Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Roger Spottiswoode

Writer (WGA):

Bruce Feirstein (written by)

Release Date:

19 December 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

Meet New James Bond [Japanese Theatrical]

Plot:

James Bond heads to stop a media mogul's plan to induce war between China and the UK in order to obtain exclusive global media coverage.

Plot Keywords:

Media | James Bond | British | China | Missile

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 6 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Pierce Brosnan	...	James Bond
Jonathan Pryce	...	Elliot Carver
Michelle Yeoh	...	Wai Lin
Teri Hatcher	...	Paris Carver
Ricky Jay	...	Henry Gupta
Götz Otto	...	Stamper
Joe Don Baker	...	Jack Wade
Vincent Schiavelli	...	Dr. Kaufman
Judi Dench	...	M
Desmond Llewelyn	...	Q
Samantha Bond	...	Miss Moneypenny
Colin Salmon	...	Charles Robinson
Geoffrey Palmer	...	Admiral Roebuck
Julian Fellowes	...	Minister of Defence
Terence Rigby	...	General Bukharin

Also Known As:

Aquator (UK) (working title)
Avatar (UK) (working title)
Bond 18 (UK) (working title)
Bond XVIII (UK) (working title)
Shamelady (UK) (working title)
Shatterhand (UK) (working title)
TND (International: English title) (promotional abbreviation)
Tomorrow Never Lies (UK) (working title)
Zero Windchill (UK) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action violence, sexuality and innuendo.

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | German | Danish | Mandarin | Cantonese

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS 70 mm (70 mm prints) | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:PG (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (British Columbia) | UK:15 (video re-rating) (2006) (uncut) | Iceland:12 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:PG | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:16 | Ireland:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 (cut) | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Brazil:14

Filming Locations:

Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Danjaq

Trivia:

The title song "Tomorrow Never Dies" sung by Sheryl Crow did not chart in the USA but in the UK it went to the No. #12 spot in the UK Charts.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the motorcycle chase, the Range Rovers become dusty and dirty while hitting bags on the side of the road. In a subsequent shot when they stop at right angles, they are absolutely clean.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Charles Robinson: Our man's in position on the center camera. It's like a terrorist supermarket. Chinese Long March Scud, Panther AS-565 attack helicopter, a pair of Russian mortars, and the crates look like American rifles. Chilean mines. German explosives. Fun for the whole family.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "SexTV: Bond Girls Are Forever/The Story of 'V'/A Moment With... Tristan Taormino (#6.24)" (2004)

"Let's see how she responds to my touch."

Q demonstrated how to drive the BMW by remote control by moving his finger around a pad inside a special mobile phone…None of Bond's cars can compare for hi-tech gadgetry with the BMW 750 Sedan he drove on this film mission…

"Tomorrow Never Dies" opens with H.M.S Devonshire on a routine patrol from the Philippines to Hong Kong when it was overflown by two Chinese MiGs, whose pilots claimed the ships had veered into Chinese territorial waters… While the captain and the pilots argued the point, the Devonshire shuddered from stern to stern… Something had holed her below the waterline and she was sinking quickly…

Virtually undetectable by radar, the stealth ship (invisible to radar) was Elliot Carver's secret weapon in his plan to cause international conflicts…

The schemes of Carver had brought Britain and China to the edge of war… And the British will think it's a Chinese aerial torpedo… Bond needed to find the wreck of H.M.S Devonshire and discover how and why it had sunk… However a problem remained: how to get to the wreck, and which lay between the Chinese and the British fleets, undetected by the Chinese radar?

Carver's daring bid for communication supremacy involves nothing less than achieving World War III and offering subscribers a ringside seat…

In his attempts to situate and stop Carver, Bond becomes implicated with his former lover Paris – now Carver's wife – and collaborates with resourceful Chinese agent Wai Lin…

In "Tomorrow Never Dies," Pierce Brosnan was seen more confident as Bond… The actors playing Bond's back-up – Judi Dench, Samantha Bond, Joe Don Baker and Desmond Llewellyn – all reprise their "GoldenEye" roles…

Former Miss Malaysia Michelle Yeoh was awarded the role of Wai Lin… MI6 was not the only agency interested in Carver… The Chinese government sent one of its top security agents to uncover the secrets of his organization… After initial distrust, she and Bond form an almost telepathic understanding… A martial artist of considerable skills, she preferred to work alone – until she begins to trust 007…

Carver's wife Paris was played by the great beauty, Teri Hatcher… "I always wondered how I'd feel if I ever saw you again," said Bond… He soon had his answer – a stinging slap in the face... He had broken Paris' heart years before, and she had consoled herself by marrying a jealous husband… Yet she still carries an ex-flame for 007… Paris, like Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton) in "Goldfinger," has only few minutes on-screen in the film…

Jonathan Pryce plays the villain, 'the emperor of the air,' Elliot Carver who was prepared to go to any length to increase the power of his media empire…

Ricky Jay plays Henry Gupta the eccentric quietly spoken man to Carver's plans… He's the most dangerous of the magnate's followers…

Götz Otto plays Stamper, the loyal psychopath henchman who follows Carver's orders murdering a group of shipwrecked British sailors…

Vincent Schiavelli plays the menacing Dr. Kaufman, a professional hit-man, and a priest of pain…

The 18th Bond movie has it all: Too much action (including an exciting chase through the streets of Saigon on a stylish BMW R1200); an effective girl; and a super car…