Plot: What’s it about?
Elliot Carver(Jonathon Pryce), a ruthless media mogul, has just created the largest network in the Earth’s history. Sure, lots of television channels, newspapers, and other media sources are always good, right? Wrong! Carver wants to use his choke-hold on what the public hears and sees to initiate World War 3, for no other reasons than his massive ego and ratings/sales. What a dick! I mean, Ted Turner may be a stiff, but the worst he does is air Atlanta Brave’s games. Carver’s wife (Teri Hatcher) is sort of an innocent (yeah right) bystander in this mess, and one of her old boyfriends just came into town, right before the whole Carver WW3 project gets rockin’ and rollin’. Now, that boyfriend is no ordinary dude, mind you. She was spending some time in back-seats with the world’s superest super-agent, 007, Bond. James Bond (cue theme music here). Carver’s wife, after a reunion slap, finds her feelings for Bond, and gives him help in ANY way she can. Hubba hubba. A female agent (Michelle Yeoh) gets involved, and has her disagreements with Bond, but overall, she wants the same thing, to shut down Carver. Will these two agents be able to take Carver off the air for good? Only one way to find out…
Bond is back, and in grand style too! This flick is filled with huge stunts, great fight scenes, and gadgets gadgets gadgets!! The story is well-developed, and the rest of the film relies on thge typical Bond to fill in the gaps. How many times can you escape death and capture in 2 hours? You’d be damn suprised. While sometimes a strectch, the action scenes are believable, because they are well done, and well, Bond can do anything in these films. The scenes are very realistic, and it makes all the difference, because nothing ruins an action movie like poorly done stunts and effects. Aside from the effects and story, another little variation from the Bond track appears in TND. Bond has a strong female counter-part at his side, though sometimes unwilliningly. For my money, I like a dominant, self-assured female in movies, and Wai Lin is no damsel in distress, sometimes even saving Bond. This small addtion refreshing the idea of watching another 007 flick, and is very welcome in my view.
As far as the cast, Brosnan shines, much better than he was in Goldeneye. I might catch some flack for this, but Brosnan was born for this role, and shouldn’t get panned so bad for his performances. Hatcher is ok, but her role is pretty much a throw-away, just an info source and another notch on Bond’s bed-post. Yeoh is superb, not just keeping up with Brosnan, but at times suprpassing him. Of course, she is an action star, but this was much more than I was expecting out of her. She really brings the movie into the 90’s, with her fantastic portrayal of a strong female.Pryce is excellent as Carver, being just enough meglomaniac, just enough nerd. Sometimes over-the-top, but still, a solid performance. If you’re in the mood for some far-fetched but fantastic action/adventure spy fare, check out this DVD. If the movie is not enough for you, the extras are out of this world. Come on…it’s James Bond!!
Video: How does it look?
A great anamorphic wide-screen transfer, with awesome visuals. The colors are right as rain, and this movie relies greatly on the visuals staying true. No grain or discolorment that my human eye could see.
Audio: How does it sound?
This one will boom through your system, with explosions and gun-fire galore. The audio is well-balanced, with the effects/music never tampering into the dialogue.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Two commentaries, one by director Michael Spottiswoode, the other by the stunt director and one of the producers, are pretty sweet, as they reveal alot about the stories behind the stories and such. The disc also gives us storyboards which compare concepts for some larger action scenes with the final product, which is cool, and rarely used on DVDs so far. A very nice 45-minute featurette “The Secrets of 007” walks us through the Bond series, letting us glimpse the whole Bond film evolution process in a nutshell. Also packed into the DVD are a Sheryl Crow music video, a digital effects reel, isolated music-only track and interview with the composer, and finally, two trailers. Wow…plus a pretty nifty 12-page booklet filled with photos and factoids about the Bond movies.
