OK, all the negative stuff out of the way in the first two paragraphs. Firstly, the theme song. The most bland, boring piece of music ever to grace the lucious titles of a Bond movie (and don't get me wrong - aside from some bizarre imagery, thanks to the script - the title sequence is fantastic). Just a shame that the theme song is so absolutely boring. And you know what the saddest part about all of this is? David Arnold was under the mistaken belief that the song he composed would be the theme, and used it throughout the score. It finally turns up in the closing credits and, guess what! It's about three hundred times better than Alanis Morisette's dirge at he beginning. Oh, why couldn't the producers have just stuck with the original plan?
Neil Purvis and Robert Wade have a lot to answer for in this movie, actually. Any faults can pretty much be blamed completely on them. There are a lot of problems with the script with things occurring that have to be explained in a throwaway line. General Chang is the best example. Is on screen for thirty seconds, but in the next two minutes we discover he is actually villain Elliot Carver's accomplice. Quite whatever happens to him, we'll never know. Lines have been cut left, right and center (don't believe me? Read the novelisation - it's based on an earlier draft and most of the stuff is still in that) and so the diamonds around the world that appear in the title sequence don't seem to have any point - but there was a line where Carver described his satellites as diamonds orbiting the planet. At one point Carver has a press conference to announce the completion of his global satellite network. A few scenes later, Gupta orders a satellite to be sent to the launch pad...why precisely? Aren't they all already in position? And can Stamper actually feel pain at all? He's stabbed several times in the movie and doesn't even seem put out. But the killer is Carver's plan - to start World War 3 in return for exclusive broadcasting rights in China for the next century. Now, there have been a lot of mad villain schemes in the past - blowing up Silicon Valley to increase the value of your hoarded micro chips; starting World War 3 to get money, or start a new world in space, or underwater; holding the world ransome with nuclear weapons. But in all these situations, if the plan fails, they lose everything. If the plan succeeds said villain is made for life. With Carver's plan, if it succeeds...well, it might still go all pear shaped because China might lose World War 3. Which begs the question...what's the bloody point?
But all that aside, this is a very entertaining film. Roger Spottiswoode may have had big problems with the cast, but it certainly doesn't show. Virtually the entire cast shine in this movie and very competently directed by Spottiswoode. And it is exquisitely shot and lit. Very, very beautiful. Curiously there are some slow-motion scenes in the movie which rather add nicely to the whole feel of the film. David Arnold scores the movie this time round, and it is the single best score since The Living Daylights. Arnold knows exactly what the Bond sound is, and adding some techno over the top brings it right up to date. I'm not entirely certain about his decision to use a different part of the James Bond theme for the gunbarrel, but thank god it sounds so much better that that rubbish Eric Serra had in GoldenEye. And, as I mentioned earlier, the closing theme, sung by kd Lang is absolutely brilliant. I notice, sadly, that Cubby Broccoli has passed away, getting an "In memory of" credit at the end, and the opening credits now read "Albert R Broccoli's Eon Productions presents" which is nice.
One thing in everyone's favour is that, despite a poor story, the actual screenplay, handled by writer Bruce Fierstein (apparently the man who "Bond"s up the screenplays), has some sparkling dialogue. There are som brilliant lines in the film, and everyone benefits from them.
Pierce Brosnan is still not entirely comfortable as Bond, although he is much better this time round despite actually looking older, bizarrely. He is still labouring under the delusion that "stoic" means "show no emotion" and as a result there are some rather boring moments from Bond himself. His flirting with Moneypenny is awkward and Brosnan plays Bond as the cool kid in the playground which is great for the BMW 750 car chase (which is an amazing moment in the film) where Bond is clearly having a ball, but no so great when Bond appears like a sulky kid if he doesn't get his own way. That said there are some brilliant Bond moments in the film - a great spy moment when he kills someone and then tricks Stamper into believing that it is Bond himself who has been murdered, and most impressively of all is the moment where Bond is, arguably, at his most ruthless, coldly killing Dr Kaufman. He is also a hypocrite, though, as he is suddenly against people smoking. Nice change of heart, Mr Bond. Also rather nice, is seeing Bond back in his naval uniform.
Michelle Yeoh is the chief Bond girl Wai Lin, and she is fantastic, although it appears there is a clause in her contract where she gets to have a martial arts fight at some point - though that point is great, and its worth sitting there for it. She plays her part very straight, clearly disinterested in Bond, although as the film progresses there is obviously not only some attraction but some admiration, and Yeoh hits her part just right, giving a few well placed smiles that indicate the feelings Wai Lin is developing for Bond. Brosnan also handles these scenes very nicely, and the relationship between the two is very believable. Contrary to the various reports and expectations, Teri Hatcher, fresh from her success in Lois & Clark, plays a very nice role as Paris Carver, the villain's wife and Bond's former lover, as it transpires. It's not a standout role, but it is played very well, and is very nice.
Back at home base, Judi Dench and Samantha Bond have settled very well into their roles, with a much better chemistry between the two than either share with Brosnan - although both vocally and physically, Bond looks a lot like a younger Dench, which is a little odd. Sadly there is no Tanner this time round, so Colin Salmon plays Charles Robinson who is (contrary to what everybody seems to claim) "M"'s senior analyst. It's a small role, but played very well, and a nice addition to the Bond films. Desmond Llewellyn returns, of course, and is a lot more competent in this movie, with some wonderful moments, and a classic "oh, grow up 007" which is perfectly timed and delivered. Julian Fellowes now plays the Minister of Defence, who is presumably not Freddie Gray, but it is Geoffrey Palmer who gets to tower as Admiral Roebuck, head of the Navy. He and Dench go head to head, and the chemistry between the two is pretty obvious, and their sparky relationship is fantastic. The best line in the film, though, has to be Roebuck telling "M": "With respect, "M", sometimes I don't think you have the balls for this job," to which she replies "Perhaps, but the advantage is I don't have to think with them all the time."
Oh, yeah, there is another negative. Joe Don Baker returns as Jack Wade. Dear God, thank heavens he is only in it for two brief, consecutive, scenes.
Back to the good stuff, and we can look at the villains, led by Jonathan Pryce as Elliot Carver. Clearly, given Carver's plot, there is a bit of difficulty in trying to find a good motivation for Carver, and so Pryce just plays him as a very over-the-top villain, and it actually works. Pryce lights up the screen when he appears and again has some fantastic lines and moments. He actually comes across as quite scary when he openly mocks Wai Lin's martial arts, and callously kills one of his offsiders when Bond uses said offsider as a hostage. There is also a great moment on Carver and Bond's first meeting when Bond subtlely hints that he knows he was behind the sinking of the Devonshire - it's a little dialogue exchange that is very reminiscient of the exchange between Bond and Zorin, when Bond hints that he knows his involvement with the murder of Aubergine.
He is backed up by a group of henchman, ranging from Ricky Jay as cyber terrorist Henry Gupta (a competently played part, though nothing outstanding); Gotz Otto as Stamper, Carver's chief enforcer and apparently completely insane; and most impressively, Vincent Schiavelli as Dr Kaufman, Carver's personal assassin. Schiavelli absolutely relishes the part, making it one of the most memorable characters to ever appear in a Bond film. It's a superb part, and it's so appropriate when Bond viciously executes him.
There are fantastic performances, there is brilliant direction, lighting and photography (how beautiful does Vietnam look?), and some absolutely amazing stunts (from the pretitle sequence which is thunderingly good, to the amazing bike chase where Wai Lin and Bond are handcuffed together) Tomorrow Never Dies may not have a story that is better than GoldenEye, but it is a far more competent film.
Favourite Bond: 1. Timothy Dalton; 2. Roger Moore; 3. Sean Connery; 4. George Lazenby; 5. Pierce Brosnan
Favourite movie order: 1. The Living Daylights; 2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service; 3. Dr No; 4. Licence To Kill; 5. A View To A Kill; 6. Live And Let Die; 7. Thunderball; 8. For Your Eyes Only/Octopussy 10. The Spy Who Loved Me; 11. Tomorrow Never Dies; 12. GoldenEye; 13. From Russia, With Love; 14. Goldfinger; 15. You Only Live Twice; 16. Moonraker; 17. The Man With The Golden Gun; 18. Diamonds Are Forever
Favourite Bond girl: 1. Carey Lowell/Pam; 2. Claudine Auger/Dominio; 3. Diana Rigg/Tracy; 4. Carole Bouquet/Melina; 5. Izabella Scorupco/Natalya; 6. Barbara Bach/Anya; 7. Maud Adams/Octopussy 8. Michelle Yeoh/Wai Lin; 9. Mie Hama/Kissy; 10. Daniela Bianchi/Tanya; 11. Ursula Andress/Honey; 12. Jane Seymour/Solitaire; 13. Maryam D'Abo/Kara; 14. Lois Chiles/Holly; 15. Honor Blackman/Pussy; 16. Tanya Roberts/Stacy; 17. Britt Ekland/Mary; 18. Jill St John/Tiffany
Favourite Bond villain: 1. Robert Davi/Sanchez; 2. Donald Pleasance/Blofeld; 3. Gert Frobe/Goldfinger; 4. Christopher Lee/Scaramanga; 5. Jeroen Krabbe & Joe Don Baker/Koskov & Whittaker; 6. Christopher Walken/Zorin; 7. Louis Jordan & Steven Berkov/Kahn & Orlov 8. Jonathan Pryce/Carver; 9. Adolfo Celi/Largo; 10. Sean Bean/Trevelyan; 11. Michael Lonsdale/Drax; 12. Yaphet Kotto/Mr Big-Dr Kananga; 13. Julian Glover/Kristatos; 14. Joseph Wiseman/Dr No; 15. Lotte Lenya/Klebb; 16. Telly Savalas/Blofeld; 17. Charles Gray/Blofeld; 18. Curt Jurgens/Stromberg
No comments:
Post a Comment