Pierce Brosnan’s first James Bond movie, GoldenEye, was universally praised by fans and critics alike. By the time he wrapped up his tenure in the role of 007, his final Bond film, Die Another Day, was universally panned. The middle two – Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough – were met with a mixed response.
The World is Not Enough culminates in a predictable twist, but Tomorrow Never Dies, while far from perfect, is arguably an underrated gem that deserves a rewatch (and re-evaluation).
Pierce Brosnan Is More Comfortable Than Ever In The Role Of 007
Critics didn’t always love Brosnan’s Bond films, but they always loved Brosnan himself. Pierce Brosnan’s turn as 007 is a quintessential Bond performance combining all the best parts of the previous versions.
He has Connery’s effortless coolness, Lazenby’s relatability, Moore’s wry humor, and Dalton’s grizzled edge. After he hit the ground running in GoldenEye, Brosnan was even more comfortable in the role of Bond in Tomorrow Never Dies.
It Has A Spectacular, Explosive Cold Open
In the cold open of Tomorrow Never Dies, Bond is sent to a terrorist arms bazaar on a reconnaissance mission. Against M’s orders, Royal Navy Admiral Roebuck calls for a missile strike on the bazaar. When Bond’s recon shows up nuclear weapons that will cause untold destruction, the clock starts ticking. 007 hijacks the plane containing the nuclear weapons, gets chased out of the bazaar, fights the co-pilot in the cockpit, and saves the day.
This sequence has dazzling aerial shots of planes soaring in between mountains, nail-biting tension with a missile on the way, and plenty of snappy one-liners. In fact, the “backseat driver” remark is later paid off when Bond drives his BMW with a remote control in the backseat.
Tomorrow Never Dies’ Satire Of Mass Media Was Surprisingly Prescient
Although the storyline of Tomorrow Never Dies seemed far-fetched at the time, much of Carver’s evil scheme has proven to be hauntingly plausible in the years since. The film’s satire of mass media and its penchant for creating headlines instead of exposing truths were surprisingly prescient.
A recent piece by Den of Geek compared the political discourse in Tomorrow Never Dies to the confused debates surrounding Brexit.
Stamper Is An Unforgettable Bond Movie Henchman
In some cases, the henchmen in Bond movies have been even more memorable than the megalomaniacs they work for. Red Grant is more iconic than Rosa Klebb, Mr. Hinx is more iconic than Franz “Blofeld” Oberhauser, and Jaws is more iconic than either Karl Stromberg or Hugo Drax.
Richard Stamper, the strapping German henchman played by Götz Otto in Tomorrow Never Dies, gifted in the art of Chakra torture, is one of the series’ most memorable – and one of the most brutal – henchmen.
Bond’s Remote-Control Car Is A Unique Gadget
In almost every Bond movie, 007 is given a fancy new gadget from the Q Branch. In Tomorrow Never Dies, he’s given a full-size BMW 750iL that he can drive with a remote control.
Bond utilizes this remote-control BMW during one of the film’s most inventive action sequences. He becomes a literal “backseat driver” – paying off his one-liner from the cold open – when he escapes from a car chase in the back of the car.
David Arnold Composed The Perfect Bond Movie Score For Tomorrow Never Dies
David Arnold went on to score five Bond films. Tomorrow Never Dies was his first, and he perfected his modernization of Bond music right out of the gate.
Arnold’s Tomorrow Never Dies has all the familiar musical motifs to tug on the nostalgic heartstrings, but he also changed the style completely. The industrialized sounds that Arnold layered over conventional orchestrations add at least 50% to the excitement of the action sequences.
Michelle Yeoh’s “Bond Girl” Is Just As Badass As Bond Himself
The “Bond girl” archetype is one of the most problematic tropes in the franchise. These characters tend to be oversexualized and their role in the plot is confined to being either a one-note love interest or a damsel in distress (or, in many cases, a combination of both).
But there are a few exceptions to this, and one of them can be found in Tomorrow Never Dies. Colonel Wai Lin, the Chinese secret agent played by Michelle Yeoh, is just as badass and hypercompetent as 007 himself.
The Motorcycle Chase Is A Dazzling Set-Piece
The motorcycle chase in the middle of Tomorrow Never Dies isn’t just a mindless action sequence. Bond and Wai Lin are handcuffed to each other, which presents a unique obstacle within the familiar action setup.
Bond and Wai Lin take a handlebar each, and the stakes of the chase are raised when a helicopter arrives. Wai Lin spins around to fire up at the chopper while Bond drives the bike. It’s a truly mesmerizing chase scene.
Thanks To Robert Elswit’s Sleek Cinematography, Tomorrow Never Dies Looks Fantastic
When it comes to the cinematography of the Bond franchise, Roger Deakins gets a lot of love for his widely acclaimed work on Skyfall, but not a lot of fans talk about Robert Elswit’s work on Tomorrow Never Dies. Elswit is the cinematographer behind such beloved, gorgeously shot movies as There Will Be Blood, The Town, and Nightcrawler.
His work on Tomorrow Never Dies (his only Bond film) is arguably just as great as Deakins’ work on Skyfall. The movie is full of sleek, slick cinematography: M in an underground war room, bathed in blue light; close-ups of Carver’s glasses with his fake news reflected in the lenses; refreshing clarity in the underwater shots of Bond and Wai Lin investigating a shipwreck.
Jonathan Pryce Elevates His One-Note Villain Role
The character of Elliot Carver was criticized back when Tomorrow Never Dies hit theaters. He’s sort of a Bond villain take on an unscrupulous media mogul like Rupert Murdoch, but that characterization is pretty on-the-nose.
Today, Carver holds up more than contemporary critics expected. It helps that a world-class actor, Jonathan Pryce, was cast in the role.