The James Bond Rewatch: Current Movie - SPECTRE

[Doc755]

Full disclosure right out of the gate: I’ve always liked Tomorrow Never Dies. It’s not a great film by any stretch of the imagination but I always found it to be enjoyable as popcorn entertainment. On this rewatch, that opinion has not changed much although the issues I’ve been discussing throughout the rewatch are more glaring now. For me, the death of Bond as a secret agent is during the finale of this film. Running around the stealth ship and firing two guns is so antithetical to how the character was developed that we’ve reached a point of no return. Bond is just an action hero now and the elements of espionage thrillers that fill many of the best films of the franchise (From Russia with Love, For Your Eyes Only, The Living Daylights) are a thing of the past.

Maybe at the time I first saw this I was more okay with that change. I was 13 so obviously action was cool and fun to mimic and pretend to be a part of. Perhaps that youthful investment has carried over where I can still enjoy TND as a whole while still being able to recognize the issues that prevent it from being elevated in the canon. Maybe this whole line of thought is pretentious and not what anyone still reading is looking for. In any case, I wanted to at least give context for how I view the film. I get that a lot people don’t like it and I recognize the issues. But for me, I’d still rather watch this than the two that come after.

Let’s discuss the actual film now! Brosnan’s second outing in the role of 007 sees him take on a media mogul who is seeking to ignite a war between the U.K. and China in order to secure cable broadcast rights in the latter. Makes perfect sense right? I think the film’s major problem is you could have made this scheme work, but rather than have the main villain be the media mogul, it should be the general seeking to stage a coup in China. When you have the assassination of the leaders of a world-power and a potential nuclear war be an afterthought in your plot, you might be throwing believability out the window. Having the focus be on Carver only highlights the silliness of the whole thing. But if you just change the focus to a less flashy plot, having an ally like Carver in a secondary role makes more sense than him be the driving force.

While the plot does seem silly, given the issues we have seen with corporate controlled media and the way it influences politics and policy in today’s society, TND is particularly prescient. Whole segments of the population have a completely different worldview than their neighbors and a lot of that has to do with the media they consume and what the intent behind that media is. I don’t want to get into a political rant here, but Carver’s influence and methods from thirty years ago seem a simplified version of the complexities of media today. The power of media is definitely underscored, or at least until recently, so kudos to this film for raising an issue we tackle almost daily now.

As to the cast, I like Jonathan Pryce as the villain. He brings a manic glee to the proceedings while still being disarmingly charming. Thinking back on his character, he clearly suffers from an inferiority complex. Prone to maniacal rants when he’s winning and vicious anger when he’s at the disadvantage, I felt viewing him through this lens made me understand his motivations more. He talks about reaching more people in the world than God. Is he delusional? Probably. But he wants to be seen and heard. That’s true power in his eyes. His explosion of anger for Bond cutting off a broadcast and him being the butt of TV jokes is a deep wound for him. I’m not trying to dress up the character to be more than he is, but I did find making this observation that I related to him more. Or maybe Pryce is just fun to watch.

Michelle Yeoh was a great addition to the cast. My favorite Bond Girl of the modern era, if you were ever going to do a spin-off you would pick her and not Jinx from Die Another Day. Quick to action but sadly still saddled with having to be saved TWICE in the finale, I wish the screenwriter had let her be free to keep her agency throughout the entire film. Bond didn’t need to save Natalya in the finale to GoldenEye, so what gives here? Yeoh can be both playful and a force to be reckoned with.

Judi Dench and Samantha Bond continue to shine in their roles and we also add Colin Salmon as Robinson to take over as M’s commanding chief of staff. Dench particularly shines when standing up to a Navy Admiral who is chomping at the bit to unleash the dogs of war. Setting her in the first film as an outsider with a broader view pays off here as she pushes against the brass to investigate the situation. Her confidence in Bond grows as well and she’s not even above pushing him to use his methods of persuasion on Carver’s wife, played by the lovely Teri Hatcher.

I’ve gone back and forth but I’m going to be generous and given this a 6/10. It could easily be a 5, but the elements I liked outweigh the ones I didn’t. The story is flawed but salvageable. The action is quite good. Particular note given to the standard car chase with use of gadgets but given a twist where Bond is operating the car from the backseat. There’s also some good hand to hand fights earlier in the film and it’s shame Stamper and Bond’s final duel isn’t better. The cast is top notch and whether you hated or loved Carter he was certainly memorable. The theme is a bit bland. I actually preferred the ending song to the title theme. Brosnan got saddled with some bad scripts in his era but he continues to shine as 007.

Current Rankings:
1) On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
2) From Russia with Love
3) Goldfinger
4) For Your Eyes Only
5) The Living Daylights
6) The Spy Who Loved Me
7) GoldenEye
8) Thunderball
9) Dr. No
10) Licence to Kill
11) Octopussy
12) Live and Let Die
13) Tomorrow Never Dies
14) You Only Live Twice
15) The Man with the Golden Gun
16) A View to a Kill
17) Moonraker
18) Diamonds are Forever