Some people love James Bond films, some people hate them. Some people love Connery and think his is the ultimate Bond, others grew up on Roger Moore and think his is the quintessential 007. Bond has had adventures on submarines, in space, on islands with nuclear reactors, on trains, onplanes, gone up against voodoo priests, former SIS allies, and of course Blofeld himself. So how do you please Bond fans these days when it seem she’s done it all? The answer is, you don’t. You stop trying to please them and concentrate on making a half decent movie that just happens to star James Bond.
You see when Goldeneye was released, Bond was back on track. I expected the successive flicks of Brosnan to be better. But it was the other way round. TWINE - The movie that followed its successor, Tomorrow Never Dies is a decent film, but overall not Bond. As a Bond film, this latest has some excellent points. Brosnan is an excellent Bond, seemingly born to play the part(though Connery is THE Bond and Goldfinger IS the perfect Bond film). Brosnan simultaneously has elements of the dark and dangerous Connery and the lighter, suave leanings of Roger Moore. Thankfully, Brosnan uses his Walthar more than the machine gun in this film.
The producers also realized what a diamond they had in Judi Dench and expanded her role for the film, which brings new dimensions to the story.Actually, Bond’s entire supporting cast is in effect throughout the film, from Moneypenny to Q to the lesser players, who normally only show up atthebeginning and end of Bond films. Robert Carlyle is an excellent villain andan excellent actor, though the bullet in the brain spiralling toward the medula oblongata is a little much to believe. Robbie Coltrane is also backand his presence makes a good foil for Bond.
The producers also shyed away from the by now cliche "Dr. Evil" world domination plot, choosing instead to downsize a bit. Millions will die ifthe evil scheme is brought to fruition, but it’s not the usual type of thingat all. One city would be destroyed, and it’s all about oil and ruthless business, not taking over the world. The action is also respectable, with an amazing opening sequence(what was Q gonna fish for with that boat, Alligators? Whales?), and well paced and tight action sequences throughoutthe movie, though the scene with the helicopters was a little much tobelieve, though exciting nonetheless.
The film also has bad points. Denise Richards, . it seems her only purpose is to mesmerize us all with her assets and provide Bond with the final horrible pun of the film. Sophie Marceau is passable as a Bond girl, her character is saved by the ambiguity of her intentions. All in all, she’s a lot lot hot than bubble-bod Richards. Man she’s one perfect -ve Bond Girl.
The plot twists aren’t impossible to see coming, but better than your average Bond where everything is as it seems. The fact that Elektra is as she is with Renard says a lot about both characters. Bond does some actual detective work here, it’s not on the same level as Dr. No, but it’s something.
John Cleese debuts in this film as Q’s assistant(and now replacement with the death of the beloved actor who played Q, we loved ya pal!) and plays the bumbling role well, though he’ll have to change it a bit now that he is Q.The more serious attitude he displays at the beginning of his debut scene will serve the character better.
There are loose ends at the end when the submarine explodes, with Richards saying she needed to stop something or other from overloading, and then glossing over it as they run for the escape hatches, something tells me there was an editing job there that erased her part in that scene, perhaps because it killed the momentum of the escape I can’t say for sure.
All in all, I was moderately pleased with this Bond outing. Only Goldeneye belongs in the top 10 Bond films of all time, while Die An Day goes down to the bottom with such stinkers as Moonraker and Diamonds Are Forever.
Punchline: Watchable Bond movie, though not on par with GE or Dr No.