the bond series is an island in the film world ; where else would we look forward to cliches , and all of the other things that occur in most of these films ? where else would pure escapism , a vulnerable hero , the " talking villains , " blatant product placement , predictable action sequences , and lots of promiscuity be hoped for instead of a significant change ? i don't understand it myself , but that's what the bond series is based on . for ( i think ) 18 films , we've mostly got the same thing over and over again , with some variation ( and a bit of change , most notably in the two dalton films ) . but even i , a king of cynicism , can't bitch about it . and " tomorrow never dies , " the ( again , i think ) eighteenth bond film , and second brosnan bond film , is no exception . thank god ! the plot , as in most of them , is pure balderdash , but seems to have a nice kind of edge to it . instead of just plain billionaire psychotics , we get a rupert murdoch-esque media mogul/psychotic - elliot carver ( jonathan pryce , looking bitching with a white-haired cru cut , and always talking like he's out of breath ) , who has the admittingly ingenius idea of getting ratings by creating a war . no , this is not " wag the dog " - he wants a real war , between china and england , and is stupid enough to put the coverage out before anyone else discovered it . . . in comes bond . james is sent all around the world , trying to do research on carver , fighting with his men , and running into ( on more than one occasion ) a chinese secret agent like him : wai lin ( michelle yeoh , asian action star extraordinaire . . . and co-star of " supercop , " nearly stealing the screen from jackie chan in that one ) . the two eventually , and predictably of course , begin working together , and yes , there is some sexual tension between the two . luckily , their relationship is never strained , and she never gives into his cassanova-ness until the finale . thank god again . in every bond film , james bags , on average , three women ( sometimes more , sometimes less - the latter being more potent towards the aids-cautionary dalton ) , and he doesn't spoil this one ( though we never see them , of course - i mean , they need to stay around a pg-13 rating ) . there's always one at the beginning with some chick we never see again , the big bond girl ( yeoh ) , and this time we have an almost-cameo by teri hatcher as carver's wife , paris , who , it seems , was once one of the girls he bags at the beginning . yes , teri's very attractive , but she seems kind of dull . of course , it's not really her fault ; her part is under-written , and she's only in a small part of it . oh well . and there are always the big henchmen , the guys who do the dirty work for the polished big villains . this time we get a tall , arian-looking ( not to mention robert shaw in " from russia with love " -looking ) guy named stamper ( goetz otto ) , who is pretty awesome , although a bit stiff ( well , mostly his posture , really ) . and for a bit of comedy , we get a cameo from vincent shiavelli as a german or austrian assassin who is ordered to do in bond at one point . the government people have small parts , as usual , with q ( desmond llewelyn , looking near death , sadly ) getting only one scene ( in a more grouchy mood than usual ) , and m ( judi dench ) , getting more than m usually gets ( i mean , it is judi dench ) . and for no reason whatsoever , except 'cause he was so good in " goldeneye , " joe don baker shows up again as wade , admitting he has no reason for being there , and is this time more annoying . again , oh well . the action sequences are not a let-down , although sometimes go on too long . they pop up every now and then , mainly because they have to ( for the sake of the series ) , and some significant ones are the opening one , one in a garage with a bmw that runs on remote control , and a motorcylce chase ( on a bmw cycle , nonetheless ) through china streets ( or was it vietnam . . . the plot's not really essential ) . they're more high-tech , and feature much more laughs , which , yeah , i dig . so what if they're distracting ; they're supposed to be ! the acting , from most around is great . yeoh is , actually , one of the better bond girls , mainly because she's so unique . the better bond girls are more independent , and have a certain wily-ness to them . pussy galore , with her homoerotic undertones and all , is one of the best , and diana rigg , who married bond at the end of " on her majesty's secret service " only to be killed , added some emotional depth . yeoh is notable since she's so active , and has great chemistry with brosnan . pryce is an awesome villain , being slimy and lovable at the same time . and brosnan is , once again , the mack daddy . the bond series is built on cliches , mainly because they're so fun and add to the escapism . if you can remember the dalton years , and they're serious direction , you remember how unsuccessful they were , both financially and aesthetically . the series would falter if bogged down with too much plot , too many themes , and too much characterization . i don't really understand it myself , yet i'm one of the bigger fans of the series in the northeast united states . having seen all of them more than once ( yes , i've seen this twice already ) , you can tell i adore them . while it's not one of the best , like " goldfinger " or " from russia with love , " " tomorrow never dies " is nonetheless a truly awesome installment , even if not being as fully amazing as some of the better ones .
