Cheap Tomorrow Never Dies (Special Edition) (DVD) (Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh, Teri Hatcher) (Roger Spottiswoode) Price

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Customer Reviews of Tomorrow Never Dies (Special Edition)

While one would think the formula of girls, gadgets, and a single, meglomaniacal super villian would be well worn out by now, director Roger Spottiswoode manages to take Bruce Feirstein's script to the next level of spy action/thrillers. This is in no small part due to the incredible talents of Hong Kong action star Michelle Yeoh. A powerfully agile dancer and martial artist, Yeoh finally takes the "Bond Girl" role into the 90's and kicks some royal butt through the course of the movie.

On the DVD side of things, MGM has put together a slightly below average package with wide and standard formats, animated menus, trailers, and language tracks. However, those who want the most value will want to look for the "Special Edition" set which was released a bit later.

This quibble aside, "Tomorrow Never Dies" will make a fine edition to your DVD collection.

Recommended

A well-oiled machine, but is it worthy?
Although it was originally planned that Pierce Brosnan would take on the James Bond mantle from Roger Moore in the mid-80s, the exhilaration of "Goldeneye" (his actual first Bond film) wears off rather quickly, I'm afraid.

You see, I've been spoiled by superior and definitive renditions of the Moore and Connery Bonds to be swayed by Brosnan's working class efforts. Or maybe the product placement is just too obvious in recent 007 films? Either way, this film is just a blip on the screen of an otherwise unstoppable series.

The pros: the sizzling Michele Yeoh as the latest Bond girl, who's both lethal and beautiful, in the best traditions of the genre.

***The proper use of henchmen--Gotz Otto revamping Robert Shaw's oversized killer who nevertheless is no match for Bond.

***And finally, the suitably grandiose (if unoriginal) world-domination plot that has since been missing in action.

The cons: Teri Hatcher--Bond girls have never been famous for their acting skills, but Hatcher looks and sounds out-of-place here.

***An unappealing villain--Jonathan Pryce doesn't have the charisma or the physical appeal to be a proper Bond villain (much less a memorably one).

***The title song by Sheryl Crow; easily one of the worst in the series. The outro closing torch number by K.D. Lang should have been the title cut; it's classic Bond fare.

***Product placement is far too obvious in this film; enough is enough, guys.

Overall, a briskly paced entry in the Bond canon, but it's not firing on all cylinders.

Good Action, Bad Plot
The movie playing last week was As a longtime James Bond fan I had to see Tomorrow Never Dies, or James Bond versus Jonathan Price.

A communications mogul (Price) sets up a communications satellite monopoly, which, unlike DeBeers and other monopolies, is allowed to operate in the United States. To further his power, Price is creating news and having the stories ready as the news happens. His ultimate goal is to start World War III and control all communications afterwards. He will do this by using his armada of communications satellites which will broadcast to a dying world where electromagnetic pulses have rendered televisions inoperable. Oh, I guess he didn't think far enough ahead.

Utilizing the common man's (or should I say scriptwriter's) lack of understanding Geo-Positional Satellites (GPS) he convinces a warship that it is in neutral territory and not in Chinese-controlled waters. Then, utilizing a stealth boat made possible by the theft of some stealth skin (you know, that ultra expensive stuff that becomes completely useless if it gets even slightly damp) and steals a cruise missile. Bond is aided by a Chinese agent (Michelle Yeoh) and they go to Viet Nam where the sunken ship is (oh, didn't they say it was sunk in Chinese waters?). There they confront many bad guys and helicopters that can hover sideways and whose blades can repeatedly chop through buildings with no bad effects.

OK, so the plot, if it can be called that, has a few problems. But it is an action film and plots in action films have less importance than how far the hero can fall. The bad plot is not necessarily because Ian Fleming did not write the story. After all, he did write DOCTOR NO about the madman trying to corner the guano market (the studio gave the madman nuclear capabilities and cut the guano completely from the story). But the movie is fun, nonetheless, with many great lines. While I can't say much for the new Moneypenny, the new M is fantastic.