007 Debriefings: Tomorrow Never Dies

The James Bond Franchise is not only one of the longest running film franchises in existence, it’s also one of most money making.

For over 60 years and 25 films, the films have followed James Bond engaging in spy craft (and other activities) in the name of England by defeating all sorts of villains up to different types of plots and schemes.

But what missions are worth taking if you aren’t a film psycho like me who is deciding to watch ALL 25 OF THEM?

Onward to the next film, Fake News At It’s Deadliest:

Mission #18: Tomorrow Never Dies

007: James Bond played by Pierce Brosnan – Once again, it just seems like Brosnan is more or less trying to find the right mix of previous Bonds instead of making the character his own.

In Tomorrow Never Dies, Brosnan is seemingly trying to do a mix of 60% Dalton/35% Moore/5% Connery.

The result, however, is kind of dull: Brosnan doesn’t have the seriousness of Dalton and while his comedic timing is fine with one-liners, he’s not as naturally comedic as Moore was. Regarding Connery, the film does show him being a womanizer, but they also show him being fairly vulnerable with a previous lover he once had, which counteracts that personality trait of Bond.

Honestly, Bond is the least interesting person in the entire movie. What makes Dalton’s Bond great is it’s entirely believable that he’s unpredictable and will kill you in a moment’s notice.

Brosnan doesn’t have that. In fact, if there is a Bond that he more closely resembles in this film, it’s Moore. And Brosnan just doesn’t have that comedic wit that Moore has to pull this off.

Villains: Elliot Carver Played By Jonathan Pryce – If there is a character that would have fit perfectly in the ridiculousness of a Moore Bond film, it’s absolutely Elliot Carver.

Before we talk about Pryce and his performance, the concept of this villain is absolutely bonkers: he’s a media mogul who wants to earn ratings by creating World War 3 between China and Britain, which will give him exclusive coverage of the carnage.

What is strange about this villain is that, on the face of it, it could be a fascinating villain to discuss deeper topics of how the media divides people and countries through sensationalism. It could have…dare I say…given a Bond film a deeper meaning and interpretation of what the film is actually about.

But this film goes nowhere near that lofty goal: Carver is hilariously evil in the campiest and sneeringiest of ways.

Watch as he has a smile on his face and sighs in satisfaction when he bribes a politician for having racy pictures with him and a cheerleader. Be amazed as he taunts the Bond girl with karate style motions while he yells “WAAAAHHHHH!!!”

It is clear as day that Pryce is enjoying his time playing this character. And honestly, Pryce fits well with the absurdity of the film and its action and tech set pieces.

If he was a villain in any other Bond film, it would have been laughably bad…but somehow he fits here.

Bond Girl: Wai Lin Played By Michelle Yeoh – There were two things I thought about after watching Yeoh in this film: she’s criminally underutilzed and god damn is she breathtakingly stunning in this film.

Let’s start with the former: you are introduced to Wai Lin in the beginning of the film at a party run by Carver, but the film decides to concentrate on Parris Carver instead.

It’s only towards the second half of the film where Wai Lin is in the film more. And honestly, there’s very little you learn about her other than she knows martial arts and she can hold her own.

There are flashes of Yeoh’s comedic ability and she performs the action scenes well, but they are surprisingly not as impressive as one would come to expect with her.

As for her looks, I do remember her quite fondly in other films where she is an attractive woman…but I was surely stunned looking at her in this film.

I was fairly certain the most stunning beauty of all of the Bond girls in the series would have comfortably been Jane Seymour but I wavered when I saw Yeoh in her red jacket and white shirt. Or in all leather.

And, of course, the film finds an excuse to have her wet in that t-shirt for some reason…not complaining of course.

One final issue though: the sexual fling between her and Bond was incredibly forced. Thankfully, she doesn’t fall madly for him, but it wasn’t entirely believable she wanted him in the end either.

I find myself finding Wai Lin to be quite a disappointing Bond girl because they barely used any of the gifts that Yeoh has in an interesting way. Yeoh did well in the role, but it could have been so much more knowing her talents.

Spy Action: This was an overall step down in the action department.

If we get into the actual stunt work and chase sequences, Tomorrow Never Dies is equal in that department to Goldeneye. Nice amount of explosions, exciting action sequences when involving cars and some good gunfights make the film fun.

But then, there are some scenes that are just ridiculous. You mean to tell me someone can actually take the blades of a helicopter and use them as a saw on a street while perfectly staying steady without blowing up?

And the car chase scene involving the Nokia phone that has a camera? Absolutely corny. And on top of that, how were they have such a hard time breaking the glass on the car with sledgehammers…but a bullet pierces the glass?

In fact, the tech in this movie is right in the wheelhouse of “I win” buttons that Zero and I talked about in the beginning of the 007 Debriefings. The tech is utterly absurd and add more into the ridiculousness of the franchise instead of it’s more interesting “grain of truth” mods of tech the film usually implements.

Finally, as discussed in the Bond girl section, how do you have someone like Michelle Yeoh as your Bond girl but don’t have great hand-to-hand action choreography? The few times she gets to show out, it’s perfectly fine. But you don’t watch Yeoh do martial arts for perfectly fine.

Tomorrow Never Dies is definitely a fun and entertaining movie when it comes to it’s stunts, but it’s still fairly disappointing when you think about the possibilities.

Theme Song/Opening Credits: “Tomorrow Never Dies”, written by Sheryl Crow and Mitchell Froom, performed by Sheryl Crow – Crow’s singing fits well with the opening credit sequence. It’s a good song that, once again, doesn’t fit at all with the rest of the film.

As for the opening credits, the visuals have sharply improved but have this definite feel of 90s future tech that is somewhat endearing.

Conclusion: I have definite nostalgia watching Tomorrow Never Dies since it was my first Bond film and the first one I watched in a theatre. I was sure that this was the best Bond film Brosnan was in.

But if I’m honest, Goldeneye was a better film overall even though I had problems with it.

Tomorrow Never Dies definitely feels like a relic of it’s time, though with a smart script it could have been surprisingly forward thinking.

It’s villain could have been one of the more fascinating of the entire series; instead it’s one of the more outlandish even though it’s entertaining in an overacting way.

And finally, Yeoh should have been the Bond girl to end all Bond girls: stunningly gorgeous, expert in martial arts, great comedic timing and just charming on screen. She honestly should have been the biggest star from this film, but she was woefully and inadequately used.

Though, what I can’t call Tomorrow Never Dies: bad. It’s fun and entertaining…but it in a “turn your brain off and just watch the pretty pictures” sort of way.

Tomorrow Never Dies may have the distinction of all the Bond films of “what could have been”. What Tomorrow Never Dies could have been if the script and director utilized the talent they had better to make a truly classic film.

Instead, it’s forgettable but not entirely regrettable.

Status: MISSION FAILURE