The-Reel-McCoy -- Tomorrow Never Dies

Buy the movie!

Buy the poster!

	Tomorrow Never Dies

	Rated: PG-13
	on this movie
	Other Tomorrow Never Dies (links)

Pierce Brosnan has made up for his disappointing debut as James Bond in Goldeneye with a real winner in Tomorrow Never Dies, the 18th Bond movie. This one actually kept me interested from scene to scene and was quite a ride.

From the opening scene in which Bond turns and fires, I was reminded that this is a classic Bond movie (even though it has been given a 90's look). I knew to expect a daring and exciting escape immediately followed by a seductive title song including an artsy display of guns and the female body. I also knew to expect Bond to get into and out of situations in which a chance of escape is virtually impossible. I knew I'd see Desmond Llewelyn as Q, the head engineer in charge of neat little gadgets. And I expected to hear great music repeating the great James Bond theme. In none of this was I disappointed.

What I did not expect so much was that this would be such a fun movie to watch. Scenes that were perhaps unbelievable were done with just the right touch of humor. Scenes that were meant to be exciting were indeed that. And scenes that were meant to be sexy did not fail in their mission either (how could you with an actress like Teri Hatcher). But EVERY scene was FUN.

Personally, I like Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. There are always comparisons done and critiques made whenever a new James Bond is introduced, but for my money, he's as good as any.

Contributing heavily to the success of this movie was Michelle Yeoh. Some may recognize her from some of Jackie Chan's movies such as Supercop. Her character gave a whole new perspective to the way in which women are perceived in this movie and by Bond himself. She proved not to be another passionate fling, but rather proved to be Bond's equal and eventually earned her place as his sidekick for the finale of the movie.

The bad guys were great too led by a power hungry media mogul named Carver played by Jonathan Pryce (Juan Peron in Evita).

What always makes a James Bond movie so fun are the new gadgets. This one sports many such devices including a car that can be driven by remote control. The car also came with a mini-missile launcher and other accessories. My favorite, perhaps, were the auto-inflating tires, which elicit a smile from James Bond upon their first use providing my favorite scene in the whole movie. Seeing these gadgets introduced by Q (always played by Desmond Llewelyn) is also always a treat.