Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

54% of critics liked it
(57 reviews)
60% of users liked it
(210,382 ratings)

Roger Spottiswoode (Air America) directed this film, the 18th chapter in the 35-year-old James Bond series (excluding Casino Royale and Never Say Never Again). James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) learns billionaire media mogul Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce) is manipulating world events via an exclusive flow… More Roger Spottiswoode (Air America) directed this film, the 18th chapter in the 35-year-old James Bond series (excluding Casino Royale and Never Say Never Again). James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) learns billionaire media mogul Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce) is manipulating world events via an exclusive flow of information through his satellite system reaching all corners of the planet. With a stealth battleship sinking a British naval vessel, Carver sees that the Chinese are blamed. Crashing Carver's party in Hamburg, Bond meets "journalist" Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh), later revealed as a Chinese agent. In a brief tryst, Bond renews his past relationship with Carver's wife Paris (Teri Hatcher). Carver dispatches Stamper (Gotz Otto) and other goons to cancel Bond, who eludes attackers with some of his new gadgets. In Southeast Asia, after Bond and Wai Lin scuba dive into the sunken British ship, they are captured by Stamper, handcuffed, and taken to Saigon where they make a motorcycle escape. To thwart Carver's plans for WWIII, the two agents head for Carver's stealth ship where a cruise missile is aimed at Beijing. Principal photography began April 1, 1997 in the new Eon Productions studio facility at Frogmore, northwest of London, and on the 007 stage at Pinewood Studios. Locations included the UK, Hamburg, Southeast Asia, Mexico, and off the Florida coast. The trademark Bond pre-title sequence was filmed in the French Pyrenees snowfields, centered around one of the few high-altitude operational airfields in Europe. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 59 min.
Directed By: Roger Spottiswoode
Written By: Bruce Feirstein
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Dec 19, 1997 Wide
On DVD: May 6, 1998
Studio: MGM Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
The 18th James Bond movie features the usual saturation bombardment.
Todd McCarthy, Variety
A solid but somewhat by-the-numbers entry in the James Bond cycle.
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
Brosnan is fast becoming the second best 007 -- effortlessly competent and coolly sexy.
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
Veteran director Roger Spottiswoode has tried to pep the old warhorse up, but the combined inertia of all those pictures over 35 years proves hard to budge.
Janet Maslin, New York Times
This latest film is such a generic action event that it could be any old summer blockbuster, except that its hero is chronically overdressed.
David Denby, New York Magazine
You won't miss a thing should you leave well before the end. If more can't be found in Bond than this, I wouldn't object, in principle, to that tuxedo's being hung up in the closet for good.
Scott G. Mignola, Common Sense Media
Bond, James Bond. For mature eyes only.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
One watches a Bond film for two hours of spy intrigue, car chases, fights, explosions, and beautiful women, and on that fairly undemanding level, it delivers the goods.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...a briskly-paced and thoroughly entertaining James Bond adventure...
Cynthia Fuchs, Philadelphia City Paper
The major episodes are, as always, well-executed.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Kinetic, knowing, crammed with high-tech gadgetry and sophisticated in the most superficial sense of the term: What else could you ask of a James Bond picture?
, Film4
Efficient action, gleaming product placement and, in Michelle Yeoh, a convincing foil for Bond.
Steve Biodrowski, ESplatter
The film seldom reaches the pitch of Goldfinger, but it does stay on tune, thanks to performers who know how to belt out an old favorite.
Stefan Birgir Stefansson, sbs.is
a great follow up to goldeneye
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The winsome pic gives the people what they want. At least, what they want from the Bond franchise.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
Even the evil henchman is badly picked: Ricky Jay is a lovable magician, not a hard-nosed killer.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Flawed, but fantastic fun all the same.
Tom Meek, Film Threat
Michelle Yeoh is a the lone bright star as the Chinese operative who occasionally, and rewardingly, resorts to Jackie Chan styled chop socky combat.
Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews
A crowd-pleaser that does the series justice.
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
The two best things about the movie are its opening sequence and Bond's costar, Michelle Yeoh.

Read all 22 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Alexander D

Despite the mixed reviews, I think this high-tech eighteenth Bond film is smart, well-thought-out, thrilling, and filled with both great acting and great action.
moon r

Male fantasy #1 continues it's grip on the West as Brosnan smoothly does all that Bond is supposed to do: steal bad guy's woman, ruin bad guy's plan for world domination, get the next cutie lined up (she always looks great in a bikini!), avenge the death of the bad… More
Male fantasy #1 continues it's grip on the West as Brosnan smoothly does all that Bond is supposed to do: steal bad guy's woman, ruin bad guy's plan for world domination, get the next cutie lined up (she always looks great in a bikini!), avenge the death of the bad guy's woman, play with unbelievably sophisticated technology, go skiing, go scuba diving, go parachuting, sleep with enemy spy, and finally look as good shirtless as in a tux. And what did you do today? I love Michelle Yeoh!
Lenny M

Nothing going for this movie, Bond in China doesn't work. Update: My least favorite Bond by far.
Candy R

Excellent Bond movie with 007 on a mission to stop war between England and China. My fave scene is the freefall off the skyscraper. Pierce is hot.
Jeff "

After the solid Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies is a slight step down. The idea for this film was good, but it doesn't quite feel like a Bond film. Tomorrow Never Dies is a hit and miss film with many good moments, but with quite a few ones at that. Just when Goldeneye injected… More
After the solid Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies is a slight step down. The idea for this film was good, but it doesn't quite feel like a Bond film. Tomorrow Never Dies is a hit and miss film with many good moments, but with quite a few ones at that. Just when Goldeneye injected new blood into a tired out franchise, did the film makers decide to slow down a notch, and if you have that with this one, an action film that doesn't really deliver on awesome action like Goldeneye did. Here the action is a little light and it seems that James Bond has outwitted the villains far too easily in this one.
Anthony L

Hmmm, not too bad but it will never be a classic eh!
Justin Y

Roger Spottiswoode gets the chance to direct Pierce Brosnan's sophomore James Bond film.The plot is fitting for a James Bond flick, but it tends to be a bit flat at times. After the typical opening action sequence and credits, the film spends quite a bit of time… More
Roger Spottiswoode gets the chance to direct Pierce Brosnan's sophomore James Bond film.The plot is fitting for a James Bond flick, but it tends to be a bit flat at times. After the typical opening action sequence and credits, the film spends quite a bit of time building up the story and the villains. It is successful at setting up the former, but the latter on the other hand, isn't so great, which in turn creates more of a lackluster villain. His intentions are cruel, however it is difficult to find him truly threatening.The action isn't superb, however it is entertaining. Bond driving a BMW with a cellphone and the motorcycle chase are sequences to note. There is a lot of action at the ending as well, which isn't surprising. Michelle Yeoh also gets the chance to take out some thugs with her martial arts skills. Thank you.Pierce Brosnan successfully portrays Bond yet again and Jonathan Pryce shows up as the villain. Michelle Yeoh and Teri Hatcher are the bond girls. Michelle Yeoh kicks some butt, while Teri Hatcher's character is nearly meaningless.Tomorrow Never Dies lacks the memorable characters and a really interesting story, but it is still a good movie nonetheless.
Coxxie M

and neither will this tiresome franchise...
Film C

again i love the bond movies and brosnan is proving that hes a pretty good bond movie so really worth a watch
Chris G

Pierce Brosnan's sophomore outing as James Bond finds 007 up against a megalomaniac media owner (Jonathan Pryce) who wants to bring the world to the brink of World War III for ratings. Brosnan continues his dominance in the James Bond role and Michelle Yeoh plays one of those… More
Pierce Brosnan's sophomore outing as James Bond finds 007 up against a megalomaniac media owner (Jonathan Pryce) who wants to bring the world to the brink of World War III for ratings. Brosnan continues his dominance in the James Bond role and Michelle Yeoh plays one of those Bond girls that's different from other Bond girls that we've been hearing about for thirty years. Terri Hatcher's role as the media mogul's wife is practically a cameo- she makes no difference to the film other than to give Bond as little sentimental time. Jonathan Pryce gives a good portrayal of the villain Elliot Carver at the beginning, but turns into a lampoon of himself by the end of the film. Tomorrow Never Dies is an average action film which makes it a below average Bond movie. It just sort of presents its self and says "Here I am". The action sequences are OK, but beyond that it gets a little dicey character wise. A lackluster Bond film.
Lorenzo v

"The Man. The Number. The License...are all back." James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) learns billionaire media mogul Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce) is manipulating world events via an exclusive flow of information through his satellite system reaching all… More
"The Man. The Number. The License...are all back." James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) learns billionaire media mogul Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce) is manipulating world events via an exclusive flow of information through his satellite system reaching all corners of the planet. With a stealth battleship sinking a British naval vessel, Carver sees that the Chinese are blamed. Crashing Carver's party in Hamburg, Bond meets "journalist" Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh), later revealed as a Chinese agent. In a brief tryst, Bond renews his past relationship with Carver's wife Paris (Teri Hatcher). Carver dispatches Stamper (Gotz Otto) and other goons to cancel Bond, who eludes attackers with some of his new gadgets. In Southeast Asia, after Bond and Wai Lin scuba dive into the sunken British ship, they are captured by Stamper, handcuffed, and taken to Saigon where they make a motorcycle escape. To thwart Carver's plans for WWIII, the two agents head for Carver's stealth ship where a cruise missile is aimed at Beijing. Review Not bad for a Bond, though I thought that Brosnan did a better job in GoldenEye. Problem with this film is that there's no time for any groundwork. Once you are in the rollercoaster, there's no exploring or talking, you just sit back 'till the ride is over. The writers touch upon the fact that being a secret agent is a lonely job, but they've could have give it more thought and work it out a bit more. But nonetheless, not bad.
Tsubaki S

Boring as hell bond film. Such a waste of Michelle Yeoh.
Cassandra M

This is a good movie and all but this isn't a James Bond like movie. You take a war plot....... with an Sylvester Stallone gun fights and you just add bond into it. Brosnan does a good job here.......... you cant notice his age and he doesn't shove the one liners down our… More
This is a good movie and all but this isn't a James Bond like movie. You take a war plot....... with an Sylvester Stallone gun fights and you just add bond into it. Brosnan does a good job here.......... you cant notice his age and he doesn't shove the one liners down our throats like Moore. I think the bad parts of this movie were the useless henchman who gets little buildup and doesn't do anything but stand around and look tough. I hated this air thin plot because the main villain completely destroys it. The villain should do something evil or have a nice background and buildup but this villain is just irritating and boring. Michelle Yeoh is OK here but you can tell that she doesn't have any chemistry with Brosnan and you barely know what shes doing. I enjoyed the remote control car sequences (including the hilarious part with Q). The best part was the the car chase with Bond using the remote control to drive. I was a little surprised at how they changed Bond to using machine guns and killing people without a heart or hesitation. The theme song was good as were some of the action scenes, It just doesn't feel like a Bond film.
Curtis L

So bad I don't remember a single thing about it.
Pierluigi P

Exciting and never boring Bond adventure. awesome pre title sequence and also a great and charming actor playing the ultimate spy.
Lafe F

A somewhat enjoyable 007 film, with him going up against a media mogul, Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce). James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) interacts with Carver's wife Paris (played by Teri Hatcher) and teams up with super spy Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh) for some great action scenes.… More
A somewhat enjoyable 007 film, with him going up against a media mogul, Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce). James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) interacts with Carver's wife Paris (played by Teri Hatcher) and teams up with super spy Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh) for some great action scenes. There's a good handcuffed motorcycle chase and a remote-controlled car escape in a parkade. The rest, I don't remember much about; it's a somewhat forgettable Bond adventure. Also forgettable is the title song by Sheryl Crow, which reminds me much of the Garbage song in the following film "The World is Not Enough". When are they going to get the Pet Shop Boys to do a Bond song?
Flutie A

One of my all-time favorite Bond movies...perhaps because of the Journalism thing. The scene with the motorcycle is the highlight.
Dean !

One of the better recent Bond films, has plenty of action and top stunts......if only the plot was a bit more interesting than global dominance of the news!
Khris N

Nobody does it better - lolz - the BMW and bike scenes r the best!
Michael S

Superb Bond film.