A missed opportunity (Tomorrow Never Dies (DVD))

Member Name: GroundZero

Product:	Tomorrow Never Dies (DVD)
Date:	07/04/01 (67 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good film, some excellent stunt sequences

Disadvantages: Extras not up to usual standard, mismatch in menu screens/booklet

Tomorrow Never Dies marked Pierce Brosnan's second outing as Bond. This time he takes on Elliot Carver (played by Jonathan Pryce), a media baron with an interest in starting a conflict between China and the UK. Carver plans to launch the latest arm of his worldwide media company on the basis of exclusive coverage of the hostilities, provoked by his own team of mercenaries.

When a British warship is sunk in international waters, apparently by Chinese fighter planes, Bond is sent to investigate. The trail leads him to Carver’s media group, who he suspects of initiating the whole thing. His investigations bring him into contact with Carver’s wife, a past lover of 007. Teri Hatcher plays the lonely figure of Paris, a woman who pays the ultimate price for her divided loyalties.

Michelle Yeoh plays the part of Wai Lin, the Chinese agent that Bond must work with in order to defeat Carver. The part of Wai Lin is a refreshing change from the typical Bond girl, as Yeoh performs most of the stunts herself. Most importantly, she is believable as Bond’s equal, rather than merely a decoration.

As you would expect from a Bond film, there are a number of outstanding set pieces, with the car chase in the underground car park a real highlight, even if 007’s BMW is not the sort of car you would expect him to be seen in.

========================
Picture and sound
========================

The film is presented in 2.44:1 widescreen format, with a very crisp and clean picture. Dolby Digital 5.1 is used for the sound.

========================
Special features
========================

The main extra is a documentary titled “Secrets of 007”. This is a made-for-TV feature, which covers the Bond legend. I remember this being shown on ITV around about the time that Tomorrow Never Dies had its cinematic release, so you may well recognise some of it.

There are
a couple of commentary tracks, the first with second unit director Vic Armstrong and producer Michael Wilson and the second with the director Roger Spottiswoode and Dan Petrie Jr. The Sheryl Crow video of the title song is present, along with a very short interview with David Arnold, whose score did so much to help the new look and feel of the film. A couple of trailers make an appearance – the theatrical trailer and a teaser trailer.

The stunt scenes in the film can be viewed with overlays of the production designs used, although the fact that they are see through can make it difficult to make out what the drawings are meant to be.

Unfortunately this DVD does not seem to have had the same attention lavished on it that the rest of the series has. The menu screens are completely different in style to all of the other special edition Bond DVDs. Although they are still perfectly adequate, it’s a shame that they couldn’t have made them match the rest of the Bond films. This mismatch continues with the booklet supplied with the disc. Although the booklet is comprehensive enough, in fact containing a greater amount of material than the other discs’, again the style is completely different.

========================
Opinion
========================

Tomorrow Never Dies really seems to divide opinion, some like myself like the film a lot, while others rate it as one of the worst of the series. While the criticisms of Pryce’s role as not threatening enough probably have a degree of truth, I think he does well with what he is given. I think Pryce plays the part well, and he is a highly respected actor. Brosnan seems more comfortable in the role second time around, and gives him a chance to show what he brings to the part.

For anyone collecting the Bond series on DVD, this will be an essential purchase. If you are only interested in the quality of the package however, I would suggest tha
t you should check out The Living Daylights first. Tomorrow Never Dies strikes me as a bit of a missed opportunity given the quality of the rest of the series.

Summary: