Review of Tomorrow Never Dies: Special Edition (James Bond)

Introduction

A Crisis is brewing in Chinese waters after a Navy ship is sunk by what is presumed to be Chinese fighter planes. James Bond secret agent 007 is sent to find out the cause of the disruption and along the way meets up with Wai Lin of the Chinese Peoples External Security Force, who is also out to investigate the happenings before a world war is started. The duo find themselves looking at Elliot Carver, a media mogul who intends on world domination of all media types and to influence thousands of people, supplying the news by creating it himself and playing both sides of the current conflict between the English and Chinese and watching the mayhem develop.

Video

Once again the picture transfer is top notch on the DVD version even more so than the earlier 007 adventures. The colours are clean and bold with no blur or fuzzy edges around the actors, no wear or grain are visible either and the blacks and darker colours stay true without any noticeable fading. The transfer itself is 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and makes some of the large scale scenes a lot better. The quality of the underwater shots inside and around the Devonshire is also fine, very clear, well lit and no detail is lost.

Some interesting camera angles are utilised during the BMW bike and car chase scenes and the missile flight in the opening titles. The missile flight moves low over the snowy mountains and trees at a high speed the camera never to far behind, the vehicle chase scenes have a multiple of angles and view the action even from smaller areas like for example the Chinese village and dwellings or the closed in space of the car park, brilliant to watch and two key action scenes of the movie.

There are a good scattering of impressive widescreen shots and nice scenic visuals around the dogfight sequence in the opening titles; the opening shot of the university at Oxford where Bond is brushing up on his Danish vocabulary is one to spot also. As with all recent 007 movies with a bigger budget the sets and locations are brilliant, Carver`s network rooms with loads of screens everywhere make this villain really at home although his private party venue seems to be situated at a toned down nightclub with its structures, neon and laser lighting and the congregation of well dressed people all very nice and sets the mood and scene perfectly.

There are basic Chinese villages near the water and a main village for the bike chase, very authentic and seems a little different to see 007 in casual shirt, trousers and footwear chasing through this type of scenery, it`s certainly a fresh idea! The interior shots of Carver`s stealth boat are equally impressive and on a grand scale and features control panels, missile rack, engine room and corridors. In the last quarter of the movie a nicely choreographed fight sequence `Jackie Chan` style can be seen and performed none other than Wai Lin.

There is also a touch of humour surrounding the BMW car and watching Carver`s goons trying to break into it, and when Bond has the last laugh after his tyres re-inflate! I think Bond`s mobile phone steals the limelight and is put to use in many ways throughout the movie whether it be reading fingerprints, lock picking, electrocuting or driving the BMW. During the chase inside the stealth boat a couple of noticeable scenes are still intact that the Region 2 version has had chopped. Only small but in the same scene and area, Wai Lin uses a hidden throw star (shuriken) and embeds it into a guards neck and on exiting the battle area Bond uses his heel on another guard regaining consciousness from the floor.

Audio

Presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 format this 1997 007 adventure brings in more of David Arnold`s `techno 90`s` music mixed in with 007 ingredients and plenty of explosions and audio action. The theme around Paris Carver is a subtle, moving piece consisting of mellow strings and can be heard when she enters Bond`s hotel room. A slowed down version of `Surrender` by K.D. Lang featuring piano can be heard as Bond rescues Wai Lin from the water and is also a sweet tune. Flutes come into play during the Chinese scenes making it fit well without sounding too oriental.

A faster paced piece of Arnold goes with the BMW car chase and is titled, `Backseat Driver` on the original motion picture soundtrack and a dramatic 007 theme around the bike part, both very exciting and suites the scenes and action. The dialogue throughout and the lyrics during the opening credits of Sheryl Crow are very clear all weapons sound realistic and there is subwoofer a plenty!

Listen to the constant rumbles during the sea drill scene, the explosions during the weapons market scene, the landing of the helicopter before Bond meets with Wade and the underwater scenes of the Devonshire collapsing and tipping over, really effective stuff! The missile flight provides some directionality between the rear and front speakers. K.D. Lang`s `Surrender` track during the end credits is an appropriate tune to tie in with the title of the movie and an accompaniment to Sheryl Crow`s main theme.

Features

After scanning your retina and fingerprints the menu opens up from a gadget and is nicely animated. A little screen of movie footage loops over atop and the options are laid on a dark shadowed red background. You can choose from play movie, special play options that allow you to have a choice of 2 commentaries, an isolated music only track or parallel action storyboard presentation. The accessible chapters are split into 28 and there are 3 selections of subtitle. The special features part includes the Sheryl Crow music video, `The Secrets of 007` documentary (45 mins), an interview with David Arnold, special effects reel (4 mins), trailer, teaser and a gadgets briefing of 3 gadgets in the movie.

Conclusion

An action packed feast most definitely with some decent stunt work throughout one of which is the BMW bike sequence very exciting to see and against all odds, handcuffed and together on the bike Bond and Wai Lin go for a ride of their life negotiating rooftops, cars, obstacles and then to top it off gun blazing bad guys and a helicopter. The helicopter jump and bike skid under the blades polishes off one intense scene.

A spectacular Bond style car chase sequence in a packed car park with the BMW getting smashed and wrecked during its remote drive giving out as much as it can get in the ways of gadgets and weaponry. This time Bond returns the car from where he first laid eyes on it and parks it neatly in the showroom of the AVIS Company but from the top level of the car park and over it goes! Fantastic stuff! The `ballsey` jump from the Carver building is an eye opener also. Jonathan Pryce plays a good Carver character hooked on domination of the media, but also has a twisted sense of humour in his speech, quirks and actions a couple of examples can be where he states that Bond is his new "anchor man" and where he impersonates Wai Lin with her fancy moves.

There could have been loads more behind the scenes `making of` featurettes and documentaries as the ones included are very minimal even though there was loads of stunts to go into detail with. There are plenty of explosions and sub to keep you on the edge and a plot with a very different angle and villain.