Tomorrow Never Dies

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Starring	Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh, Teri Hatcher
Director	Roger Spottiswoode
Year	1997
What it's worth		Matinee* (Good way to spend a couple of hours. * - With caveat)

Some people "get" Bond movies, others don't. Some people, Lord help them, take them very seriously, and somehow find surprises every time the old formula is cranked out. Others (and this is my category) have somehow fallen in love with the tired old standards, and even after eighteen incarnations, enjoy seeing how many times the suave and debonair superspy can listen to the evil world-conquering villain delay killing him long enough to tell him how brilliant he is - and consequently lose everything. Finally, there are those who may not even know the formula completely, but know that they hate it and have no use for the Bond franchise.

Tomorrow Never Dies will satisfy the Bond aficionados out there, but it won't win any new converts to the genre. It's a classic Bond movie, with all the required pieces and parts, with a dash of 90s correctness that's enough to keep the franchise palatable without disenchanting the diehards. If you've never liked a Bond movie, don't bother seeing this one; it won't provide you with any new insights. If you do enjoy a good Bond romp, break out the popcorn (extra butter in honor of those shaken-not-stirred vodka martinis) and get a comfortable seat in the theater.

Bond himself, of course, is the centerpiece of the film. This is no Batman franchise that lets the villains steal away the spotlight. Bond is the focus all the way. This is Pierce Brosnan's second appearance as the British spy. He leaves behind the grimness of Timothy Dalton and stays well clear of the wry self-deprecation of Roger Moore, portraying Bond as a guy who's just so blasted good at what he does that he seems to tap his way through situations that would leave us mortal humans befuddled. His take on Bond hearkens back to Sean Connery's cool demeanor, but with a bit more twinkle of humor in his eye. Bond is likeable, upfront, and matter-of-fact about his work. It's a safe portrayal of the character, and Brosnan has the charisma to let such a simple characterization work.

The next linchpin of any Bond movie is the villain. The bad guy (or occasional gal) must have outrageous schemes for world conquest and be willing to ruthlessly destroy thousands, even millions of people for the end result he's seeking. This time, our bad guy is Elliot Carver (portrayed by Jonathan Pryce), a media mogul who wants to start World War III to get the whole world tuned in to his television stations, newspapers, and magazines. Today's media conglomerates are a nice, big target to shoot at, and the movie has fun taking lots of potshots. Pryce does a great job with a villain who, for a change, is not so interested in direct world conquest as he is in market share, in getting the ears and eyes of the world. He's on to something; what he wants is actually more powerful than direct rulership. Carver's a brilliant fellow, but is also not really on this side of sane; his eyes are too wild, his fondness for making up his own headlines for tomorrow's newspapers too gleeful. He's crazy like a fox, and wonderfully loony.

The final leg (no pun intended) of the Bond triangle is the Bond girls. They must be sexy, they must be glamorous, and of course, they must fall head over heels for Bond the moment they see him. Bond has two woman at his beck and call this time. Teri Hatcher, of the Lois and Clark television show fame, plays Paris Carver, the wife of the villain and a former lover of Bond's. She must decide whether to stay loyal to her husband or to betray him to the alluring Mister Bond. Is there any doubt what her decision will be?

The second woman Bond gets involved with is Wai Lin, a Chinese secret agent (reminiscent of From Russia With Love) who is also investigating Carver's involvement in the tensions that are heating up between the British and the Chinese. Lin is played by Michelle Yeoh, who has been best known for her work in martial arts films, frequently with Jackie Chan. Tomorrow Never Dies makes use of Yeoh's skills to make Lin one of the most capable and physical of the Bond woman ever. Mark this one down in your calendars; this is the first time a Bond woman gets a complete fight scene to herself.

The relationship with the Bond women showcases a distinctive change from the near-misogynist Bond of old; this James Bond actually cares about the women he's involved with. His relationship with Paris Carver was apparently very close, and Bond still carries a bit of a torch for the lady - and vice versa. For a change, Bond's seduction of Lin is filled less with self-assured expectations that she'll jump into his arms, but more with stolen glances and frank appreciation as both agents decide that the other may just be attractive enough to stand a little closer to. Around the time that Timothy Dalton took on the Bond role, the producers realized that they needed to make some changes to the way Bond dealt with women. At first, they tried to do that by emphasizing that Bond was getting involved with fewer women per movie, and hoped that would make his relationships more palatable to a post-AIDS, post-feminist audience. Now, they seem to have realized that emotional involvement instead of conquest is what can make his rampant womanizing still enjoyable to watch with a laugh and a head-shake.

All the other usual Bond ingredients are here - sometimes, it seems, almost verbatim from earlier Bond films. This is the movie's biggest weakness; there have already been seventeen of these. It's hard to find sets, stunts, and situations that haven't been done already. We've already been in sunken ships, we've raced around on motorcycles before, and we've certainly seen our fair share of rooftops and evil fortresses. How much longer can this old formula crank out movies before totally running out of steam?

For now, though, when the pieces are put together well enough, the Bond movies can still entertain. When the hero is suave, the heroine is snappy, the villain is outrageous, the stunts are fun, and the action is loud and impressive, the formula still works. Tomorrow Never Dies is nothing to stop traffic for, but it is one of the better examples of James Bond films, and for those who enjoy 007, it should keep them quite happy until the next attempt is made.

I do have one lingering question from this movie: I have no idea why it's titled Tomorrow Never Dies. Usually, the title refers to a major character, a world-conquering piece of machinery, or at least a line during the show. None of the above appears, so we're left with one nagging mystery; where the heck did this title come from?

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