The 007 Project: Tomorrow Never Dies

 

Synopsis in 3 sentences or less:

Bond is sent to investigate Elliot Carver, a worldwide media baron who manipulates the British and Chinese into a possible war to increase his ratings. 

Memorable Quote:
It's time...for...a...station break.  ~Bond

Highlight:

Everything in Hamburg is "delicious," as Carver would say. Particularly the party scene culminating with Bond turning out the lights on Carver. 

Lowlight:

The HMS Devonshire scene in the beginning drags on a bit and should probably have been cut in half. 

Most interesting piece of IMDB trivia:

Sir Anthony Hopkins was cast as Elliot Carver, and joined the production, but walked after three days because it was so chaotic, and there was no completed shooting script; due to the pressure on EON Productions to finish the movie on time, new pages of the screenplay were being delivered every morning. He opted to appear in The Mask of Zorro (1998) instead.

Update: Per script writer Bruce Feirstein, this piece of trivia is not true. 

Other thoughts, observations, and questions I didn’t ask when I was in fourth grade:

• The opening pre-credits sequence, omg, it's so good. Like, amazing.  The way they refer to Bond as the White Knight but we don't see see him until partway through -- the setup and the execution is flawless. 
• The Sheryl Crow song is outstanding -- it's really hard to decide between it and Goldeneye for my number one song so far. I think i'm gonna go with Sheryl for now in the number one spot. 
• Some great dialogue in the Danish professor scene, including: 
• Studying a new tongue
• Brushing up on a little danish
• Cunning linguist
• Much as in the Bourne Ultimatum, there's something about Germany as a locale for a spy movie that just works. Like when Bond gets to the airport and they're speaking German over the intercom -- just feels right. 
• Great scene with Q where Bond grabs the remote control and starts driving like a pro: "Let's see how she responds to my touch."
• The actor who played Gupta was actually a world-class magician named Ricky Jay. 
• 39:07 -- Love Bond casually picking up the ashtray and examining it before cracking the guy's head with it.
• My friend Joe Passman liked to say about Carver, "I'll destroy the world, and then broadcast it on the evening news!"
• Fantastic scene in the top-floor secret lab, even though no words are spoken, as Bond searches the room and then finds the encoder in a safe behind a picture. It's also funny how he just casually knocks over and destroys the 300 million dollar satellite -- if it is worth that much, they should have secured it a little better so that it won't just break if it topples over. 
• Back in 2014 (have I really been blogging for that long?) I wrote in the review of MacGyver episode Soft Touch about the connection between that episode and this movie. Both feature actor Vincent Schiavelli (in this movie as Dr. Kaufman) as a bad guy opposite Teri Hatcher. 
• Given that Bond is parachuting from extremely high altitude, how is he able to land exactly where the ship is?
• 1:13:47 -- I like how fast Carver can type with one hand, and I wonder if there are people out there who can really do that. 
• I forgot how good the motorcycle chase is, and it's a fun wrinkle how Wai Lin and Bond are handcuffed and have to straddle each other. Michelle Yeoh is great, and I actually saw her once when she came to my university for a presentation of some kind (I don't remember the details). 
• 1:40:00 - The tone, volume, and assurance in which Bond says "Hello Elliot" is absolutely perfect. In general, the climactic scenes on the stealth boat are very well done -- big and explosive but also dark and gritty, and not too over-the-top. 

Final Analysis:

This isn't just my favorite Bond movie, this is one of my favorite movies of all time. I freakin' love this movie. What really appealed to me about it as a kid was how Bond was in total control the entire movie. Unlike other movies where Bond gets hurt or shows vulnerability, in this one he always is a step ahead and shows confidence throughout. As I've gotten older, I've come to appreciate vulnerability more, but as a 20 year-old who sometimes lacked confidence, seeing Bond as a Superman-type figure was legitimately motivating and inspirational to me. 

While the Daniel Craig movies have their merits, they too often have Bond on a depressing, soul-searching journey for truth instead of following the formula here, which is just to have a fun, entertaining movie where Bond kicks ass. I haven't even mentioned the amazing soundtrack by first-time Bond composer David Arnold, who has no qualms about using the Bond theme early and often. And the dialogue in this movie is very well-written -- it's clever and witty without being goofy. 

So yes, this is going to the number one spot on the rankings where it will stay. What a film.