but many disagreed.  I always thought that if you wanted to see a truly wooden Bond villain then try ‘Moonraker’ or ‘The Spy Who Loved Me!’

Overall, ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ is a very solid Bond movie with a breath-taking chase through the streets of China between a motorbike and a helicopter.  Brosnan has really hit his stride with this one – just do try not to be too upset by Bond driving a BMW!

9/10 almost as perfect as The Godfather