James Bond teams up with the lone survivor of a destroyed Russian research center to stop the hijacking of a nuclear space weapon by a fellow Agent formerly believed to be dead.
Director:
Martin Campbell
Stars:
Pierce Brosnan,
Sean Bean,
Izabella Scorupco
James Bond is sent to investigate the connection between a North Korean terrorist and a diamond mogul, who is funding the development of an international space weapon.
James Bond goes rogue and sets off to unleash vengeance on a drug lord who tortured his best friend, a C.I.A. Agent, and left him for dead and murdered his bride after he helped capture him.
James Bond is living on the edge to stop an evil arms dealer from starting another world war. Bond crosses all seven continents in order to stop the evil Whitaker and General Koskov.
A fake Fabergé egg, and a fellow Agent's death, lead James Bond to uncover an international jewel-smuggling operation, headed by the mysterious Octopussy, being used to disguise a nuclear attack on N.A.T.O. forces.
An investigation of a horse-racing scam leads 007 to a mad industrialist who plans to create a worldwide microchip monopoly by destroying California's Silicon Valley.
Director:
John Glen
Stars:
Roger Moore,
Christopher Walken,
Tanya Roberts
James Bond investigates the hijacking of British and Russian submarines carrying nuclear warheads, with the help of a K.G.B. Agent, whose lover he killed.
James Bond is led to believe that he is targeted by the world's most expensive assassin while he attempts to recover sensitive solar cell technology that is being sold to the highest bidder.
Agent James Bond 007 is on a mission which includes a media tycoon, his former lover and a Chinese agent. Elliot Carver wants to complete his global media empire, but in order for this to work, he must achieve broadcasting rights in China. Carver wants to start up World War III by starting a confrontation over British and Chinese waters. Bond gains the help of Wai Lin on his quest to stop him, but how will Bond feel when he meets up with his former lover, who is now Carver's wife.Written by
simon
Stunt performers Mark Southworth and Wendy Leech performed the skyscraper jump on May 21, 1997, in Bankok, with temperatures reaching as high as one hundred ten degrees Fahrenheit (forty-three degrees Celsius). Wendy also doubled for Michelle Yeoh during the motorbike chase with Jean-Pierre Goy riding the BMW R1200C cruiser. A dummy was strapped to Goy's back, as he performed the rooftop jump over the helicopter on the same bike on July 24th. The helicopters blades had been removed to be added digitally in post-production. On that same day, Pierce Brosnan and Michelle Yeoh were filming their close-ups hanging thirty feet up at the side of a five-story building, to complete the Carver building stunt. See more »
Goofs
At the party scene, a Porsche Boxster arrives just before Bond, the license plate reads "BYL", which is only issued to cars belonging to the Bavarian parliament - they surely have no Porsche in their fleet. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Charles Robinson:
Our man's in position on the center camera. It's like a terrorist supermarket. Chinese Long March Scud, Panther AS-565 attack helicopter, a pair of Russian mortars, and the crates look like American rifles. Chilean mines. German explosives. Fun for the whole family.
See more »
The film received cuts for the MPAA and heavier cuts for the BBFC. Some of these are missing from the so-called "Uncut" Ultimate Edition DVD released in 2006. See more »
This movie starts well. Someone manipulating the GPS satellite system throws a British naval ship off course into China's waters, then from a mysterious stealth ship launches an attack on both sides with their opposition's weapons, sparking an international incident. Your pump is well primed for some ultimately evil villain.
You can turn off the pump now.
Jonathan Pryce plays some sort of Rupert Murdoch/Ted Turner gone insane, using his copious monetary holdings and his control over mass media to create this incident and start World War 3. And why is he doing this? (This, by the way, isn't revealed until well into the story, leaving you even more confused.) Because he wants to obtain exclusive broadcast rights in China for his network. Now I'm laughing, since the war he's starting will undoubtedly destroy China anyway, and the remaining folk probably won't have TVs.
Sadly, this is only the beginning, as Bond (Pierce Brosnan) from there traverses a series of all-too-easy break-ins, break-outs, and villain encounters that probably could have been left on the cutting room floor without losing any plot. But, of course, they have to fill two hours, so there they remain. It degrades into a 90 minute pyrotechnics fest with the final battle being your cliched race-against-the-clock villain-gets-maimed-in-the-end type of ending.
There's nothing of meaning once you get past the first plot point. Bond's relationship with Paris Carver (Teri Thatcher) seems to have been thrown in for no reason other than to give Elliot Carver (Pryce) a reason to go after him. Carver's cronies (until the final scene) are bumbling and far too easily removed. And despite the supposed time bomb waiting to explode in the South China Sea, you never actually feel any sense of danger or urgency in the situation. The movie just merrily floats along to its cliched climax.
This movie is all the fault of bad writing and a total lack of plot. They tried much too hard to create a good story and ended up ruining it by losing focus and coherence. Of course, they put on a good enough show that you probably won't notice until the end, which leaves you wondering where the second tape is to fill in all the plot holes. Or, if you watch a lot of films like myself, you've noticed it long before and you've given up on this completely contrived story. I could make a lot of suggestions that would keep the same general plot but dramatically improve the flow and enjoyment of this story. But it's obviously much too late for that.
In contrast, the actors' performances are solid, enjoyable, and true to their roles. I still think Pierce Brosnan has a lot of promise as Bond, but sadly, he doesn't get much of a chance to shine in this movie thanks to the script. The other characters suffer equally.
Also, David Arnold has produced yet another stellar musical score, easily on par with his (John) Williamsesque "Stargate" and "Independence Day" scores, but with its own unique style that mixes symphony and synth with an old school Bond sound. Unfortunately, you can't hear it most of it over all the explosions and gunfire. If you appreciate movie soundtracks or Bond at all it'll be worth your $15 to get the soundtrack from this film.
But those good points aren't nearly enough to make up for the script. I'm glad this was only a 99-cent rental. I would have rather watched Goldeneye again.
Rating: 4/10
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This movie starts well. Someone manipulating the GPS satellite system throws a British naval ship off course into China's waters, then from a mysterious stealth ship launches an attack on both sides with their opposition's weapons, sparking an international incident. Your pump is well primed for some ultimately evil villain.
You can turn off the pump now.
Jonathan Pryce plays some sort of Rupert Murdoch/Ted Turner gone insane, using his copious monetary holdings and his control over mass media to create this incident and start World War 3. And why is he doing this? (This, by the way, isn't revealed until well into the story, leaving you even more confused.) Because he wants to obtain exclusive broadcast rights in China for his network. Now I'm laughing, since the war he's starting will undoubtedly destroy China anyway, and the remaining folk probably won't have TVs.
Sadly, this is only the beginning, as Bond (Pierce Brosnan) from there traverses a series of all-too-easy break-ins, break-outs, and villain encounters that probably could have been left on the cutting room floor without losing any plot. But, of course, they have to fill two hours, so there they remain. It degrades into a 90 minute pyrotechnics fest with the final battle being your cliched race-against-the-clock villain-gets-maimed-in-the-end type of ending.
There's nothing of meaning once you get past the first plot point. Bond's relationship with Paris Carver (Teri Thatcher) seems to have been thrown in for no reason other than to give Elliot Carver (Pryce) a reason to go after him. Carver's cronies (until the final scene) are bumbling and far too easily removed. And despite the supposed time bomb waiting to explode in the South China Sea, you never actually feel any sense of danger or urgency in the situation. The movie just merrily floats along to its cliched climax.
This movie is all the fault of bad writing and a total lack of plot. They tried much too hard to create a good story and ended up ruining it by losing focus and coherence. Of course, they put on a good enough show that you probably won't notice until the end, which leaves you wondering where the second tape is to fill in all the plot holes. Or, if you watch a lot of films like myself, you've noticed it long before and you've given up on this completely contrived story. I could make a lot of suggestions that would keep the same general plot but dramatically improve the flow and enjoyment of this story. But it's obviously much too late for that.
In contrast, the actors' performances are solid, enjoyable, and true to their roles. I still think Pierce Brosnan has a lot of promise as Bond, but sadly, he doesn't get much of a chance to shine in this movie thanks to the script. The other characters suffer equally.
Also, David Arnold has produced yet another stellar musical score, easily on par with his (John) Williamsesque "Stargate" and "Independence Day" scores, but with its own unique style that mixes symphony and synth with an old school Bond sound. Unfortunately, you can't hear it most of it over all the explosions and gunfire. If you appreciate movie soundtracks or Bond at all it'll be worth your $15 to get the soundtrack from this film.
But those good points aren't nearly enough to make up for the script. I'm glad this was only a 99-cent rental. I would have rather watched Goldeneye again.
Rating: 4/10