A non-Bond fan watches all 25 James Bond movies.
This is movie #18, Tomorrow Never Dies.
I saw a big shift in Bond’s behavior toward women and a change in the female characters in the last movie, Goldeneye. This means there’s been a change in the Bond franchise itself.
A woman, Barbara Broccoli, is now a full-time producer with her brother, Michael G. Wilson. She’s likely the reason for the long needed evolution with Bond.
Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in Tomorrow Never Dies
It’s only been two years since Brosnan appeared in his first Bond movie but he looks like he’s aged a few years already. But not in a bad way. With his new seasoned look, he’s a better fit as James Bond.
I couldn’t quite figure out what was missing with Brosnan as Bond in Goldeneye.
After looking at some videos of him in Remington Steel (the show he was in prior to Bond), it was like he walked out of one of those episodes and showed up to play Bond without a transformation.
You can’t just show up and be James Bond.
Sean Connery was molded into the Bond character. Director Terence Young turned him into the suave super spy by taking him to his barber, getting him tailor-made suits, and teaching him sophistication. And it worked. Connery’s onscreen flair is off the charts.
Speaking of transformation, I doubt Daniel Craig showed up with those abs. He had to be transformed into Bond.
With this second movie, Brosnan is coming into his own as Bond. This time when he’s shooting a machine gun it doesn’t look like it’s a prop for a magazine shoot. With his more mature look, it’s believable.
James Bond and Women
In Tomorrow Never Dies, there are no offensive names for female characters. Bond isn’t disrespectful towards women. But he did make one sexual remark to Moneypenny. I guess he couldn’t resist.
And of course, because some things never change, he slept with two or three women in this film. (I say three because I’m not sure that anything happened between him and the possible third woman, Wai Lin, the Chinese agent.)
The Evolution of James Bond
There’s been a shift with the Bond movies because with time comes change. And it took about thirty years for big changes to happen. But I think the bigger reason for the shift is Barbara Broccoli. If Albert R. Broccoli continued as producer, I doubt Bond would have a female boss. Moneypenny would still be drooling over James Bond’s come-ons. And using disgusting sexual names for female characters might still be a thing.
Bond is still very much into women but he’s not as vile and sexist as he was. But I’m still on movie #18. I can’t say for sure if these positive changes are permanent.
Tomorrow Never Dies–How Did I Like the Movie?
Although I was more impressed with Brosnan in this movie than in Goldeneye, I wasn’t impressed with the movie.
When the first scene opened with dreary weather and a bunch of military vehicles, I stopped and went to Wikipedia to read the plot. Maybe that would draw me in. It didn’t.
Of course there were stunts as with all Bond movies. But as I’ve said before too many stunts and action and I zone out. That happened several times.
The best thing about the movie was the female agent Mai Lin’s fighting skills. She was played by actress Michelle Yeoh who did most of her own stunts and fighting. I know her name because of her recent Oscar win for best actress.
I was surprised to see Julian Fellowes in this film. He’s the incredible writer of Downton Abby. Hugh Bonneville, the patriarch in Downton Abby was also in this film.
Filming & Production Info
This was the first James Bond movie released since the original producer, Albert R. Broccoli died in 1995. This movie was released in 1997.
If you’d like to know why I, a non-Bond fan, am watching all 25 James Bond movies you can read about it in detail here: Who Is The Next James Bond? A Non-Bond Fan Makes Her Prediction.