Tomorrow Never Dies

“Tomorrow Never Dies (UK cinema poster)” Via Wikipedia.

I really have no idea why so many people dog on Tomorrow Never Dies. In my opinion, it’s one of the best Bond movies, and has easily moved up into my top 5. The idea that it’s in anyone’s bottom 5 just tells me it’s been a long time since they’ve seen Diamonds are Forever, which will forever reset your yardstick for bad Bond movies. TND has a kick-ass Bond girl in Michelle Yeoh, hilarious chase scenes (the parking lot scene with the cell-phone controlled BMW is fantastic), wit without being noxious, and a solid villain for the 21st century.

Plot in twenty words or less: Welcome to the new public enemy No. 1 — THE MEDIA.

How it’s aged: This question is starting to feel a little silly now that we’ve generally left the Soviet Communist bloc behind. That said, I think this film’s evil villain, Elliott Carver — a clear homage to Rupert Murdoch, who was deep in British media long before this film — will feel relevant for a long, long time.

Something that was just weird and/or WTF y’all: Why are there posters of Carver’s face everywhere? At the satellite party, at the newspaper printing factory… We get the dude is an egomaniac, but this seems excessive. Though it did remind me slightly of a particular book cover, and it looks like I’m not alone in thinking this.

Obligatory feminist commentary: Right after one of the British military dudes yells at M for not having the balls for the job, the man escalates it to WE GOTTA ATTACK and M is like MODERATION, YOU GUYS. It’s such a transparent attempt to bully her, but she isn’t taking those shenanigans! And I love Lin (Michelle Yeoh) as the Bond girl — she’s very much 007’s equal.

Completely hypothetical cultural reference points: Let’s be real y’all: Henry Gupta totally looks like noted philosopher and infamous jerk-dude Slavoj Žižek.

Superficial Thing that did not Amuse Me: How was it they couldn’t use a sledgehammer against the BMW but a spray of bullets was able to get through the glass when the chase scene started?

Superficial Thing that highly Amused Me: They keep saying G-P-S very deliberately. Obviously this was before everyone knew what this was. Still funny.

Interesting and possibly dubious thing I learned from Wikipedia: One of the potential titles was originally Tomorrow Never Lies, but due to a fax error  it appeared as Tomorrow Never Dies, becoming the top choice of the studio people.

Martini rating: SEVEN MARTINIS!

Administrative information concerning this viewing:

Drinks consumed: Great Lakes Oktoberfest

Food eaten: Kohlrabi-zucchini fritters, roasted red pepper and garlic puree on toast

Viewed on: September 7, 2014

Viewing Partner: Fiance and Cat