James Bond Series Rewatch: ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’

In Tomorrow Never Dies, Pierce Brosnan’s second outing as James Bond, “James Bond sets out to stop a media mogul’s plan to induce war between China and the U.K in order to obtain exclusive global media coverage.” (IMDB)

Bond: Pierce Brosnan
M: Judi Dench
Q: Desmond Llewelyn
Moneypenny: Samantha Bond
Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Song: “Tomorrow Never Dies” by Sheryl Crow

Opening scene

After a let down of an opening in Live and Let Die, we’re back to what the people want with a big, explosive (literally) opening. We get Bond undercover. There are terrorists dealing weapons. A bomb is sent in before they see nuclear warheads are present, meaning Bond needs to steal the plane holding those warheads. It’s exactly what you want out of a Bond opening.

Quotes

There are a number of goofy, notable quotes in Tomorrow Never Dies, so I’ll just leave them here, no context needed.

“They’ll print anything these days.”

“He didn’t even say goodbye.”

“You always were a cunning linguist, James”
Double entendres are nothing new to Bond films, and this is creative little play on words.

“Then pump her for information”
“You’ll just have to decide how much pumping is needed, James”

The fact that whatever this channel is used this scene to advertise Tomorrow Never Dies is hilarious and I’m here for it.

Big Name Actors

In addition to leads Pierce Brosnan and Judi Dench, Tomorrow Never Dies boasts a remarkably strong cast. Though not a big name yet (this was only his second film role) Gerard Butler makes a brief appearance as a Leading Seaman on the HMS Devonshire.

In more prominent roles are Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh, and Teri Hatcher. Hatcher gets the short shrift here, playing the secondary Bond girl. Pryce and Yeoh and get more shine as the lead villain and Bond’s eventual partner, respectively. It’s always fun to see big names like this pop up in popular series. Whether they are established at the time of the movie, or the movie comes before they hit it big, it adds a breath of fresh air to the series.

Elliot Carver

Carver’s plan is one of the goofiest in Bond history. And Carver himself is goofy and insane to match. This is what big name actors need to do when they’re in a Bond movie, especially when they’re a villain. They just need to have fun and go for it, balls to the wall. And Pryce does just that and then some. I mean, just look at this clip:

He’s having as much fun as maybe anyone in the storied run of the Bond franchise. Carver’s plan may not make the most sense, but who cares when the actor is so gung-ho on the role? He could have been trying to corner the world’s celery market for all I care. If he did it with this much gusto and enthusiasm, I’d be on board all over again.

Also, the typing. Never forget the typing.

Wai Lin

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: some of Bond at his best is when he has a bad-ass female partner who can also call him on his b.s. And Wai Lin is that in spades. Add in the fact that she’s played by the one and only Michelle Yeoh and I couldn’t be more in. Yeoh was already an established star in Hong Kong, but it wasn’t until Tomorrow Never Dies and 2000’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon that she really started to achieve international fame. Watching it back with her career arc in mind just makes it that much more fun.

Paris Carver

With someone like Teri Hatcher in this role, it would have been nice to see the character given a bit of a meatier arc than what the secondary Bond girl normally gets. But even without much depth to her character, Paris does provide a little emotional depth to Bond’s character. Tomorrow Never Dies is one of the few Bond movies to reference Bond’s past relationships; his serious ones at least.

James Bond so often gets painted as this emotionless assassin, someone who can’t form any true personal connections. It’s a good change of pace to remind the audience that he is indeed human and goes through some of the same struggles that ordinary civilians do. Not much time is spent on it here, but only a little bit is needed. Any more and it feels forced. This was the sweet spot.

Dr. Kaufman

You have to love a good over-the-top, loves-his-work-a-little-too-much bad buy. Always adds some much needed humor to the film’s serious tone. He also has one quote that I keep coming back to:

“I am especially good the celebrity overdoes.”

I don’t want to get too dark and see which celebrities overdosed around this time. But, that being said, it could be fun to speculate whose deaths Kaufman could have had a hand in. If that is his specialty, surely an A-Lister or two would have crossed his path.

Remote Control Car

Some vintage James Bond fun here. And it shows off a little bit of the funny Bond/Q relationship, which is always an added bonus. And don’t ask me how the car’s little razor cutting thing just so happens to be the exact height at which the henchmen set up their wire trap. It’s Bond. I’m just going to accept it and move on.

Motorcycle Chase

You can’t have a Bond movie without at least one great chase scene, and Tomorrow Never Dies has a helluva fun one. Really no commentary needed; just watch and enjoy.

Score: 64/100

Up Next: You Only Live Twice

Running Bond Rankings

1. The Spy Who Loved Me – 85/100
2. From Russia With Love – 83/100
3. Spectre – 80/100
4. For Your Eyes Only – 76/100
5. Diamonds Are Forever – 66/100
6. The World Is Not Enough – 65/100
7. Tomorrow Never Dies – 64/100
8. Moonraker – 64/100
9. The Living Daylights – 62/100
10. Live and Let Die – 60/100
11. Die Another Day – 55/100

Matt Hambidge