YESTERDAY IS A MEMORY, TODAY IS HISTORY, TOMORROW IS IN THE HANDS OF ONE MAN: BOND… YOU KNOW THE REST!

The story in this 18th James Bond flick, about a media tycoon’s (Jonathan Pryce) attempt to jump-start a war between Britain and China, shows the dangerous potential of powerful media empires manipulating the news.

Pierce Brosnan keeps getting better as the guy you want protecting the free world; Pryce is quietly intense as the Rupert Murdoch-like villain, and Michelle Yeoh’s experience from Hong Kong action movies lends her character some spark.

There’s two outstanding action sequences, but other ingredients in this film are bland and it runs out of steam in the final half-hour. 

1997-U.S.-U.K. 119 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode. Music: David Arnold. Song: ”Tomorrow Never Dies” (performed by Sheryl Crow). Cast: Pierce Brosnan (James Bond), Jonathan Pryce (Elliot Carver), Michelle Yeoh (Wai Lin), Teri Hatcher, Joe Don Baker, Ricky Jay, Judi Dench, Desmond Llewelyn… Gerard Butler, Julian Fellowes, Hugh Bonneville. 

Trivia: Sela Ward and Monica Bellucci were considered for Hatcher’s role. Followed by The World Is Not Enough (1999).