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Interesting. I hadn't thought of that yet. But indeed, a full version of the Bond Theme seems impossible to insert in the movie.
Yeah, although we didn't actually get it, it's not hard to imagine SPECTRE featuring the Bond theme in the helicopter, Rome car chase, aeroplane ski scenes etc. but NTTD doesn't really have any moments like that.
It's kind of the film's biggest failing for me, to be honest: there's a bit of a lack of Bondiness to it. He doesn't get to do anything cool after the opening titles, and Bond should always do cool things.
It wouldn’t have had to be for an actual scene, it could have played right after WHATTITW in full during the middle of the credits.
Belated response but I'm going to go against the curve and vote TWINE. A lot of the criticisms people level at TWINE echo my sentiments towards TMWTGG - I find it an absolute chore to get through despite a couple of standout moments (mostly involving Lee) and that lush Barry score. It has possibly the most annoying collection of supporting characters in a Bond film ever, to boot.
TWINE doesn't follow through on most of its promises and does have pretty flat action after the PTS, but it doesn't irritate me like TMWTGG does and I find it immeasurably more interesting conceptually as well.
+1, plus a more assured performance from Brosnan as Bond. Moore in TMWTGG is still him finding his footing, too rough around the edges.
Tomorrow Never Dies, in comparison, is the franchise on autopilot, and it's hard to feel much about it. Some of the questionable choices from GE (mainly the score) have been addressed, but we also get back to a safe formula, without much meat on its bones. As a concession to modernity, it borrows from Hong Kong action films, but it never gives the feeling that anything is at risk.
However, I hate the extent of product placement in this one. The first scene with Q is just an excuse to display a bunch of Avis logos, the use of BMW cars still feels quite impersonal, and, if I remember well, there's a short scene showing Bond shocked after he hears about Paris' death. He looks like a character out of a PS2 cinematic, without any expression on his face, and the emphasis is instead on the label on the vodka bottle.
Also, the finale feels rushed and underlit, in addition to being a rehash from TSWLM and MR.
But the series has always been notorious for its obvious product placements. TND doesn't seem to stand out as any more offensive. MR is far worse with 7-Up and British Airways and such, and GE includes one of the most blatant offenders with the introduction of the BMW to the extent of introducing its gadgets and all we get to see of it is Bond driving down a road. I can see that scene going into a TV advertisement for the vehicle. Is there any more of a blatant excuse of a product plug than that? At least in TND he uses the car to escape and employs its gadgets.
Yeah,the likes of CR are even more blatant with its product placement.
Die Another Day was the worst offender iirc, set some sort of record for most brands in a film, and the bad press (“buy another day”) caused them to actually dial it back a bit in CR. But there were two bits of product placement in CR that felt painfully obvious. The Ford advert when he gets to Miami, and the “omega” line that tries its best to ruin the brilliant train scene.
But to be fair I don’t think we can single any Bond film out for product placement. It has got very excessive in the Brosnan and Craig eras, but that’s probably just a necessity so Bond can keep up with all the mega budget blockbuster competition. Bit annoying, but I can live with it.
I’ll never forget the scene in Die Another Day where he’s shaving after entering the hotel, and all of those “Phillips” shaving products and their packaging are sitting neatly off to the side. Definitely the most blatant attempt at product placement in any Bond film.
I think, although it clearly is a big ol' bit of product placement, it is vaguely interesting that BMW actually wanted a different car to be showcased in it -the M Coupe- but Spottiswode rejected it (saying it looked like a 'station wagon') and so the 7 series was used instead, which actually made for a better action scene (because it had rear doors and seats) and actually suited Bond's cover for once.
So it certainly is product placement, but the filmmakers stood their ground and made sure they got what was best for the film rather than just blindly inserting whatever the company wants.
Everyone using Vaio laptops in CR was more blatant in my opinion.
I didn’t particularly notice the Ford placement as while Bond wouldn’t drive that car normally,I assumed he rented it as he didn’t have his own vehicle to hand at that time.
Everything changes when we arrive at Carver's Beijing tower, however. Carver provides us with a minute-long exposition on the torture to which Bond shall be subjected while Herr Stamper is upping the stakes by suggesting he might break the late Dr. Kaufman's record. The least I want to see now is an actual torture scene, or at least the start of it, with Bond having to find a clever way to get out of it. Instead, Bond and Wai Lin merely nod, the music says ready-set-go!, and a few kicks later, we're out. Meanwhile, Bond does the annoyingly bland action film thing of casually firing automatic weapons with one hand, preparing us for his 3D-shooter-game pose during the climax, when both his hands inconveniently manipulate a weapon like a character from a cheap Steven Seagal knock-off.
This big escape is followed by another action sequence with a motor cycle, and then another during which Wai Lin kicks a couple of thugs out, and then the climax during which Bond and Wai Lin shoot up a stealth boat. A few minutes of dialogue notwithstanding, the non-action part of the film is over pretty much after Hamburg, which Bond, ironically, left with two subsequent action sequences!
I don't dislike action. In fact, the Bonds have always provided good action scenes (except TWINE in my opinion) and I enjoy them a lot. I merely prefer them to serve a grander story and rise above the average B-level actioner from the '80s. TND lets me down on both accounts. Flying planes, driving cars and motorcycles, doing Kung-Fu, playing Rambo on a boat, ... what doesn't Bond do here? The plot runs thinner and thinner with every passing action beat, until only the least imaginative path remains to conclude this story. This is sad in retrospect, because the prophetic quality of the film's plot is impressive. Slowly crawling towards its 30th anniversary, TND could prove more relevant today than it ever was before, if the threat of Carver's plan wasn't overshadowed by an even darker threat: dullness by loudness. Arnold's score, Brosnan's stamina, Michelle Yeoh, ... the film has many really strong elements. But after the greatness that is GE (in my humble opinion), this one feels like diluted wine.
I love TND and the thrills it gives. Where the movie loses me is the climax. It is a shoot 'em up unlike we have seen in a Bond movie before. TND is a potato chip, highly addictive but not very filling.
Thanks, @thedove. The thrills are definitely here. But I find them cheaper and cheaper as the film moves on. I'm also less than mildly invested in what is going on since the plot is kept hilariously far away from our attention. Trying to get us involved is ludicrous with all the running, kicking, (bad) shooting, flying, driving, jumping and more driving going on.