Agreed with all of this👏 The only thing that lets TND down is the rather uninspired design of the stealth boat interior, which serves bad 90s nightclub rather than Liparus grandiosity. I half expect Pierce to burst into a chorus of Whigfield’s Saturday Night between gun blasts!
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Lamont was certainly missed.
Given he got an Oscar for what he was doing instead of TND, it probably didnt bother him that much.
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Personally, I actually love the climax of TND, as cheesy as it is. It’s certainly not the worst third act of the franchise and is a masterpiece when compared to Spectre’s finale.
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In Sinclair McKay’s book, he asserts that many Bond films go on at last fifteen minutes too long. An interesting view, and I’d agree with it for this one.
The most glaring flaw, however, is that Carver is killed before his henchman Stamper. The second fight, therefore, loses tension as you wonder why the guy doesn’t just go home and watch repeats of The A-Team or whatever he does in his downtime, as Carver’s big plan has clearly gone up in smoke.
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How is Stamper any different in this regard than Wint & Kidd, Tee-Hee, Nick Nack, or Jaws?
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Mainly because, with the exception of Tee-Hee, those confrontations were treated as light-hearted epilogues, a sort of “hey, I bet you forgot about this guy, didn’t you!”
As a rule of thumb, henchmen are neutralized before the hero graduates to the main antagonist.
I think Carver is a great villain. Yes, great. But killing him off first was the right move in this instance because it’s saving the better physical confrontation until last. Stamper is clearly a guy who takes things personally and can’t move on. Bond killed his good friend Dr Kaufman. Stamper’s chakra torture was meant to be his moment of revenge, but it was taken from him.
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Fair enough. Carver’s death might have seemed anti-climatic after the Stamper fight too.
What do we think of the line, “Always give the people want they want!”?
As a joke/reference to media, is it weak and laboured, or fine? It reminds me of those amusing but endless Swiss banker jokes at the beginning of TWINE.
The finale of an episode of Dora the Explorer would qualify as a masterpiece when stacked up against Spectre
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I liked that line at the time. It’s the 2nd time he’s said something like this to Carver, having said “Sorry, Elliot, I tuned out for a second there”.
There’s a similar line to that in Spectre when Bond says to Blofeld.
“Anything is better than listening to you talk”
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When the bad guys aimlessly machine gun the British soldiers in the water is when I think the violence went too far. TND is a rather cold 90s action movie in that regard.
In the novelisation, before Carver dies, M appears on a broadcast throughout the ship announcing Carver’s defeat and suicide as he watches it live. It was a much more fitting comeuppance.
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Similar to DAF, but in that case the order is correct.
Yes but Blofeld doesn’t die in DAF.
I think it’s okay.
In Goldeneye it’s Russian office workers being massacred in cold blood.
I think it’s perfectly fine as well. What I don’t get, however, is that Bond is always calling him Elliot throughout the film instead of Carver, and it just seems out of place. In every other film, he always calls the villain by his last name.
Also, regarding the stealth ship. I never really get a sense of how big it is. I always think it’s a mid-size ship, but once the action happens, Bond’s running around all over the place and it seems huge.
Regardless of those items, though, I love Tomorrow Never Dies and think it’s one of the most underrated Bond films. I just wish they would have included the scenes of Henry Gupta’s (Ricky Jay) card throwing ability.
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Everyone else refers to him as Mr. Carver (much like a certain other egotistical maniac) Bond is making a point by refusing to do so; He’s not in the least intimidated by Carver’s perceived power.
TND has grown on me over the years, frankly, for it’s simplicity and pace. That said, the woeful underuse of Ricky Jay was a real missed opportunity. In the way that the mere appearance of Teri Hatcher was a waste of time. Sorry, not a fan!
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I love Tomorrow Never Dies. Easily Top Five for me.
I think what @Orion said has merit. It could also be due to their shared relationship with Paris, with Bond mock treating him like an old friend, or simply making things more personal - especially after Paris’ murder.
DK’s Secret World of 007 book provides a cross section of the ship, as you’d probably know, showing the layout of the interior. Looking at the illustration just now, it’s crammed in and doesn’t look to scale, but it gives a basic idea as to what’s in there.
There’s actually not much I’d change about it.
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My favourite gunbarrel sequence.
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