The Bond I Never Knew

 

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) – A power mad media mogul tries to start a war
between China and the U.K. to make his network the only news outlet
in the world. The British Secret Service sends James Bond to find out
who is behind the plot, and put an end to it.

Directed by Roger Spottiswoode                  Starring Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan
Pryce, Michelle Yeoh

Why I Liked It – Brosnan brings more of an edge to the character
than I remembered.

I might as well be honest from the beginning. The Ian Fleming
novels introduced me to James Bond, agent of Her Majesty’s Secret
Service. That’s the image of the legendary 007 that forms my vision
for the character. It begins with the blower Bentley, the 1933 4 1/2
Litre beast that we meet, with Bond, in “Casino Royale”. It’s
the .25 Beretta, and his elderly housekeeper May, the custom
cigarettes with the three gold bands from Morland’s, and the
Penfold Heart golf balls. It’s a Bond that is both sophisticated
and cruel. Able to blend into the finest society and also kill
efficiently. Too often, the 007 of the movies do not capture that.

So, every Bond fan has a ranking. Here’s mine. At the top of the
list is Sean Connery. His Bond was close to Fleming’s version. Very
close. The movies swing from wonderful action to cringe-worthy
treatment of women. It’s a leftover from the time that created the
books and the original movies. At 1A, I have the now retired Bond,
Daniel Craig. This Bond brings the cruel, efficient killer to the
forefront. If I could keep the best of both versions, we’d find the
perfect Bond. Third choice will surprise some folks, George Lazenby.
The Australian model stumbled into the role (he never wanted to be an
actor), and only did one movie, “On Her Majesty’s Secret
Service”. This is my favorite book, because it gives us the most
human 007. Lazenby does a nice turn here, but decides he’s not
interested in any more. Fourth is Timothy Dalton. He had the right
look and seemed to bring the right combination of suave and cruel. In
short order, however, Dalton seems bored on the screen. His movies
lack a lot of the energy that is the calling card of the franchise.

That brings us to my two least favorite iterations of the world’s
most famous secret agent. I’ve always lumped Pierce Brosnan and
Roger Moore together. The reason was simple. They were both too
“posh” for the role. There was none of the “grit” that I
wanted. I’ve seen a couple of their movies, saw nothing to change
my mind and set them aside.

Quite by accident, I ended up with a free afternoon and this movie
on a streaming service. Much to my surprise, Brosnan brings some real
steel to the role (sorry, couldn’t resist). With Jonathan Pryce as
an over the top media mogul, and Michelle Yeoh as a female lead that
does not need rescue, and you have a very satisfying Bond experience.
Yeoh’s Wai Lin differs from most “Bond Girls” as night is from
day. I can’t even bring myself to call her a “Bond Girl”. It’s
a disservice to the character and actress. Why she was not brought
back as a recurring character is beyond me. My assumption remains
that some male chauvinist suits didn’t want to give up their
on-screen eye candy for, you know, something closer to a real woman.

At the end of the movie, I realized I had to change my thoughts
about the Bond movies. Roger Moore now sits alone in the basement of
my rankings. I will have to watch more of both his and Dalton’s
movies to make sure, but Brosnan might edge ahead.

James Bond movies (and books) are fantasies. One author who took
up writing more 007 adventures after Ian Fleming’s death in 1964
was Kingsley Amis. He was an acclaimed author and critic in his own
right and offered an interesting look at what he called the “Fleming
Effect”. In simplest terms, Fleming could take the details of the
real world and ground them to both reality and the fantastic world of
James Bond. Bond is always best when that is at the core of the
story.

“Tomorrow Never Dies” offers all the action, the outrageous
silliness, and grim reality (the media mogul character seemed over
the top in 1997. It’s much more reality based feeling today), that
you want in a Bond movie. With a tradition breaking female lead (who
kicks Bond’s butt a couple times), and the wonderful
helicopter/motorcycle chase scene, I admit I enjoyed this movie more
than expected.

Rating – *** Worth A Look