Release Date - December 12, 1997
Plot - A newspaper and television baron is plotting to start a war between China and Britain with the stakes being his media empire having exclusive journalistic rights inside Beijing for the next 100 years.
Villain - Elliot Carver - a ruthless and flamboyant businessman who runs the Carver Media Group Network. He has bureaus on every continent. He also controls a secret army who help him sink the HMS Devonshire, a British navel vessel and a Chinese MiG fighter jet. This is only phase one in setting the stage for war between China and Britain. Phase two is launching a British nuclear rocket into Beijing from his stealth ship.
Bond-Girls - Wai Lin, is an attractive Chinese secret agent of the People's External Security Force. She is suspicious of Carver's activities as well. She and Bond eventually hook up (figuratively and literally) together to stop Carver and help sink his plans for global journalistic domination.
Paris Carver, a beautiful brunette who is married to Carver. She was once a high fashion model and a former lover to OO7. Apparently she got too close to James' inner feelings which made him depart. She sleeps with Bond one more time and offers him information about how to get into Carver's newspaper bureau in Hamburg.
Professor Inga Bergstrom, a beautiful blonde whom Bond learns a new tongue.
Henchmen - Stamper, blonde, strong and deadly. He is Carver's right-hand man and a former student of the art of chakra torture.
Henry Gupta, a technoterrorist. A product of the radical 60s who staged many protests at the University of California - Berkeley. He is Carver's computer guru.
Dr. Kaufman, a German hit man who is a crack shot and a teacher in extreme tortures.
Bond's Friends - Jack Wade returns to aide Bond in Vietnam. Along with Dr. Dave Greenwalt who leads Bond to the HMS Devonshire.
Minor Characters - M, Major 'Q' Boothroyd, Miss Moneypenny, Charles Robinson, Admiral Roebuck
Highlights - The pre-credit sequence at the Terrorist Bazaar. The sinking of the Devonshire. The fight at Carver's newspaper plant. Remote controlled car chase inside the Atlantic Hotel parking garage. The HALO jump. Leaping off of Carver's building in Saigon. The motorcycle chase through the streets of Saigon. Wai Lin's secret hideout. The final confrontation onboard Carver's stealth ship.
Most Memorable Dialogue
- Bond throws one of Carver's henchmen into a printing press which
causes the newspaper rolls to be smeared with blood.
Bond: "They'll print anything these days."
Trivia - Sir Anthony Hopkins was originally asked to be the villain whose original name was Harmsway. Wai Lin was originally called Lin Pao but the name Pao means 'bun' in Chinese and thus it was changed. Princess Diana and her boyfriend (and financial supporter of previous Bond films) Dodi Fayed, were scheduled to visit the set of Tomorrow Never Dies during the first week of September. They were both killed in an automobile accident on August 31st. The original title was supposed to be Tomorrow Never Lies.
Cast -
Personal Comment About This Film - The making of this film was plagued with problems. Script changes happened daily and the relocation from Vietnam to Thailand caused major headaches. This was also the first Bond film to be made without Cubby Broccoli leading the charge. Lousy credit sequence produced by Daniel Kleinman who seemed promising after his debut with GoldenEye's credit sequence. His female models are never sexy enough compared to Maurice Binder's classics. Sheryl Crow's singing does not help the credit sequence either. They should have used k.d. lang's song 'Surrender' from the closing credits and placed Sheryl's song last. But with all of these roadblocks and shortfalls the film is still very entertaining. It is the shortest film in length since Diamonds Are Forever running at 119 minutes and that is a good thing since the plot is filled with holes you can drive an Aston Martin through them. But the opening scene at the Terrorist Bazaar is perhaps the best pre-credit sequence in the Brosnan era. Accompanied by a fantastic debut music score from David Arnold.
On A Scale From 1 to 10 - I give this film an OO7
U. S. Style A Poster
The End Of Tomorrow Never Dies
But James Bond Will Return In