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Comments
Tomorrow Never Dies.
It was a long time I started this, but due to everyday life commitments, it is taking a little longer than I had hoped. I'm happy to say that it is continuing, and I have recently finished, TND. A movie that I really liked when it first came out in 1997. I felt it was a much better follow up to GE. On reflection now, I'm not sure that it is. Don't get me wrong, it still is an enjoyable romp. One of the fastest paced Bond films I can think of. From start to finish, you hardly get time to catch your breath.
I love the PTS. It's exciting, filled with action, and a Bond who means business. I love the way Bond is introduced and the music building up as we get our first shot of Brosnan. Maybe part of my enjoyment of the film stems from the use of the Bond theme. Though to be honest, it gets used a little too much. Hard to imagine, and I hate saying it. The Bond theme is a great piece of music. Though I do think it's possible to over do it. David Arnold probably does. Though I'll forgive him on his debut soundtrack.
Pierce Brosnan appears more comfortable and confident in the role. Jonathan Pryce plays the villain. Media mogul, Elliot Carver. Pryce's pantomime villain though over the top and almost cartoon like, would seem out of place in some Bond films. But in TND it works.
I'm not such a fan of Michelle Yeoh as the love interest , Chinese secret agent, Wai-Lin.
Not only do I find her acting to be below par, but the way in which Bond and Wai-Lin become lovers is weak. There is no sense of attraction before hand. And it appears that Brosnan and Yeoh share little chemistry too me.
Teri Hatcher plays a former love interest of Bond Paris, who is now married to Elliot Carver.
Paris' betrayal of Carver with Bond leads to her demise. Though Hatcher is not hugely effective, it would've been nice to see this character fleshed out a little better, as the role is not much more than an extended cameo.
Gotz Otto rounds out the principle cast as the henchman for Carver, Mr.Stamper.
Yet another Red Grant clone. Super strong, near invincible. Loyal even after his master has been defeated. Nothing new. Though he's not a bad character.
Speaking of bad characters, (and I know I've been down this road before) I really dislike the Dr.Kaufman character. The whole scene is bad. I don't like it.
The story is simple. Elliot Carver sinks a British Naval ship and makes it look like it was sunk by the Chinese airforce. Bond is assigned to find out what happened, after a mysterious signal with detected coming from a Carver news satellite at the time of the attack. Carver's scheme is to obtain exclusive broadcast rights in China for the next hundred years, giving him control over the worlds media. It's a truly bonkers plot in a movie that just seems to have no back bone. I'm not sure what the film makers were trying to do with TND. If you like action then TND has plenty of it. It's almost non stop. Although well staged (as Bond films generally are) we don't really get anything new. The bike chase is good. But the ending on the stealth boat is a little flat.
I prefer Brosnan's Bond in TND over his debut. He's a lot more comfortable in the part. But on the whole, TND is a small step backwards. Reports at the time of filming often stated the film had issues, with constant re-writes. This is reflected in the finished film.
It's fun. But just a bit too messy. The weak story that is just too out there doesn't help at all.
The transfer to blu-ray is on par with the other films in the collection. Sharp, crisp pictures and beautiful colour.
Benny's Blu-Ray Bondathon ranking:
1. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
2. From Russia With Love
3. The Living Daylights
4. Octopussy
5. The Spy Who Loved Me
6. For Your Eyes Only
7. Goldfinger
8. Thunderball
9 Doctor No
10. Goldeneye
11. Licence To Kill
12. Live And Let Die
13. You Only Live Twice
14. A View To A Kill
15. Tomorrow Never Dies
16. Moonraker
17.The Man With The Golden Gun
18. Diamonds Are Forever.
Absolutely. Uber confident. Enormous screen presence.
edit: Watched CASINO ROYALE with my brother over the weekend. Not my favorite like it was for awhile, but there's still a lot to love. Aside from a few cringey moments of dialogue Eva Green's Vesper is a fantastic Bond girl, believable as Bond's love interest, and has enough mysteriousness about her. Craig's performance, I'm realizing as the years go on, isn't really superb by Bond standards. It's clear this is a man who has yet to "become the Bond" we all know and love. In that respect he's excellent.
Great action, even if it is paced a bit weird, and once the film hits Montenegro it's absolutely classic.
It very well might be the best Bond film ever made. It's always been in my top 4--with GF, TB, and CR. I know it's sacrilege to say it's the best, but the film is vastly superior to most other Bond films. It's top-notch in terms of production design, art direction, cinematography, score, performances. Even the title sequence is first rate. Plus, the film's subtext is timely. There are very few flaws. It has the signature of a director whose skill exceeds that of everyone who's directed a Bond film before.
Wow.You havnt been on many of the Skyfall threads lately have you?
I have...I find the arguments against the film to be a stretch. I mean, we're talking about James Bond, here...every film in the franchise is full of flaws. The "flaws" in SF are extremely minor by comparison.
You just can't accept that others besides you like Daniel's portrayal can you? We get it, you hate Craig's Bond and his films, You've drilled that into everybody's heads. He likes Skyfall. Good, You don't. Good. People can have different tastes. You can drop it now. Just because you hate something doesn't mean you have to ruin it for everyone else. There's a perfect Bond site for you DCIB.com, perhaps you should visit that site.
:D
One of the few "Bond's equal" girls in the franchise who has earned the title.
Yesterday, I decided to watch it in the memory of Louis Jourdan. I have very mixed opinions about OP. I like the pre-title sequence and the maintitles. I think it's great all the way up until Bond leaves for India. I've always found the first section in India kind of boring... Either way it becomes a great one again when we get introduced properly to Magda who should get way more screentime! Then it continues to keep me interested until the hunting in the jungle. As we meet Maud Adams's Octopussy it all becomes fantastic. From this point the movie is fantastic. I don't know why but I always find myself smiling as the titles roll. ;)) I guess it's the ultimate Bond-movie... It has everything, girls, locations, the best Bond, a great villain in Khan and a good score.
I agree with you. And Yeoh hardly has the overall screen time that Bond has. I'm simply saying that MANY Bond girls have been billed "Bond's equal" but Wai-Lin was believable in that label.
=D>
Superb analysis there. The ultimate Bond movie. ;)
Maybe you cant accept that not everyone likes DC as Bond and Skyfall in particular.Its my opinion and i am entitled to it.Tripaces thinks there are very few flaws with the film and thats his opinion.Im not going to bash him for that but i am going to disagree.If you dont like that maybe you should '' drop it ''.
@Benny @fromswedenwithlove Always nice to see some Octopussy love.
Indeed, OP is a better Bond film than most think. There is that dreadful Tarzan yell, but there is plenty of originality. I really like the "post-titles" sequence, where 009 (in clown attire) is chased by the twins. It's a great scene.
:))
...wha....what??
OMG... I must be gay....
=))
If Grace Jones counts as a Bond girl (and I'm not convinced she does) then she's the hands-down winner. Otherwise, I agree: it's Adams.
I would not kick Michelle Yeoh out of bed for eating crackers. :P
That would be kind of Crummy. :P
Ha ha. My tastes are more Lupe Lamora (LTK), Fiona Volpe (TB) or Severine (SF).
I've always liked Octopussy; it has one of the more complex plots of the series. General Orlov is played excellently and the idea of him setting off an atomic bomb simply so he can invade numerous countries in Europe is inspired. I also was never bothered with Bond dressing up as a clown at the semi-climax of the movie. From the moment that Bond gets into Germany in the second half, we are given possibly the most intense chase of the series up to this point with Bond desperately trying to get to the bomb before it detonates.
We have another great John Barry soundtrack and I can say I'm a fan of "All Time High," which, had Moore stepped down from the role after this film, would be true; instead of leaving with the weaker A View To A Kill, Moore would have exited the role with grace, especially since Moore was the clear winner of the 1983 Battle of the Bonds.
There are some weak bits of humor (the Tarzan yell, the scene where Moore tells the tiger to "Sit!" but these have probably been debated to death). But overall, Octopussy did what For Your Eyes Only and Moonraker couldn't: properly balance out the humor and drama.
1. From Russia With Love
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. Goldfinger
4. Casino Royale '06
5. Dr. No
6. The Spy Who Loved Me
7. Quantum Of Solace
8. Octopussy
9. Thunderball
10. You Only Live Twice
11. For Your Eyes Only
12. Live And Let Die
13. Moonraker
14. The Man With The Golden Gun
15. Diamonds Are Forever
Michelle Yeoh is GORGEOUS!
I'm the same concerning QOS.
You Only Live Twice - Sometimes beautiful, sometimes boring and sometimes just completely bonkers. Connery might not give his full effort here but a half assed performance from him is still highly entertaining from this fan's perspective. One minute I found myself caught up in the specatcle and then I'm shaking my head at the absurdity of it all. I know it was the 60's but my goodness some of the special effects were bad. Some of the supporting cast was weak as well but Barry's epic score and the absolute majestic scenery of Japan helped to make up for it. It's in the lower half of my rankings but you can do worse than YOLT.
For Your Eyes Only - I still love it. This one remains a top ten Bond film for me. I have taken all the criticisms to heart and I can understand how some find it to be lackluster. Personally, I'm happy that Moore got the chance to play it straight (for the most part) in this one. Some fans think that it doesn't suit him but I disagree. I believed that this was the older and wiser version of the man who married Tracy. No longer in a young man's body, he had to rely on wisdom and experience to guide him through the perilous times. A knife in the back proved that sometimes the old ways are the best. Columbo is terrific and I don't even mind the soundtrack or Bibi. That's detente, comrade.