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James McMahon --
A solid entry in the 007 series. In general the elements of the series are well balanced. A workmanlike, professional job is turned in by all and sundry, and the resulting film moves along well and entertains. Never rises above the basic material, but rarely falls below, either.
Robert Cotton --
Almost cost Eon my viewership. A total waste of time except for Michelle Yeoh. Brosnan tries, but has nothing to do, up against the world's most evil cable television programmer. Suddenly Donald Pleasance is the 2nd least threatening villain in history.
Michael Reed --
A great concept that became a mediocre movie. The idea of a media baron villain is great, but Pryce plays him like a cartoon character. The final act is too dark, dank and dreary. A film with excellent scenes that don't gel together very well. Arnold's score is the best part of the film.
Paul Baack --
A fun entry in the series, building upon GoldenEye's strengths to cement Pierce Brosnan as THE 007 of his generation. One of my all-time favorite James Bond movies, TND stands out as a sort of one-off, all-action Bond movie, with a tip o' the hat to the Hong Kong action cinema. The plot of the film is simple and clean, lending itself to a very linear storytelling style. Elliott Carver is an old-school Bond villain; a megalomaniac with a goofy wardrobe and an insatiable hunger for money and power. Jonathan Pryce clearly is having a lot of fun chewing up the scenery in his portrayal, a sense of fun he communicates to the audience without breaking the fourth wall. The very yummy Michelle Yeoh completely kicks ass as Bond girl Wai Lin, a Chinese secret agent who's more than a match for Bond. Performances overall are very good, with a standout cameo by Vincent Schiavelli as a hit man. And, finally, David Arnold begins his association with the series with the best music score since the best of John Barry's. Coupled with Daniel Kleinman's title sequences, the James Bond movies are looking and sounding like they should! | Bill Koenig --
Not quite as good as GoldenEye, the script again is a work by committee. Bruce Feirstein receives sole credit, but his script got worked over by various people including Daniel Petrie Jr. (who received no credit but does an alternative DVD audio track with director Roger Spottiswoode; the comments delicately avoid mentioning that Petrie worked on the script, though both men do compliment Feirstein). This movie is "Machine Gun Bond" at his most extreme. Jonathan Pryce is a big plus as the villain .
Ed Werner --
There is just something about this movie that rubs me the wrong way. In my mind, this is the
weakest Brosnan Bond to date. Unfortunate, because the pre-title sequence is fantastic, but
the premise of a media baron instigating World War III is so far out in left-field that it takes
away from any suspense at all. Jonathan Pryce is very watchable as media mogul Elliot
Carver (except when with a juvenile display, he mocks Yeoh's martial arts ability), but he
doesn't command any menace and thus, the final confrontation with Bond is limp at best.
The most interesting portion of this film seems to wrap around the "cameo" appearance of
Paris Carver (Teri Hatcher), as ex-girlfriend of Bond who is now Carver's wife. This is one
of the few times we get a look at Bond's personal life and how his job affects it. One of the
strongest images in the entire series is when Bond is waiting in his hotel room, downing shots
of vodka, not knowing if Carver's goons will show up or Paris. Brosnan does Bond proud
here. In retrospect, I think one of reasons I don't care too much for this movie is the fact that
the main Bond girl is like lukewarm milk here. I'm just not drawn to Michelle Yeoh in any
way, shape or form. She is not attractive at all, and
the whole "this is a new strong Bond girl who can hold her own" thing has been dragged out
ad-nauseum. The whole martial arts thing was a direct rip off of the "Crouching Tiger, Hidden
Dragon." The producers made this same mistake with TMWTGG in the 70's, attempting to copy Bruce
Lee movies. It didn't work then and it doesn't work now. Won't they ever learn? Be a leader,
not a follower!
Tom Zielinski --
A bit of a paint-by-numbers approach that delivers a film that is neither good nor bad. All the elements are present; Brosnan is again very good, as is Michelle Yeoh. Roger Spottiswoode´s direction is uninspired, though the action sequences are ok. The pre-titles sequence is the highlight of the film but Bruce Feirstein´s plot involving a media mastermind (Jonathan Pryce) attempting to manipulate WW III is over the top even for a Bond film. The one-liners are a bit of a groan. The wonderful Pryce is fairly wasted (ala Christopher Walken), which is really too bad given his talent. Highlight of the film is the entire sequence of Bond drinking alone in his hotel room, then the scene with Dr. Kaufman. Great stuff.
Finally, David Arnold´s serviceable score is a godsend relative to the previous film.
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