007: El mañana nunca muere

You don't review James Bond movies, you evaluate them, rate them according to how well they meet expectations. There are certain things one has come to expect, even demand of a Bond film and each individual effort either delivers or it doesn't. So, here are ten elements that make a Bond film a Bond film and how TOMORROW NEVER DIES rates on a scale of 1 to 10:

Title: TOMORROW NEVER DIES: Poetic pretension aside, the "Tomorrow" in this case is the name of a newspaper. And the film's original title was "Tomorrow Never Lies," a more mundane slogan, but not nearly suitable for a Bond film. 8 points.

Pre-Credit Teaser: Bond interrupts the sale of various illegal weapons and casually stops a nuclear disaster in the bargain. Another elaborate teaser with Bond escaping the bad guys at the last minute, leaving a bunch of explosions in his wake. Nicely done, I suppose, but old hat. 5 points.

Opening Credits: After Daniel Kleinman's debut work on the credits for GOLDENEYE, his graphics here are particularly disappointing. There is almost a generic quality to Kleinman's choice of images, reflecting the worst of Maurice Binder's prototypes. Worse, the disturbing shots of the female body made up of circuits and micro chips is rather creepy re- enforcing the clichéd concept of Bond Girls as mere objects. 2 points.

Theme Song: It may not be the all-time worst Bond theme song, but Sheryl Crowe's "Tomorrow Never Dies," cowritten with Richard Froom, just might be the most sleep-inducing. Perhaps she is trying to imitate the great Shirley Bassey, but Crowe's drowsy rendition is listless and just downright dreary. A second theme song ends the film; k. d. lang's "Surrender" is somewhat better than Crowe's contribution -- but not by much. It's strange, but by this time the producers of the series are picking and choosing from multiple submissions from various noted artists, yet they still end up selecting themes songs that are, at best, mediocre. 2 points.

"Bond, James Bond": As Bond, Pierce Brosnan seems to be trying awfully hard to not crack so much as a smile, thus when he does seem to be enjoying himself it's cause for applause. After the sardonic style he restored to the character in GOLDENEYE, it is disheartening to see him returning to the glum approach that Timothy Dalton took. 4 points.

Bond Babes: Somewhere between being Lois Lane and becoming a Desperate Housewife, Teri Hatcher added "Bond Girl" to her resume. Alas, she brought none of her proved gift for playing spunky heroines with a comic touch to the role; as the villain's depressed ill-fated wife, she may be the most morose Bond Girl of all time. But she is balanced out in glorious style by Michelle Yeoh as Wai Lin, a Chinese agent who teams up with 007, both on his mission and on some of the best staged stunts of the series. While sex and sexiness have all but faded from the Bond films, Yeoh personifies the evolution of the Bond Girl to that of a strong and dynamic professional. 10 points.

Bond Villain: Of all the villains James has faced, Elliott Carver just might be the most insipid. Though played by the very talented Jonathan Pryce, the character is a power-mad media mogul who hopes to start World War III, so he can have exclusive rights to cover it with his print and broadcast outlets. That is a lot of effort for such a meager pay back. Though prone to occasional temper tantrums, the owlish Carver is about as threatening as a junior high school principal who is upset about graffiti on the boys room wall. 1 point.

Bond Baddies: Vincent Schiavelli is one of those actors born to play a bad guy. With his sad, droopy Salvadore Dali face, he instantly gave character to any role just by his presence. Here, as assassin Dr. Kaufman, he is rather subdued, but he gives a nice comic twist to the character's dour professionalism. He is assisted by his protégé, Stamper, who unfortunately is played far less memorably by Götz Otto. Stamper is yet another cold, emotionless Ayran killer in the Donald Grant mold and, while he is a formidable opponent in battle, he is a dull character otherwise. 7 points.

Sinister Plot: There are just so many holes in Carver's dastardly plan that even the most far-fetched Bond action stunt is more believable. The idea that a publisher has to create news in order to have something to print is as old as yellow journalism, but there just isn't a whit of common sense in Carver's reckless drive to create a world war that would endanger, not expand his own media empire. Plus, what idiot would place in print stories about his own crimes, even before he committed them. He is just a stupid, stupid man and it is a stupid, stupid plot. 0 points.

Production values: The film's saving grace is the remarkable stunt work featuring Bond and Wai Lin handcuffed together and escaping via motorcycle from the villain's helicopter, through the slums of Saigon. Obviously influenced by the over-the-top stunts work of Asian cinema, it provides quite a kick to an otherwise lackluster film. 8 points.

Bonus Points: I don't know if it is social commentary or just motion picture showmanship, but once again we are treated to the mindless destruction of a poor Third World community. Though expertly done, the chase that runs amok in a crowded, impoverished Saigon neighborhood, terrorizing the poor and destroying their meager homes, all without a second thought, paints a vivid portrait of Super Power arrogance. We'll pretend it is meant as social commentary and add 5 points.

Summary: What this film does best, it does very well. But it's negatives far outweigh its positives. TOMORROW doesn't die; it's already DOA.

Bond-o-meter Rating: 52 points out of 100.

James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) heads to stop a media mogul's plan to induce war between China and the UK in order to obtain exclusive global media coverage.

The Bond films are both hit and miss as well as an acquired taste. And each time there is a new Bond, people readjust and some people just will not move on. Personally, I think Brosnan was a great Bond, and I actually think this is one of the best films in the series, contrary to popular opinion.

Much of the series is either about Soviet issues or post-Soviet issues. This one, however, is about global media dominance. Now 20 years old, it seems more appropriate than ever with its satellites and cell phones. This movie could have been made today with only the most minor of adjustments.

Jonathan Pryce is the evil Elliott Carver in this James Bond version with Pierce Brosnan in the role. Dame Judi Dench is M and Geoffrey Palmer (her costar from her British comedy series) is also in the film. Samantha Bond played Ms. Moneypenny. Teri Hatcher and Michelle Yeoh played his love interest. It's the same routine with exotic stunts; a romance; and adventure around the world. A typical James Bond film.

Elloit Carver (Jonathan Pryce) is a megalomaniac and selfish media baron. Carver has the power to reach every person on the planet through his Carver Media Group Network- except for the People's Republic of Chinese who refuse his presence in their nation . The mogul is tied to the disappearance of a British battleship in the South China Sea . James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) heads to stop the media mogul's plan to induce war between China and the UK in order to obtain exclusive global media coverage and whose tentacles reach around the world . Carver, whose spouse (Teri Hatcher) was a former flame of 007 , is supported by a computer genius (Ricky Jay) and a nasty hunk man (Gotz Otto) . Along the way Bond join forces with a Chinese secret agent (Michelle Yeoh) , expert on martial arts . In addition , there appears the usuals , such as M (Judi Dench), Q (Desmond Llewelin) , Lois Maxwell, ¨MoneyPenny¨ (Samantha Bond) , Minister of Defense (Julian Fellowes) and Jake Wade (Joe Don Baker) . But not counting the regular characters of Bond, Q, M and Moneypenny, this is the first Bond movie to contain absolutely no Ian Fleming references .

Likable Pierce Brosnan in an amazing adventure set on wonderful outdoors located mostly on Vietnam , being actually shot in Thailand . The original title of the film was "Tomorrow Never Lies", which makes sense when you consider media mogul Elliot Carver was creating the next day's headlines in advance, then causing those events to happen , but a typo on an early script draft was adopted by the producers, and ¨Tomorrow never dies¨ was used instead . This is a Bond's good outing in which faces dangerous adventures around the globe . Brosnan's outing with overwhelming action and spectacular scenarios , the film teams Bond with Michelle Yeoh as endearing ally in an effort to stop a technological communication mogul . After his first introduction in ¨Golden eye¨ as tough and attractive James Bond of the Ian Fleming's famous creation , Pierce Brosnan went on playing various 007 , as ¨Die Another Day ¨ and this ¨Tomorrow never dies¨ . The picture starts with an overblown opening and following other impressive action set pieces . This solid , slick thriller with magic mix of action-packed , dazzling stunts, gadgetry, and romance provided by sexy company as Teri Hatcher and Michelle Yeoh . Pierce Brosnan as James Bond is fine , he does remarkably well , he earns in irony, humor ,suavity and sympathy, however also has coldness ,cunning , intelligence and toughness . Here Bond is an efficient , relentless agent trying to chase obstinately the criminals , traveling around the world as always , as this globe-trotting story is set in Pucket, Bangkok, Thailand (Saigon, Vietnam) , Hamburg , London and many other places . Because the second half of the film is set in Vietnam, the production negotiated for some time for permission to film there ; although it appeared close, the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture and Information eventually refused to allow it , the production decided to use Thailand as Vietnam, with Bangkok substituting for Saigon . Bond to achieve his aims , along the way uses violent means even pulling off brutal killings against enemies who wreak all sorts of havoc . As always Bond will use fantastic gadgets and spectacular cars (here 15 BMW 750's were destroyed in the making of the film) provided by ¨Q¨ (Desmond Llewelyn) . The stealth ship is not a fictional invention , Lockheed secretly constructed and demonstrated one in the early 1980s, but the US Navy finally decided they didn't want any ; the prototype, called the Sea Shadow, was 160 feet long . The picture contains comic-strip adventure , sensational pursuits , silly set pieces , great stunts , tongue-in check humor, automovile chase, frantic unstopped action , a breathtaking tour around the world , amazing gimmicks and stimulating images like are the happenings on the spectacular pursuits on the motorcycle and helicopter . As is like a roller-coaster , as is fast-paced , light , excitement, funny and entertaining ; it's a winner for oo7 fans and non-fans alike . The chase and suspense formula wears strong in this entry .

The film made particularly heavy use of gadgetry because some fans thought there was too little of it in GoldenEye . Enjoyable title song by Sheryl Crow and stirring musical score fitting to action by David Arnold , following the John Barry's classic style . Riveting and fancy main titles , furthermore eye-popping production design by Allan Cameron . It's brimming with colorful and fascinating cinematography by cameraman Robert Elswit . The motion picture produced by habitual producers, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson and dedicated to the memory of long-time Bond-film producer Albert R. Broccoli ; being professionally made by Robert Spottiswoode who filmed other successes such as ¨the 6th day¨, ¨Turner and Hooch¨, ¨Air America¨ , Shoot to kill¨and Under fire¨ . Robert keeps this moving at an incredibly fast pace and this story about every's favorite super-spy facing off dangerous mogul . The film will appeal to James Bond series's buffs but good for fans only ; because this one goes on far too long and has provoked so much debate among 007 followers . Rating : 6'5 , well worth watching .

A far cry from Goldeneye, but It doesn't necessarily deserve all the hate it receives either. Tomorrow Never Dies is a fast paced affair, and an easily agreeable time-waster, but it's not the follow-up Goldeneye deserved, either. It's much too daft for the heavy plot that it has. The main reason this movie is entertaining is the spectacular stunts. It has some great action set pieces, which managed to make the time pass nicely. Michelle Yeoh makes for a refreshingly unique Bond Girl, due to her actual Martial Arts background. I dug the chemistry with her & Brosnan. Speaking of Brosnan… He is very good as Bond. He has charisma and wit to spare. He's not quite as good as Timothy Dalton, but he is excellent nonetheless. Johnathan Pryce is decent as the villain. He is fitfully menacing and did the job overall. Teri Hatcher's character is a bit disposable, but she was good in her role. Desmond Llewelyn & Judi Dench are as classy as ever

Final Thoughts: Instantly forgettable stuff, but it manages to be an effective time-waster. It's not a great Bond film, but it is an OK action film. I didn't mind it at all.

5.6/10