Reviews (473)

Die Another Day
The title of Bond's twentieth foray onto the screen comes not from Ian Fleming but rather from the last line of a Houseman poem.Lee Tamahori directs the hero through the usual paces but by now the franchise seems a little dated. Sure there is a lot of action here but the film is a little weak (read farfetched) when it comes to plot.

In this film Bond must save the world from a mad North Korean colonial who has perfected what is essentially a death ray. The colonial wants to use his death beam in order to move into South Korea and then into the west.

All the usual Bond special features are here. We have car chase on ice, exotic locales, beautiful women but something feels like its missing. Halle Berry tries hard in this movie as NSA agent Jinx but she remains little more than eye candy. If there is a Bond girl to watch in this outing it is Rosamund Pike who plays double agent Miranda Pike.

The real treat here is the two DVD set by Universal which offers two commentaries, a trivia track, a great documentary, photo galleries and Madonna's video of the title song.

All in all not one of the best Bond movies but certainly worth its two hour running time.

Die Another Day- So you'll live to die another day.
Die Another Day, the 20th Bond installment is for the most part entertaining. The best Bond film yet, well I'm not sure. Featuring a great cast including Halle Berry, Rick Yune, Toby Stephens, Rosamund Pike, Judi Dench and John Cleese as well as Diretor Lee Tamahori (Along Came A Spider, The Edge).
Pierce Brosnan reprises his role as the secret agent James Bond 007, which he still aces. Bond is trouble when he learns he's been betrayed, soon he embarks on a craz North Korean (Rick Yune) who has an accomplice, our villan Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens). Graves has a sophisticated weapon, a laser satellite and wants complete dominance over the world. The movie's plot isn't totally original or intelligent but it still works. Bond is on the trail with an assitant, our new, gorgeous Bond girl Halle Berry playing an NSA agent named Jinx. The film features a few remarkable sets and locations including a set consisting of ice. The gadgets aren't too amazing, mainly the car, the Aston Martin Vanquish with a unique invisibility mechanism. Gadget guru John Cleese and Judi Dench as "M" sparkle.
Die Another Day is rated PG-13 for Action Violence and Sexuality. The film is abundant in terms of violence, including gunplay, swordplay, a hovercraft and car chase and fistfights. There is also a decent amount of sexual innuendo, and non-explicit sexual situations but rather steamy and erotic. Worth seeing, I saw it in theatres and was glad I did and now own it on DVD. DVD has a lot of features and is a two-disc set. Purchase or atleast rent.

bond ,james bond
i love all james bond movies and this is a good action movie adventure and i love pierce brosnan then i am waiting bond 21 this movie is great

STILL LIFE IN BONDAGE
Who would have dreamed in 1963 that Dr. No would be the first of twenty James Bond films? There have been some misses in those 20 films (Moonraker, Octopussy, to name two), but overall the series has aged quite well, and moves into the 21st century quite adroitly.
While ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE remains my favorite Bond film, Pierce Brosnan has done well in his Bond role. He's dashing but vulnerable, and he is a good actor. He's joined in this technological brouhaha by the talented Halle Berry. While this is certainly not Halle's best performance, she shows the versatility and dedication that eventually led to her Oscar win in MONSTER'S BALL. She's a beautiful woman and she holds her own in the fight game too! Rosamund Pike is delightful as Ms. Frost, the double agent who battles Halle in the climax. Toby Stephens does a good job as Graves, but he's not the most memorable of the Bond villains. The action sequences and effects are stunning, except for the obvious blue screen used when Bond escapes from the supercar. And the laser in the sky threat has been used twice before in Bond movies: You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever. John Cleese is cool as Q; Madonna is silly in her cameo, and DIE ANOTHER DAY is one of the worst themes of any Bond movie. No one will ever replace John Barry as the master of the Bond themes. And it wouldn't hurt to see Judi Dench soften a little in her role as M. Nice touch in having B movie actor Michael Masden as the American NSA chief.
All in all, a worthy entry in the Bond series; if Brosnan and crew can keep up this kind of pace, we may see Bond hit 50!!!

Dreadful
Ridiculous effects, ridiculous story, ridiculous dialogue... And Halle Berry can't act to save her life. The fact that the producers wanted to make a spin-off series with her prove they don't know what they're doing! When the studio execs (the ones who axed the Jinx/Halle Berry movie) are the ones with taste and commons sense you know you're in trouble! ... Read more

Reviews (447)

The best Bond film yet.
The 19th MGM James Bond-007 movie is here. It's probably the best movie yet. It has the best stunts.

Filmed in: England, France, Spain, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and the Bahamas. The name is taken from 1969 On Her Majesty's Secret Service when James takes a look at his coat of arms and is told that the family motto is: The World Is Not Enough.

Of course, Pierce Brosnan returns as the role of 007. Sophie Marceau as the murdered tycoon's daughter, Elektra King. Denise Richards as nuclear expert, Dr. Christmas Jones. Robert Carlyle as the doomed terrorist, Victor Zokas aka Renard. And John Cleese as R, Q's assistant. The movie also sees Robbie Coltrane's return as Valentin Zukovsky and Judi Dench 3rd appearance as M, the boss.

The plot involves Sir Robert King, an oil industrialist. He buys a report about the Soviet's missile department accidentally thinking it contained info about the terrorists attacking his pipeline in the East. Surprised to find out his money was wasted, a Swiss banker retrieves the money. M sends 007 to pick it up. But the banker, Lachaise, is in for a surprise. The report Sir Robert bought was stolen from an MI-6 agent who was killed for it. Knowing Lachaise knows who killed the agent, Bond threatens him. Unfortunately, Bond only escapes with his life and the money. No name. After a spectacular scene, Sir Robert is dead. Days later, his daughter Elektra takes over the construction of the pipeline. But 007 suspects there is something suspicious about terrorist Renard, the King organization, and even Elektra herself. M refuses to listen to 007's crazy instincts. Only Dr. Christmas Jones & Valentin are on Bond's side.

The movie sees Q's retirement. And a good thing too. After all, the DVD isn't dedicated to Desmond Llewelyn for nothing. However, Q has given the Q labs to R. Probably a bad choice. R will talk you through putting a shirt on!

The language features are: Languages-English and French. Subtitles-English, Spanish, and French.

Special Features. Music video performed by Garbage (the band). The Making of The World Is Not Enough. Audio Commentaries. The Secrets of 007-alternate video options. Theatrical Theater.

Well, that's about everything this DVD includes. Hope the review was helpful.

Bigger and Better!
Here's a Bond film that deserves to be ranked among the best in the series. Along with the usual Bond formula of high tech gadgets, one-liners, and of course, the Bond girl(s), this latest installment also provides a story with a different twist. Throw in a combination of mind games, an unusual villain, exotic locales, and amazing stunts and you get an explosive, testosterone driven, eye-candy, action-packed thriller with a dash of high quality performances. One sequence in particular is the high adrenaline boat chase along the Thames River that takes place very early in the movie. Cool stuff!

The story delves much deeper into the psyche of James Bond than previous 007 flicks. Pierce Brosnan plays a much darker and vulnerable 007 in his third run as the British super agent spy James Bond. The World Is Not Enough also showcases the acting talents of Dame Judi Dench (who plays M) and Sophie Marceau as well as many others. John Cleese, of Monty Python fame, also plays a role in the movie as the heir apparent to Q. Every character played a larger role in this movie, in which, there were times when I felt James Bond was a supporting character rather than a leading one. There is definitely no shortage of star power in this movie.

A few things I didn't like about this movie (just my personal opinion mind you) were the opening Bond song, the paraglider-ski sequence, and the miniature scaled models. Yuck! Still though, this latest 007 thriller gives a good ride! Humor, international intrigue, and plenty of action. This is a James Bond of the 21st Century and I hope Pierce Brosnan sticks around to do many more like this one!

Bond is the best of this time......Dry,humorous,and elegant,
Mr.Bond is ranking itself as the highest of his quality,and is back once more,but this time dry as a glass of martini,and elegant as far as he could ever get,making his job as right as Beethoven while composing his 9th.
James bond,her majesty's loyal star,is back in a very different style and story;He is involved in a complex of a villian trying to take over the world with his lover's own oil pipe line. The thing is,you see,he feels no pain.Nothing.Amazing,as it is surprising for the first time to hear it. Elektra,the new bond girl,is to my own taste one of the best bond girls ever in the series,simply because she has many sides to be related with,and sophie marseau,the actress,bringing an excellent performance in the role of Elektea.The other bond girl,christmas,portrayed by denise richards,has a small relation to a bond girl,but still interesting,though.
As well as the deep and dark plot which develops suprisingly,we also discover a more darker side inside the familiar characters,like M,for example,Which makes this movie special and wonderful.
Also,We are introduced to the the next Q(The great,humorous,and giant John Cleese,from the mighty "Fawlty towers" and "Monty Python's flying circus"),Which is,and believe in my own words,the best there is to portray the charcacter of Q.He is doing it very,very well.
You are going to see a different bond,a new bond,a complex and dark story,the best british humor ever brought to a bond film, and,of course,James Bond himself,Pierce Brosnan,is worth all of the bond touches and twists.
You think you can give me the whole world?
Well,the world is not enough,maybe,but the movie,believe me,does.

"I never miss"
This is the best film to date in the series, hands-down. It may not have the classic charm of Goldfinger, but a couple of viewings (something most people aren't willing to credit a Bond film with) reveal a film which is incredibly substantial, in an unprecedented - and unnecesary - way. It could get by on the charm of the locations, one-liners etc., but it still tries to put together a credible and interesting plot, and it succeeds.

The most obvious credit to the writers is Carlyle's brooding, existentialist villain, which reminded me of The Misfit in O'Connor's 'A Good Man is Hard to Find.' Carlyle, in surprising contrast to his turn as the psychotic Begbie in Trainspotting, plays the role with just enough subtley and understatement, making the character's evil much more believable than the cackling megalomania of earlier specimens. What I also like about the screenplay, though, and what isn't immediatley apparent, is that it casts some doubt on the role of Bond in the world. In other movies, he seems to have an absolute moral imperative, able to gun down scores of people without any consequence, simply because his enemies are abosolutley evil. In this film, though, among the ruins of the USSR (a theme already explored in Goldeneye), there's more gray than black and white, and the circumstances don't allow him to get off so blamelessly; ultimately he has to do something which he might might regret. It's far from making him human - if that were to happen, it would undermine the whole promise of the series - but it's an interesting take. Then there's the way the plot works in minor characters, like Judi Dench's M and the Russian gangster Zukovsky, both of whom provide a usually self-reliant Bond with indispensable help, while Zukovsky experiences the closest thing to character _development_ which anyone has probably ever experienced in a Bond film. As for Richards, I don't know what she's doing there, either, and probably it would have been a stronger movie without her, but at least she's hot.

What's The Point of Living If You Can't Feel Alive?
THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH (known to Bond fans as TWINE) may be Pierce Brosnan's finest outing as Bond to date. A more complex and nuanced story than most recent Bond films, TWINE recaptures a good part of the exotica and international intrigue of the Bond series as first conceived.

The precredits sequence sets up the story nicely: Sir Robert King, oil magnate and friend of "M" (Judi Dench) is killed by booby trapped money delivered to him by Bond. All roads lead to Rome, the roads being clues, and Rome in this case being represented by Electra King (Sophie Marceau), Sir Robert's beautiful daughter, who was the victim of a recent kidnap plot hatched by the mysterious Renard, a terrorist rendered unable to experience pain by a bullet lodged in his skull. "M" dispatches Bond to protect Electra, who has taken over her father's petroleum empire in central Asia.

From the moment he arrives in Azerbaijan, Bond is a hunted man. Although first enamored of Electra, Bond soon realizes that there is something amiss.

In TWINE, Brosnan resurrects the dark Bond of FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE. His dual nemeses, Electra and Renard, are ably played by Marceau and Robert Carlyle, who both bring some surprising depth to their characters. Electra is particularly sympathetic, being both the brainwashed victim and willing accomplice of Renard. She is by turns sexual and ingenuous, vulnerable and implacable. Marceau is breathtakingly beautiful.

Carlyle's Renard, trapped in a body that can't feel, exudes both pathos and hatred as he plots the destruction of the democracies.

Dench's "M" plays a central role in the film, far larger than any "M" before her. The film is notable for being the last appearance as Desmond Llwellyn as "Q". Llewellyn, who played "Q" in almost every Bond film after 1964, died in a car wreck just days before the theatrical release of the picture, and John Cleese was cleverly edited into the film as his replacement, "R".

Denise Richards has the weakest major role, playing Dr. Christmas Jones, a nuclear physicist. Richards could have been left on the cutting room floor in her entirety. More's the pity, because Richards is a strikingly beautiful woman who is entirely upstaged by the exotic, erotic Marceau. Besides being a rather miscast improbable genius in cargo shorts and a tank top, Richards' character has even more of an "afterthought" feel than "R" does, as if the producers just couldn't tolerate the idea of the film ending with an unredeemed Electra King and no virtuous love interest for Bond.

Two hours and some of intelligent action-adventure, THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH fulfills all expectations. ... Read more

Reviews (42)

Finally, we get Alien vs Predator !
Wow, this movie has been in the works for too long! It's about time!

From what I've read, Lance Henriksen is in AvP as the original Charles Weyland, the 'father of modern robotics', thats why the android looked like him in Aliens, and his great grandson is the character in Alien 3.

That would make Alien vs Predator a 'prequel' to the other 4 Alien films, and so there is no continuity error in the stories.

In any case, I'll wait to see it before I pass any final judgements. Im sure the action & effects will be great, lets just hope there isnt too much cheap CGI. :P

Whoever wins, we lose!
I can't for this film to come out! It's been on the shelf for years, and I'm surprised "Aliens vs. Predator" will premiere in August 2004. I don't know why it took so long for both creature franchises to pair up together for one film. I mean, both are produced by studio Fox, but I think the story was the problem. I don't know that many details about it, but i heard the film is set in the near-future, with soldiers likely being the heroes from exterminating the alien beings.

I'm not really a big fan of the "Alien" series, and I never seen any "Alien" film entirely,except for the medicore "Alien Resuruction." Don't count on heroine Siguorney Weaver to return, she's a recycled character and doesn't even have first billing for this movie.Lance Henriksen, who potrayed a robot in a couple of "Alien" films, does return. I can't wait with the new race of creatures this film will have for the "Alien" franchise.

Now "Predator" I'm familar with. The "Predator" should be the ultimate foe to beat. It kills for sport, and has an amazing array of gadgets, each armed to kill. It has the ability to become self-invisible. Even a dummy will know "Ahhnold" Schwarzenegger won't return (he's busy saving California), he didn't even return for the sequel. Despite making only two movies, the Predator creature surely lasted a mark in creature making and I can't wait to see another Predator again.

"Alien vs. Predator" basically got the idea from the successful comic book and video game franchises. Hopefully this film will succeed because the technology of computer graphics has improved dramatically that it would make this film outstanding. Happy Kills! (For the aliens and predators, I mean.)

Alien and Predator go PG-13
Let's face it: any movie that pits two of the coolest sci-fi creatures of all time against each other, while killing lots of human beings (completely nessecary mind you) has to be cool, right? Every person (including myself) who saw this movie went into it with that decieving mindset; coming out six bucks in the hole, and none too satisfied. Take the worst of every Alien and Predator movie (i.e. Arnold S./Danny Glover), a watered down plot, horrible acting, and a WHOLE LOTTA CRAP, and blend it all together - and you get this. The vs. part is the hook, the hope of seeing an actual Alien vs. Predator battle is the line, and the movie? The sinker. The humans do not die fast enough! Any movie where lots of humans die trying to stop something a) of no concern to them and b) that is going to ruin their chances of greed - is okay by me. I was waiting for a cameo by Danny Glover telling us veterans of age that we are indeed "too old for this @#$%!" (Lethal Weapon throwback there) However, this review isn't all bad: the Aliens and Predators look tremendous, with awesome detail, and the Predator makes use of that cool weaponary it possesses. This "PG-13" is the training wheels to its "R-rated" predecessors. And if this battle ever turns into a series, pray it finds its way into space...where all franchises go to die.

Not Bad, not bad at all!
I saw this movie twice, I liked most of what I saw, there were somethings that I did not like in Alien vs. Predator, one of them being how the quickly and how the first 2 predators were killed in this movie, and the second is how cheazy looking the predators shoulder cannons looked. Other than that the movies was spectacular, strange but still a good movie regardless. I have been a fan of both the Aliens and Predator franchises since I was 10 and I have to say that this alien vs. predator movie has been long overdue.

Hope it's good....
I love all of the alien and predator films, So I'm incredibly excited. This movie comes out on my birthday so I'm really phsyced( Don't know if i spelled it right). But I heard that the director also directed Resident Evil which was kinda a let down... But i personally think that people that like the Alien and Predator movies are still gonna love it. I hope it doesn't fall into crap like Freddy vs Jason but also i know for a fact people love these characters alot more than 2 mediocre( but still cool) horror killers. Im just hoping for the best. But please if you are gonna see this movie watch all 4 Aliens and 2 Predators!!!! They are all good in my opinion. August 13, 2004
Smash Hit or Hit Smashed in the ground... ... Read more

Reviews (242)

A well-oiled machine, but is it worthy?
Although it was originally planned that Pierce Brosnan would take on the James Bond mantle from Roger Moore in the mid-80s, the exhilaration of "Goldeneye" (his actual first Bond film) wears off rather quickly, I'm afraid.

You see, I've been spoiled by superior and definitive renditions of the Moore and Connery Bonds to be swayed by Brosnan's working class efforts. Or maybe the product placement is just too obvious in recent 007 films? Either way, this film is just a blip on the screen of an otherwise unstoppable series.

The pros: the sizzling Michele Yeoh as the latest Bond girl, who's both lethal and beautiful, in the best traditions of the genre.

***The proper use of henchmen--Gotz Otto revamping Robert Shaw's oversized killer who nevertheless is no match for Bond.

***And finally, the suitably grandiose (if unoriginal) world-domination plot that has since been missing in action.

The cons: Teri Hatcher--Bond girls have never been famous for their acting skills, but Hatcher looks and sounds out-of-place here.

***An unappealing villain--Jonathan Pryce doesn't have the charisma or the physical appeal to be a proper Bond villain (much less a memorably one).

***The title song by Sheryl Crow; easily one of the worst in the series. The outro closing torch number by K.D. Lang should have been the title cut; it's classic Bond fare.

***Product placement is far too obvious in this film; enough is enough, guys.

Overall, a briskly paced entry in the Bond canon, but it's not firing on all cylinders.

Good Action, Bad Plot
The movie playing last week was As a longtime James Bond fan I had to see Tomorrow Never Dies, or James Bond versus Jonathan Price.

A communications mogul (Price) sets up a communications satellite monopoly, which, unlike DeBeers and other monopolies, is allowed to operate in the United States. To further his power, Price is creating news and having the stories ready as the news happens. His ultimate goal is to start World War III and control all communications afterwards. He will do this by using his armada of communications satellites which will broadcast to a dying world where electromagnetic pulses have rendered televisions inoperable. Oh, I guess he didn't think far enough ahead.

Utilizing the common man's (or should I say scriptwriter's) lack of understanding Geo-Positional Satellites (GPS) he convinces a warship that it is in neutral territory and not in Chinese-controlled waters. Then, utilizing a stealth boat made possible by the theft of some stealth skin (you know, that ultra expensive stuff that becomes completely useless if it gets even slightly damp) and steals a cruise missile. Bond is aided by a Chinese agent (Michelle Yeoh) and they go to Viet Nam where the sunken ship is (oh, didn't they say it was sunk in Chinese waters?). There they confront many bad guys and helicopters that can hover sideways and whose blades can repeatedly chop through buildings with no bad effects.

OK, so the plot, if it can be called that, has a few problems. But it is an action film and plots in action films have less importance than how far the hero can fall. The bad plot is not necessarily because Ian Fleming did not write the story. After all, he did write DOCTOR NO about the madman trying to corner the guano market (the studio gave the madman nuclear capabilities and cut the guano completely from the story). But the movie is fun, nonetheless, with many great lines. While I can't say much for the new Moneypenny, the new M is fantastic.

Do You Believe What You Read?
Years after Ian Fleming's death the "James Bond" series rolls on, recycling the original stories for audiences who never read the original novels. Their villains were in turn Soviet KGB, then organized crime; now one of the most powerful publishers in the Free World! Is Fleming turning over in his grave? This film shows how a powerful publisher can create the news, and not just distort it (use your own example). [Will the viewers make the connection to the Real World?] "Eliot Carver" seems to be modeled after Robert Maxwell (was he the front man for powerful forces who stayed in the background?) There are changes to reflect modern culture and political correctness. James Bond still circulates among high-levels to gather information. But one scene shows him overindulging in vodka, as if to suggest a growing problem in an aging operative.

Bond is caught snooping in the villain's lair, but makes his escape despite the efforts of many guards (who are of various races for this equal opportunity employer, and also recalls Bond's enemies from past films). A former lover of Bond's is murdered (as in "Goldfinger"). The killer in the hotel room looks like he was recycled from "Doktor Strangelove". The car chase in the indoor parking lot recalls "Diamonds Are Forever", but is more spectacular. The skydiving to the wrecked ship recalls other films. Bond and Wai Lin (the female Chinese operative) are caught and brought before Eliot Carver (another recurring scene from Fleming's novels). The villain never delegates these tasks. Their escape shows the product placement of BMW and Land Rover (and reminds me of a Jackie Chan film). They escape the Heckler & Koch MP-5 firing villains. The attack scene in the shop recalls another Jackie Chan film, with its choreographed ballet of action. [Could this ever happen in the real world?] I suspect the scenes in Asia were for that market of film viewers.

The final scene in the "stealth boat" recalls many earlier Bond films. But Eliot Carver seems to be lacking in a villainous character, unlike the classic Bond villains. [Imagine Pee Wee Herman as Goldfinger?] The ending is full of sound and fury, symbolizing the defeat of the villain, his henchmen, and the Plan for World Domination. The earlier Bond films seemed to have had wittier dialogue. The most surprising thing about this film is its villain: a powerful businessman in the Free World, not a parvenu who attacks one of the British Monopolies and has links to the Soviets or the ChiComs.

There's no news like bad news!
The 18th James Bond movie. Since the release of DR. NO in 1962, the James Bond series had established a prototype for rip-roaring action and thrills, evil villains, beautiful women and amazing gadgets. However the definite contributing factor the ongoing success was the ability to change with times, thus making each idea, and each film special in its' own creative way. Bond is more than a Super Agent Spy, he is a hero for the ages, and as the tradition would continue for TOMORROW NEVER DIES, 007 now finds himself against the global communications industry. Hot off the success of GOLDENEYE, Pierce Brosnan once again delivers a dynamite performance as James Bond; confident, fearless, determined, charismatic, irresistible to women, and still with a thirst for dry vodka martinis. Under a clever Bruce Feirstein screenplay, two beautiful women are presented; Teri Hatcher as 007's one time flame Paris Carver, and Michelle Yeoh as tough Chinese Agent Wai Lin. With tried and true elements placed new and fresh, exotic locations in France, Thailand, Germany, Mexico and the United States, and a thrilling music score by David Arnold, TOMORROW NEVER DIES further punctuates the James Bond series even after a successful 35 year wake.

THE ASSIGNMENT: While on a routine voyage, the HMS DEVONSHIRE submarine was mysteriously attacked and sunk in the Chinese sea. The incident is quickly publicized on newspaper accounts thus stirring much controversy and alarm in MI6 headquarters. The culprit: Elliot Carver, a media obsessed megalomaniac, wants to realize his dream of world domination through means of TV, radio and newspaper media accounts. He buys influences, technologies and anyone capable of harnessing information to him, in order to create 'events' to be publicized by this media organization first while securing a monopoly on the world's media coverage. Great Britain and China are unaware of this and place themselves on full nuclear alert, while Carver awaits take over China as another media outlet, which will gain him full control of the Chinese government, following imminent armageddon. Bond quickly befriends Wai Lin, a suspicious, yet helpful Chinese Agent and locates Carver's HQ. Together they must stop the maniac and prevent World War 3.

THE VILLAINS: Jonathan Pryce as Elliot Carver, Ricky Jay as Henry Gupta, Gotz Otto as Stamper, and Vincent Schiavelli as Dr. Kaufman.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! BUY IT!

007 James Bond Tomorrow Never Dies - A great Bond film!
"Tomorrow Never Dies" is the eighteenth overall James Bond Film and the second wonderful film starring Pierce Brosnan in the lead role as James Bond. Of his first four films in that role I would definitely have to say that this one ranks up there with his first performance as Bond, James Bond. From the fast paced action sequences to the overall premise of the film, "Tomorrow Never Dies" entertains from the very first scene to last as everybody involved in the making of this film did exactly what they intended to do with a Bond film, which is making one to remember!

Performance wise, Pierce Brosnan furthers that which he started in "Goldeneye" by making the role his as he brings a darker and harsher yet capably witty tone to Bond that hadn't been seen in a Bond film since the first James Bond himself, Sean Connery. I would caveat that in that I thought Timothy Dalton accomplished that as well but as he was only allowed to do two films in the role I must be in the minority on that opinion.

As with all James Bond films, we're treated to a pair of new Bond babes in Teri Hatcher and international martial arts superstar Michelle Yeoh, both of which are incredibly beautiful and talented actresses. Although Teri Hatcher's role in this film is a very brief one, I would definitely have to say it was memorable. Michelle Yeoh's role in this film brings her right up there with James Bond himself as far as the action sequences go. It is most certainly interesting to see a Bond film turn into a Bruce Lee film in a particularly eventful sequence.

Director Roger Spottiswoode who may best be known for "Air America" or even "The 6th Day" does a great job with this film, solidifying his status as a quite capable director of action films.

The Premise:

This wonderful Bond film in reality has two great opening sequences as we're treated to the standard pre main title James Bond super action sequence which involves 007 infiltrating a Black Market auction of high tech military equipment and him stirring things up and then we're treated to a sequence in which the villain of the film is rousing things up between the British Navy and the Chinese Air Force off the coast of China which adds a wonderful dramatic element to the feel of the entire film.

What follows from there is one of the best Bond films to date as James Bond does what he does best, save the world from total disaster while getting a babe or two in the process...

I highly recommend this eighteenth Bond film to any and all fans of the series and to those who like great action films that actually have a plot as well. {ssintrepid}

Special Features:

This particular DVD is a bit threadbare when it comes to Special Features but in the end, what are these DVD's all about, the movie and it's a great one.

-8 Page Booklet Featuring Trivia, Production Notes and a Revealing Look at the Making of the Film.
-Original Theatrical Trailer ... Read more

Reviews (613)

A fun thrill ride that could have been more.
Based on the hit survival horror video game series from which it gets its name, Resident Evil does an adequate job of setting up a film franchise, but does practically nothing with the rich world available to it from its source material - it's all set-up and no follow through. Writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson does keep the pace brisk and the film uncluttered with too much detail, but a little more shading in the character department would have been nice, and having the two people who should know more about the facility than they actually do because of a nerve gas induced amnesia is just a dirty (and lazy) little cheat, narratively speaking. Also the movie too often resembles other, better movies (i.e. Aliens, Dawn and Day of the Dead, etc.) instead of the games upon which the movie is supposed to be based. Weak script aside though, the movie is visually exciting and fun to watch in its own way. It just isn't the moody and scary experience the games are. Hopefully the inevitable sequel will be an improvement and not another semi-successful missed opportunity. For Resident Evil fans only.

Milla Jovovich Kicks Serious Zombie Butt!
"I shot her five times,
How was she still standing?
(rapid machine gun fire) B---- Isn't standing now.""

"This is Going to slow us down."

Resident Evil: Based on the super popular video games of the same name.

Basic plot, OH Geeeze Meathead don't spoil it for the rest of us who might want to see it. Players of the Resident Evil series of video games will recognise many of the scenes and plot elements. I didn't becuase I haven't played the games except maybe the first or second one once or twice (whichever one starts outside the mansion). OK so without giving too much away, a deadly virus breaks out in a super secret experimental laboratory complex that is controled by a supercomputer Named "The Red Queen" that has gone out-of-control so the powers that be send in the marines so to speak (a special forces type paramilitary unit). Meanwhile the main character Alice played by Jovovich has amnesia, a side effect of nerve gas released by the Red Queen, and slowly regains her memory as events unfold. Yes there are intentional parralels to Louis Carols Alice In Wonderland. I enjoyed this movie although you do have to turn off your brain as with most other movies of this genre. An interesting bit of trivia is that Night of the Living Dead (1968) Director George A. Romero, was originally on board to write and direct, but left the project due to creative differences over the script. The sound is typical Sci-fi, Horror, suspense heavy metal type music scored by Marco Beltrami and get this Marilyn Manson. Oddly enough despite that bizarre match up the music works. As for the plot etc... The result is something like Demon Seed meets Night of The Living Dead, meets Lara Croft - Tomb Raider with a little Total Recall and Raiders of The Lost Ark thrown in. I liked one scene which according to Internet Movie Data Base was inspired by and is very similar to a scene in the Canadian movie The Cube. My entertainment dollar was well spent even with the slightly cheesy CGI effects and occasional cheap Zombie makeup mixed with just plain gory Zombie makeup. BTW they don't ever call the undead creatures Zombies, they usually refer to them as the monsters or creatures or things, wouldn't you?

The Quality is very good overall so out of 5 stars or discs or thumbs or whatever you wants. I give Resident Evil a 4 for the sound and the picture quality a 4.5

My take
First off, I have never played the game so I was able to watch the movie unbiased. Which I guess worked to my favor since I absolutely love this movie. I know people who played the game don't really care for it because it doesn't follow but I loved it.

I loved it because it is a good concept movie, which you don't get a whole lot these days. My favorite person was Caplan. I wish he made it to the end but you can't have everything right?

Anyway, the movie starts out in the Hive. You get a look at someone throwing a vile in the lab and running. You see three different settings going on. The Red Queen notices the broken vile and takes action. People are killed by drowning, falling in the elevator or by the halox (is the spelled right?). Then cut to Alice, who is in the shower and apparently has fainted.

The movie is perfect, simply because a movie can't be perfect. Your going to get some people saying the hated it and some people saying it was ok and some people loving it. I think it is definately worth seeing for yourself and making up your own mind.

The last scene of the movie (I won't go into detail), I think is the best scene. In one scene, Milla portrays just about every emotion there is in this one scene. Scared, confused, disoriented, terrified, amazement, wonderment, lonliness, hurt, betrayal, strength and courage.

See the movie, if only one time and draw your own opinions. Go in with an open mind and come out with your conclusion.

Resident Evil from CrownReviewernowOnCIAO
Oh man, I don't even know where to start with this review.
First of, I should say, that Resident Evil is another botched attempt by a movie company (Screen Gems) to bring
another game title to the bring screen.
All movies based on game titles have sucked :Final Fantasy,
Mortal Kombat are just 2 examples. In fact, the same idiotic director who made those terrible Mortal Kombat movies directed this piece of junk!!!

Once I knew that, I knew the movie was going to suck.
I just didn't how much it would suck, until I saw it.
After seeing it, I have to say that Capcom did probably the most stupidest thing they could have done, by giving the rights for this movie to be made.

Furthermore, Capcom, obviously didn't care, how the director was going to follow the game, because if they had, they would have seen that the film does horrible injustice to the game.
It does not follow up the story and plot to the games.
In fact, none of the characters from the game: Chris Redfield, Claire Redfill, Jill, or Leon, the policeman are in the film.
To understand why Resident Evil is a pitiful attempt
to bring the game to the screen, you have to know the
story in Resident Evil games.

An evil corporation called Umbrella, has unwilligenly
or willingly (depending on who you ask) has unleashed
a virus called the "T virus". The T virus has the effect, of killing people and then making them zombies.

Even more scary is the fact, that the Umbrella knows
about the situation but is covering it up. Only a handful of corrupt politicians and Umbrella personnel know about the virus. In the first RE game, a team of special police officers, trace the roots of the virus to a mansion, harboring all sorts of monsters. In fact, "the scene of the mansion" is in the movie, but that's one of a few similiarities between the game and the movie. Eventually the last survivors of the mansion Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine escape only to be separated . (...)

Birkin is himself infected, by a more powerful virus,
and is mutated to another horrible beast. Eventually all the survivors escape, and thus stop the Umbrella corporation from doing more damage to Racoon City.

That's basically the Re games. Sounds cool,doesn't it?

The Crappy, Sucky Movie version of Resident Evil

The movie starts out in the Umbrella Corporation.
Everthing is calm and cool, until an employee drops a
chemical container containing the T virus into the
floor. Then all hell breaks loose, because it seems that
Umbrella's computer known as the Red Queen, has isolated and
captured all of Umbrella's employees and plans to kill them.
In fact, some of the death scene in Re are actually
pretty good, but most of them are not. So eventually most of the people in Umbrella die, due to this supercomputer. LOL.
This is garbage that is made up. In the Re games,
there is no "Red Queen" that is causing the killing in
Racoon City, and in Umbrella. The killing is brought
upon by the heads of Umbrella, and corrupt politicians, who have knowingly released the virus and are trying to cover
it up. Instead, we get Milla Jolladovich, playing some drugged out,security officer named Alice Prospero.
Then comes the ridiculous plot of the movie, which is that
most of the damage inflicted on the personnel of Umbrella,
is by a computer called "The Red Queen" which
unleashes a set of death traps, to anyone infected with
the "T virus".

Practically the only part of the game that the movie
stays true to is in fact that Umbrella has created a virus called the "T virus" which it plans to use for germ warfare.
However, that's how close you'll come to similiarities once again between the game and the movie.

Eventually Ms. Prospero is rescued, (technically she
is put in the custody) of a group of special police cops ,
to infiltrate Umbrella and find out what the hell is going on.

Adding more confusion (and laughter) to the situation
is that Ms. Prospero has amnesia and doesn't understand her connection to Umbrella. Well it's revealed that Ms. Prospero was working with someone in Umbrella, to expose to the media the virus that Umbrella was creating.

However, that person died, along with the evidence that
Umbrella is responsible for the chaos in Racoon City and
Umbrella.

Eventually these bumbling cops eventually meet a holographic
image of the Red Queen who says "I've been a very bad girl".

LOL. Yeah and I would have added "I've been a bad actress
to be in this film too".

Eventually the remaining cops become aware of the zombies and other monsters and try to escape from Umbrella headquarters....

Besides the terrible acting, script and story in Resident Evil, there is also a lack of creatures from the games.

The zombies , zombie dogs, and lickers are in R.E. but
here is a whole of creatures and monsters not in the movie:

Giant, poisonous spiders, killer sharks, 2 arm ferocious hunters, large killer poisonous plants and the over 6ft tall indestructible Tyrants in the game. A waste of a golden opportunity to make a good movie.

Creepy horror that will cause involuntary nerve twitching...
Resident Evil is a nitroglycerin packed horror film that is based on Capcom's best selling horror videogames with the same name. Before the story begins the audience is introduced to the Umbrella Corporation that produces 90% of every home's household products. However, its large profits are derived from military technology, genetic experimentation and viral weaponry, which is unknown to the public. The story begins with Alice (Milla Jovovich) waking up with temporary amnesia caused by gas released by the Hive's supercomputer, the Red Queen, as a defense mechanism. The Hive is a secret underground research complex with an exterior design similar to the form of a virus, which hosts over 500 scientists. Alice learns through a group of special operatives working for the Umbrella Corporation that she is also a special operative and something has gone wrong in the Hive. The mission of the group is to find out what went wrong and turn off the Red Queen that has seemed to run amok. As the group enters the darkened corridors of the Hive they enter a nightmare that submerges them into an agonizing reality of hellish creatures that want to nourish. Resident Evil is a fast paced horror tale where the unknown is known, yet the moment of surprise will cause nerves to twitch involuntary as it offers a creepy cinematic experience. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

New DVD got rid of overdubbing and disk-flipping
I concur with other reviewers' high opinions of the artistic quality of this DVD, except for a minor quibble: I can't buy the biracial affair with a Detective Sergeant. (And in a later Episode, Mirren's character gets pregnant, likewise in a work-related situation, by a married consultant, father of four kids, who lives 6000 miles away.)

Jane Tennison is a hard-nosed and coolly logical Detective Chief Inspector who knows that the good ole boys, including a few big shots, are lurking in wait for an uppity woman like her to slip up. How many Caucasian female Lieutenant Colonels in our armed forces get mixed up with African Sergeants or married fathers, especially if they work or consult with the men regularly? (How many would keep their jobs if they did?) However Jane's passions might burn and seethe beneath that calm exterior, she would be unlikely to slake them at work, especially with these guys, and most especially without tending to birth control. She's savvy enough to graze more cautiously on some of the many safer possibilities in London. However, this is not worth deducting a star. Besides, as one writer got rich pointing out, smart women do sometimes make foolish choices. A few smart women might even cite me as proof of this.

I am happy to report that the new DVD version has the naughty words intact and does not need to be flipped. The audio and especially the video are still below the quality one should expect for something produced so recently, although not too distractingly so. Some stuff from the 70's is technologically better, though.

This is a great detective series with a unique point of view, generally quite believable except for the odd minor quibble as set out above. I have bought all available episodes. It does owe a bit to Morse (what a marriage that would have made!), but who cares? Miss Marple might not approve, but the jungle where Mirren's tigress prowls is hardly St. Mary Mead.

I liked PS2 more than the first one
Very interesting (starting at 15 min. mark), VERY well acted, very satisfying police drama/thriller. The quality of DVD isn't great but seems better than VHS. Run time about 3 hours, not 230 min as stated.

Great series, great acting, great writing
Superb series, well written. Helen Mirren is a miracle.

At last, the whole series has been reissued on DVD. Worth the investment...unlike most TV shows on DVD (hello, HBO and Fox?)

Beware of the old DVDs floating around from the original PBS presentations in the early 1990s. Strong language was dubbed over, rather poorly.

Absorbing Police Drama/Character Study from England
Helen Mirren returns in the second go-round of "Prime Suspect". The story is a superb "who dunnit" with outstanding writing and acting all the way around. In addition to being a great crime solving drama, "Prime Suspect 2" succeeds as a character study of a middle-aged, professional woman who has sacrificed much of her personal life to rise among the ranks of the police force.

The rating gets only 4 stars rather than 5 for Anchor Bay's DVD treatment. Normally they have done a great job with their releases, but "Prime Suspect 2" is, unfortuantely, not among their best. I'm not sure about the source material that was available to them, but the picture doesn't appear to be as crisp as one would expect from a DVD, particularly for material that was produced in 1993. You must also flip the disk over . . . it's presented in two parts, just as it was released on PBS in America. This release also replaces some minor profanity with toned-down language. Save for 20 chapter breaks (10 on each side) and English subtitles, there are no extras on this DVD. Still, the story and characterizations merit a view.

The best in the series
This is by far the best installment of the Prime Suspect series. It stars Helen Mirren as Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison, who has to solve a grisly murder. She has a limited amount of time to solve it and does it amidst accusations of racism within the police department and disapproval from her colleagues for flimsy political reasons. This wonderful film is able to hold the viewers' attention the entire time it's on the screen. It also stars the talented and handsome Colin Salmon as her former lover and current colleague. This is a highly recommended film to purchase. ... Read more

Description

A fantastic marriage of state-of-the-art computer technology, thrilling live action, and breathtaking ingenuity, " Dinotopia" emerges as one of the most ambitious and technically advanced projects in the history of television. While flying on holiday with their estranged father, Karl (Tyron Leitso) and David (Wentworth Miller) find themselves in unexpected bad weather, which sends their plane crashing to the shores of Dinotopia. In this fantastic lost world, built upon long-established principles of mutual respect, humans and dinosaurs peacefully coexist. The two brothers are as astounded by the benevolent creatures as they are enraptured by Marion (Katie Carr), the mayor's beautiful precocious daughter who welcomes them both to the wonders of Dinotopia. However, harmony does not prevail everywhere. Just beyond Dinotopia's capital, Waterfall City, are deadly carnivores that pose a constant threat to the delicate balance of nature. Equally dangerous are human outlaws such as Cyrus Crabb (David Thewlis), a pirate descendant who shuns the Dinotopian codes. But there is no greater concern than the mysterious failing of the sunstones, which power all of Dinotopian life. With the help of a brilliant (and multilingual) Stenonychosaurus named Zippo, Karl and David embark on a daring mission as the last hope for the prehistoric Eden they now call home. Constructed as one of the largest sets in the history of London's Pinewood Studios, with ground breaking special effects by the award-winning team at FrameStore, there has never been anything quite like "Dinotopia." Based on James Gurney's hugely popular books, adapted by Simon Moore and directed by action specialist Marco Brambilla, this is truly a mega-series that could only come from Hallmark Entertainment. ... Read more

Reviews (59)

The Dinotopian Fan Will Adore It!
I'd read Dinotopia: A Land Apart From Time By James Gurney years ago. Its format-a journal like book, full of spectacular painted pictures of Dinosaurs living amoungst humans (or perhaps the other way around) was exciting to me, and I loved the book straight off, with it's lovely illustrations and even better story, with superb characters and a wonderful plotline.
When I heard about this series debut as a "mega series" on TV, I wasn't sure what to expect. I'd heard some rumours, and I believed that the storyline had been changed. (I was getting ready to be disappointed.)
I was wrong. This charming and wonderful movie is what takes place after the book...and I was thrilled to hear the books characters names-Lee Crabb, Will and Arthur Denison and Sylvia of the Hatchery, intertwined with the story of David and Karl.

David and Karl are half brothers, who were never close and couldn't be more different. Karl is defiant and modernized, while Dave prefers to stay at home, reading books and being alone. But their father ask them to go on a plane trip in his personal plane, and reluctantly they agree. Their father puts Karl that the controls, and they're off.
But quickly, they run into a severe storm, and the plane crashes into the ocean below them. Quickly fighting to get out, Karl and David go to the surface, only to find that their father is not with them.
Presuming he is dead, they are practically washed upon a strange island, which at first seems to be empty of life.
As they explore, trying to find someone to help them, they find a carved head of some creature. Suddenly, a loud explosion comes from within it, and it blows somewhat apart.There they meet the peg-legged Cyrus Crabb, who informs them that he was on some sort of archaeological job, and that they've been washed upon "Dinotopia".
He takes them to the village nearby, and to their intense amazement, they come across an angry dinosaur, flinging it's spiked tail at huts and stand along the roads of the small town. A girl mysteriously appears, and soothes it into submission.
The next day, Karl and David travel with the girl-Marion, daughter of the mayor of Waterfall city,who they will eventually BOTH fall in love with (and does this create conflict) to find out more about where they are and try to find a way to make it back home...but little do they know, they will be needed to help and save the entire island of Dinotopia from destruction, aided by a scholarly dinosaur anemd Zippo, a new baby Twenty-Six (aptly named by Karl, who has not much imagination) and the maybe trustworthy Cyrus Crabb.
It is an enchanting movie, great for true lovers of the Dinotopia books or just fans of Dinos or great movies, it was much better than I ever hoped it would be. I'm truly excited for it to come out on DVD-my whole family really enjoyed it, and we will hope to watch it many more times in days to come.

One raindrop raises the sea...

Mixed Feelings
Children would love this movie. It's full of action, magic, and enough dinosaurs to satisfy a young enthusiast for life. Karl, David, and Marion are fun to watch, and the brothers' struggles to adapt to Dinotopian life are amusing and delightful. The colorful sets, graphics, and local traditions draw you into the world and leave you wanting more.
Adults would feel differently. Even if they were able to suspend their disbelief after the plane crash (they couldn't see the storm before they were in it?), they would find it difficult to stay engaged with the story after the confusing behavior of several of the characters (Karl and David blindly trust Crabb's suggestions although they state he is untrustworthy?). The complete disregard for logic becomes even more apparent as the story continues. The dialogue is stale and forced, but Leitso and Miller do the best that can be expected with lines such as, "What is this place?" and, "Dinosaurs died out millions of years ago!". If the viewer manages to make it to the T-Rex scene (why did they abandon the "busses"?), they are given the treat of seeing the beautiful female trip and fall while running away, and then looking terrified as two T-Rexes approach for a snack. Several sub-plots are abandoned before resolution (Crabb is not punished for his crimes to Zippo, the relationship between David and his female co-cadet is never developed, and the reason that the T-Rexes traveled in a pack is never revealed), and some major plotlines are never settled, the most noteworthy example being the love triangle. The characters are capricious, changing their attitudes and personalities with each new scene. The animosity between the brothers is all talk (and one wussy fight). You never get the feeling that they really don't get along, besides when they say they don't. All of this comes together for an abrupt ending that leaves you wanting more-explanation, that is.
There is one thing that saves it for the adults-Crabb. Rather than being the stereotypical black-hearted villian, he is an odd mixture of good and bad that keeps you guessing whose side he's on. Or maybe he's just capricious, too.
I gave the movie two stars for the sense of child-like wonder I felt as David learned to fly. I shouldn't have given it that much, with all the plot discrepancies, but I truly felt as if I were there, and that's a difficult sense to invoke.

A Land Apart from Time.
I honestly liked this 4 hour movie. The effects are great this movie is absolutly filled with tons of CGI animation. It involves two half brothers who after a plane crash land on a lost very big island (200 miles in diameter) called Dinotopia. On this island dinosaurs survived extinction, and yes it explains why. The people are protected by sunstones. Bright rocks that seem to somehow scare away carnivorous dinosaurs. Suddenly they start going out and the charactors go to an adventure to save the place from disaster. It does have bad pacing (I kind of think this movie would have been fine at three hours) it still is fun to watch considering it has some great action scenes. Overall good movie. As for the DVD the picture quality is very good not great but definutly good enough. It is in 1.33 fullscreen since it was filmed for television. Not bad at all. If you are complaining about the picture on the VHS switch to DVD. I don't think you should care about picture if you still buy VHS. The sound is the problem it is only two channels not a full 5.1 mix. Not to mention that for 10 seconds in the final action scene as one of the rocks its the ground the sound completly disapears. [weak]. But overall the sound is good enough and it gets the job done even though it should have been better. The extras in involve two deleted scenes, a decent making of, a couple traliors, and a game of kids. Decent overall. Dinotopia is a good movie and at such a...price you can't go wrong heer.

Um, Roar??
I wasn't expecting to be blown away by this movie, but I was hoping that it might exceed my poor expectations. It didn't. I think Rex from Pixar's 'Toy Story' was a more beleivable dinosaur, and the point of the story was....well, lame. Those lame sun rocks or whatever they were weren't explained very well as to WHY the kept the carnivourous dinosaurs away, but the other ones weren't bothered by them. And why could some of the Dinosaurs talk while the others just carried people around?

The only thing I liked about this movie was that I at least got some eye candy, those brothers were pretty cute. At least my kid brother liked it.
I can't believe they even came up with the idea to make a series out of this....I thought the never ending 'Land Before Time' videos were bad...but this is live action and computer animated. Hopefully ABC will fire whoever keeps coming up with these stupid movies.

for the dinosaur in us all
Dinotopia will not impress you with its script and acting. In fact, these are the major points that hinder the movie. But if you are willing to look past such and enjoy the story for what it's worth, Dinotopia comes as a recommened 4 hours. I've always been a stickler for fantasy and adventure, and am even more biased towards any movie that has dinosaurs in it, so here I was able to appreciate the world being represented (if even rather poorly). Of course, if this isn't your cup of tea, know that Dinotopia includes flashy special effects. The dinosaurs, while not up to par with the BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs, are well-animated, and believable enough to get the job done. Don't be fooled by what this movie can't do, because what it can do may just as well be enough. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Did I watch the same film as the critics?
I got a chance to watch the much maligned Norman Jewison film The Statement on DVD this weekend.

It's a damn fine film!!!

Without giving too much of the story away, the film is about an old Frenchman (played by Michael Caine) who is on the run throughout the south of France for war crimes he committed back in WWII. He has to excape both investigators and assassins (possibly from a radical Jewish organization) by taking refuge in primarily catholic churches.

It was actually filmed in France in real churches and government buildings. Excellent Hitchcockian cinematography and music. Well paced editing and outstanding acting from Tilda Swinton, Jeremy Northam, Ciaran Hinds, Frank Finlay, Alan Bates...and especially Caine. The screenplay was expertly adapted by Ron Harwood. And, for a film with a pretty low budget, the DVD transfer (anamorphic) is excellent and the 5.1 surround sound is decent.

What's up with the critics? OK, I'm a big Michael Caine fan, but that doesn't mean I like ALL the films he's in (Secondhand Lions was kinda corny, his role in Goldmember was far too small, etc.). This role is a true showcase for him. And anyone who respects Caine as an actor should watch this movie.

In truth, the storyline may be hard to follow...I'm sure that's the primary problem for the critics. I had the advantage of reading the original novel first, so there was virtually no confusion for me...and the film is remarkably faithful to the novel!

The novel was a bit complicated at times and I found myself having to re-read the occasional passage to keep up with the story...so maybe the film is similar in that respect.

Also, a lot of critics had a problem with the fact that the English actors aren't speaking with French accents...but this has been the case with many films before (Quills, The Last Emperor, Three Musketeers), I don't know why this film should be any different...besides, I can't think of anything more distracting than listening to a bunch of actors speaking with phony French accents for 2 hours!

I say take a chance on the film. It's definitely a thinking-person's thriller. I'd hate to see one of Michael Caine's best late-career performances go completely unnoticed.

A Very Powerful Film Full of Intrigue, History, and Mystery
THE STATEMENT has all the ingredients of a keenly written espionage film with all the added assets of superb acting, breakneck speed direction by Norman Jewison, and magnificent photography of France. Based on a true story, Pierre Brossard (Michael Caine in a finely nuanced tragic performance) worked with the Vichy regime during the Nazi occupation of France and was responsible for the murders of seven Jews in 1944. It is now 1992 and Brossard has been in hiding under the cover and support of the Chevaliers, a band of men connected with the Catholic Church. Politically he has been pardoned, but there are those who wish him dead. A new French Judge (Tilda Swinton in another fine performance) and military Colonel Roux (Jeremy Northam) join forces (somewhat unwillingly) and commit themselves to ferreting out Brossard. Their efforts are parallel to the forces who plot to assassinate Brossard and it is this bipolar cat-and-mouse intrigue that chases Brossard from Abbey to Abbey throughout France. The ending comes as somewhat of a surprise, but the chase makes it all worth the wait. Adding immensely to this film are the cameos by Charlotte Rampling, Alan Bates, Ciaran Hinds, Noam Jenkins, and Marr Cravens among a host of others. This is an underrated movie that is full of intrigue and deserves a wider audience, if for nothing else than to alert the world of yet another WW II atrocity.

a truly bland thriller
**1/2 In Norman Jewison's tepid thriller, "The Statement," English-accented Michael Caine plays Pierre Brossard, an aging French war criminal whose past has begun to catch up with him. In 1944, Brossard, a member of the infamous Vichy regime, not only collaborated with the Nazis, but was personally responsible for the cold-blooded execution of 14 unarmed Jewish Frenchmen as well. Immediately after the war, Brossard was tried and convicted for these offenses, but somehow managed to escape before he could face his deserved punishment. In the years since, Brossard has lived his life underground, finding protection and sanctuary from a branch of the Roman Catholic Church sympathetic to his cause. And although the French authorities have been unsuccessful in their attempts to locate him, Brossard has recently found himself the target of a mysterious group of assassins, possibly members of a secret Jewish organization seeking justice for his yet unavenged crimes against humanity.

The idea of a Nazi war criminal still living in hiding all these years after the end of World War II has the makings of an interesting movie, no doubt, but "The Statement" is not that movie. To the filmmakers' credit, they do at least attempt to present Brossard as a three-dimensional character, a man who, decades after his horrendous crimes, is still seeking redemption through his pious devotion to the Church. Caine, in a deftly balanced performance, manages to make Brossard almost sympathetic while still allowing us to see the "monster" hidden beneath the ravaged soul. Unfortunately, the actor is let down by a screenplay that seems more concerned with tired cloak-and-dagger espionage routines than with a serious study of a fascinating and conflicted character. Even more annoying is the attempt on the part of the film to paint the entire Catholic Church hierarchy as a bunch of diabolical, self-serving individuals who are busy either protecting one of their own at any or all costs or acting out of political expediency rather than true moral conviction. Fans of "The Da Vinci Code" may swallow this anti-Catholic paranoia without question, but the rest of us can merely wonder why the Church hasn't been able to cop a break from the movies since Father Damien kicked the be-Jesus out of the devil in "The Exorcist," thirty long years ago. I'm certainly no apologist for the Catholic Church (see my review of "The Magdalene Sisters"), but even we non-believers can wonder when we will be seeing a little more evenhandedness and balance in the movies' portrayal of the Church. Certainly there must be SOME well-meaning priest, nun or bishop out there that some filmmaker might consider as worthwhile movie material.

There are other problems with the film as well. Tilda Swinton, as an impassioned judge searching for Brossard, and Jeremy Northam, as a more pragmatic policeman who reluctantly joins her in her pursuit, make an annoying, constantly bickering couple who look, for all the world, like a minor-league Mulder and Scully, minus the attraction and charm. Alan Bates and Charlotte Rampling (reunited from "Georgy Girl," though the two actors never appear in the same scene together) are wasted in minor roles. And Jewison, who was once so fine a young director, fails to bring any of the scenes in this film to life. One also questions the propriety of taking a serious subject like Nazi atrocities and using it as little more than cheap window dressing for an undistinguished, run-of-the-mill thriller.

"The Statement," despite another fine performance from the ever-reliable Michael Caine, is a tired, lackluster and cynical exercise, strangely devoid of meaning, conviction and purpose.

Justice Done
I rented this DVD solely because of Michael Caine and wasn't disappointed in his performance. I agree with other reviewers that the plot is unreeled slowly and certain key points (the motaives of the conspirators, and the motives of the Roman Catholic Church) are undeveloped and remain cloudy.

My chief disappointment was with the ending. Brossard, the French traitor, is finally gunned down by the government assassins who suceed in placing their STATEMENT on the body. The statement says that Brossard was executed for his war crimes, but then further condemns the Catholic Church for protecting Brossard for nearly 50 years. Is this condemnation the true meaning of the story?

Directly after this scene, in which Tilda Swinton's character of a French judge arrives too late to take Brossard into custody, the film cuts to a ball-room scene. The judge goes up to several highly-placed French officials and subtly informs them that their time is up, and that justice is coming for them. The implication is that the actual assassin (a member of the French police) has been arrested and is naming names. However, we do not see that scene, only the vague reference (just one line) made by the lady judge. (That polieman, in my opinion, would never have named names because he is dedicated to what he believes is a just cause.) Thus the film reminded me of one of those crime dramas of the '30s, where the outcome must always be the same, even if it defies reason: G-Men always get their man and that "crime doesn't pay."

Since the screenplay does not go deeply into the nature of the conspiracy of the French ministers, and we never learn their names, their titles or positions, but instead focuses on Brossard's quest to "die in a state of grace and forgiveness" the film suffers from a split personaility. In the end, the audience is left in the middle. The filmmakers do not finish either story but instead make a statement of their own: that we should not forget the memories of those slaughtered by a reprehensible regime.

It struck me that Brossard actually paid for his crimes when he was shot dead. Did it really matter who did the shooting? If the judge had caught him, he would have been put on trial and sent to prison for the rest of his life (probably a very short time as he was already quite old and suffering from heart disease). Since the entent and purpose of the "official" conspiracy wasn't dealt with in detail, I would have preferred the more ambiguous ending of seeing Brossard gunned down and his assassin successfully escaping into the night. This is a more perfect ending since Brossard kisses a religious icon just before dying, thus believing that he really did die "in a state of grace and forgiveness." I like ambiguity, and in this case, it works perfectly.

I am not familiar with the novel. Should I be? When I see a film, it's story should be enough. I realize that liberties are taken in translating books to screenplays, but either version should stay true to it's theme. But you have to have a theme in the first place. If the theme in this film was to make a statement that we remember the Jews who were betrayed and killed, (but at the same time provide some sense that "justice was done") then the final scene should have been supported by a previous scene in which the policeman responsible made some sort of statement of his own. That, of course, would have meant that the conspiracy story should have been further developed. Otherwise the ending is self-serving and the dramatic structure is betrayed.

Please nobody complains...
,,, about the English cast. Since my karma was bad enough to have me born in France, and aside from the (good) reasons given by N. Jewison (see special features), I can tell that shooting this movie in french would have been very difficult. Although there are a few hints about in the film, nobody is really aware (part of the few who are dont want to be reminded, and worse, the other part don't want to be exposed) that the main change in 1945 was to add communists (one of the worst indignities being that Maurice Thorez, upon Staline's earnest recommendation, got his death sentence commuted in a position as a minister in the governement by de Gaulle himself...) to the Vichy dignitaries who escaped the fate they deserved. And, although it is briefly mentionned, the communists only entered Resistance after Hitler and Staline parted; their only aim was to be his position to deliver France into Staline hands, and maybe their greatest achievement was to perform terrorist attacks when and where they were certain that reprisals victims would be those who didn't share their communist vision: so they could be seen as patriots while getting rid of their opponents.
One other reason for the leniency towards french police (a good one in the short term, but a most poisonous one in the long term), was that nobody wanted to alienate in any way the only organisation thought able (?) to take care of riots and miscellaneous disorders following the 'Liberation'; and, since they were in charge of preventing witch-hunts, it would have been very difficult to make them understand they should have been investigated as well.
One should not forget, for a better understanding of the story background, that after Pie XI (pro-fascit to the core, altough opposed to racism) died in 1939, Pie XII (who was convinced that Hitler represented the last defence against communism) never condemned nazism, and even gave (through his bishops) his blessing to german armies. But, since the Roman Catholic Church was the first one to practice large-scale genocides (remember South America and the Conquistadores' mudering and pillaging in the name of God, which is the proof that the so-called "no prescription for crimes against humanity" should be better understood), maybe he felt some sort of kindred sympathy... ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Brilliant acting by Roth and Ormond
I stumbled upon this video very late one night about two weeks ago, quite by accident. I was drawn in immediately and held absolutely spellbound by the performances of both Tim Roth and Julia Ormond. Since then, I have purchased the video and rewatched it more times than I can count, each time loving the movie more. This is a love story against all odds, a tender, heart-wrenching, passionate love story, of two people drawn together by lonliness, need, and desire. I agree with one reviewer who said this was one of the most erotically charged films ever seen. I have never seen Roth portray this kind of character and, I must say, I have become an avid fan and only hope he will take on more roles of this nature. His performance was riveting, i.e., tender, sensitive, poignant, and very human. I certainly don't mean to downplay Ormond's performance, it was superb as well. The chemistry between the actors was incredibly real, both of whom conveyed so much feeling through their eyes, facial expressions and body language. Since discovering this gem, I have read a lot of the reviews, and I totally disagree with one movie critic who said Roth was miscast in the part. The fact that he does not look like Brad Pitt makes it even more believeable for me. Roth may not be handsome in the classic sense, but he has a unique look, very sexy, intense, charismatic and sensual. This movie touches me deeply, I only wish that the ending had not been so rushed. I would love to see this movie make it to DVD.

Strong Stuff
Wow, I just saw this movie and knew beforehand I'd love it. Why? Tim Roth. I would watch Tim Roth reading "Barney's Christmas Adventure". I don't care what he does, he's an excellent and riveting actor -watching him is like being drawn towards a graviational field . There are few actors with this much soul.
I've always puzzled over the so-called "Beautiful men" who are supposed to have all this sex appeal -they leave me cold. They're all too pretty for my tastes. They look like mannequins.
Roth is so uniquely "Roth" -there's no one else like him- and this gives him a powerful charisma. He's perfect in roles which require him to show off his natural raw energy and earthiness and this role as the tender yet passionate convict is perfect for him. Julia Ormand is also great and convincing as the woman rather stunned by her attraction to someone so unlikely. So much is conveyed between these two by facial expression. A beautifully nuanced performance by both actors, which makes the physicality of their later embrace so much more erotic than anything I've seen in film for a long, long time.
Very sexy in a gorgeous, sensuous way with delicious subtleties -right down to the tattoos on Roth's arm.

Captivating Even If Disturbing
I never saw Tim Roth come off so sexy as this -- just loved it (especially the parts nearer the beginning when he is first talking to her across the tables in prison visitors room and then in diners). J.O. is beautiful and captivating on her own --very believable and much too vulnerable. I'm amazed to read other reviews here that saw Roth's character as being so sincere and in love. I did not see him that way. I saw him as short of being truly in love with her -- that he cared for her, probably, but deeply in love? I never got that. He was all too willing to put her in too much danger for one thing. Call me old-fashioned, but in my opinion a man that really cares for a woman wants to protect her. If that component is missing, give him three bright red flags!

It's a good watch though. I found it frightening to see how J.O.'s character kept falling for everything about him, hook line and sinker, ignoring *huge* red flags. Example: She told her best friend early in her romance with Roth's character that she didn't want to ask Roth what he was doing time for, feeling it was invasive. My gosh, whatever happened to the idea of expecting that a man should honor the need for a woman to feel *safe* with him? If he is worth his salt, he won't mind you checking him out and will be glad you did -- because, if he really cares about you, he is going to respect a woman's need to learn important things about him -- especially convicts and people met through personal ads. I mean really! When she finally breaks her resolve and looks it up, she learns he is in for murder -- of his wife.

She is quick to notice that court documents say it was a crime of passion because his wife had been cheating on him. Oh good, she seems to think to herself, "Jusitifiable homicide." HELLO-OOO-OO? Is anybody out there? I don't care what his wife did, violence and murdering her was NOT okay, and NEVER the answer and does NOT make him out to be a "deep, soulful, sensitive and passionate" lover of most women's dreams. It makes him *dangerous*. I'm not saying he can't reform and I'm not saying she can't forgive that about him when he does, but this movie did not touch that. It was as if it was just like OKAY that he murdered his wife. Pleeeeeez.

Now, this does not make it a bad movie. In fact it makes it a very realistic movie, sadly, because a lot of us women keep falling for men who hurt us, and big-time. One shudders to think of how many women in America were beaten by their husbands or lovers this very hour today. To me this is not so much a movie about a tragic love affair as it is about some of the all-too-common vulnerabilities of a lot of women. Women with these vulnerabilities are women-at-risk.

Roth was charismatic, sexy and captivating but I did not see him as a truly loving lover. I don't care how sensual and "deep" he is, when it's not true love it just ain't a love story. Too many things about the character he played showed that he did not (and was no doubt incapable of) truly loving her. It did not torment him what he was putting her through. I never saw him try to resist his desire for her so that she would not be put at risk. Simple caring was missing.

Anyhow, I do think this movie is a fascinating character study -- both watching the film and reading the reviews of it. I suggest getting "True Romance" with Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette, who play it like genuine and romantic love in addition to this film so that you can watch a 5-star movie ("True Romance") even while you are in the mood for this genre of film. And besides, TR is one of my favorite movies of all time and never got the marketing that would have clearly taken it to the top of the heap. It's star-studded with so many "favorite" scenes in it that I like to mention it whenever I can and it's on-topic. If you can only get one movie? Get "True Romance" instead!

Captives
I have seen Julia Ormond in some good movies and she is a great actress. This is not one of them. Senseless subject. The audio is bad, or the language is not what I am used with, so I understood only half of what they said in the movie. Stay away from this one!

Spellbound
I, like other reviewers happened to stumble across this film. I could not believe how sexual Tim Roth was. I was a little confused by the ending, I'm assuming they continued their relationship. I'm purchasing the DVD today. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Pierce Brosnan returns for his second stint as James Bond (after GoldenEye), and he's doing it in high style with an invigorating cast of costars. It's only appropriate that a Bond film from 1997 would find Agent 007 pitted against a media mogul (Jonathan Pryce) who's going to start a global war (beginning with stolen nuclear missiles aimed at China) to create attention-grabbing headlines for his latest multimedia news channel. It's the information age run amok, and Bond must team up with a lovely and lethal agent from the Chinese External Security Force (played by Honk Kong action star Michelle Yeoh) to foil the madman's plot of global domination. Luckily for Bond, the villain's wife (Teri Hatcher) is one of his former lovers, and at the behest of his superior M (Judi Dench), 007 finds ample opportunity to exploit the connection. Although it bears some nagging similarities to many formulaic action films from the '90s, Tomorrow Never Dies (with a title song performed by Sheryl Crow) boasts enough grand-scale action and sufficiently intelligent plotting to suggest the Bond series has plenty of potential to survive into the next millennium. Armed with the usual array of gadgets (including a remote-controlled BMW), Brosnan settles into his role with acceptable flair, and the dynamic Yeoh provides a perfect balance to the sexism that once threatened to turn Bond into a politically incorrect anachronism.He's still Bond, to be sure, but he's saving the world with a bit more sophisticated finesse. This edition includes a separate tape on the cinematic history of James Bond.--Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (242)

A well-oiled machine, but is it worthy?
Although it was originally planned that Pierce Brosnan would take on the James Bond mantle from Roger Moore in the mid-80s, the exhilaration of "Goldeneye" (his actual first Bond film) wears off rather quickly, I'm afraid.

You see, I've been spoiled by superior and definitive renditions of the Moore and Connery Bonds to be swayed by Brosnan's working class efforts. Or maybe the product placement is just too obvious in recent 007 films? Either way, this film is just a blip on the screen of an otherwise unstoppable series.

The pros: the sizzling Michele Yeoh as the latest Bond girl, who's both lethal and beautiful, in the best traditions of the genre.

***The proper use of henchmen--Gotz Otto revamping Robert Shaw's oversized killer who nevertheless is no match for Bond.

***And finally, the suitably grandiose (if unoriginal) world-domination plot that has since been missing in action.

The cons: Teri Hatcher--Bond girls have never been famous for their acting skills, but Hatcher looks and sounds out-of-place here.

***An unappealing villain--Jonathan Pryce doesn't have the charisma or the physical appeal to be a proper Bond villain (much less a memorably one).

***The title song by Sheryl Crow; easily one of the worst in the series. The outro closing torch number by K.D. Lang should have been the title cut; it's classic Bond fare.

***Product placement is far too obvious in this film; enough is enough, guys.

Overall, a briskly paced entry in the Bond canon, but it's not firing on all cylinders.

Good Action, Bad Plot
The movie playing last week was As a longtime James Bond fan I had to see Tomorrow Never Dies, or James Bond versus Jonathan Price.

A communications mogul (Price) sets up a communications satellite monopoly, which, unlike DeBeers and other monopolies, is allowed to operate in the United States. To further his power, Price is creating news and having the stories ready as the news happens. His ultimate goal is to start World War III and control all communications afterwards. He will do this by using his armada of communications satellites which will broadcast to a dying world where electromagnetic pulses have rendered televisions inoperable. Oh, I guess he didn't think far enough ahead.

Utilizing the common man's (or should I say scriptwriter's) lack of understanding Geo-Positional Satellites (GPS) he convinces a warship that it is in neutral territory and not in Chinese-controlled waters. Then, utilizing a stealth boat made possible by the theft of some stealth skin (you know, that ultra expensive stuff that becomes completely useless if it gets even slightly damp) and steals a cruise missile. Bond is aided by a Chinese agent (Michelle Yeoh) and they go to Viet Nam where the sunken ship is (oh, didn't they say it was sunk in Chinese waters?). There they confront many bad guys and helicopters that can hover sideways and whose blades can repeatedly chop through buildings with no bad effects.

OK, so the plot, if it can be called that, has a few problems. But it is an action film and plots in action films have less importance than how far the hero can fall. The bad plot is not necessarily because Ian Fleming did not write the story. After all, he did write DOCTOR NO about the madman trying to corner the guano market (the studio gave the madman nuclear capabilities and cut the guano completely from the story). But the movie is fun, nonetheless, with many great lines. While I can't say much for the new Moneypenny, the new M is fantastic.

Do You Believe What You Read?
Years after Ian Fleming's death the "James Bond" series rolls on, recycling the original stories for audiences who never read the original novels. Their villains were in turn Soviet KGB, then organized crime; now one of the most powerful publishers in the Free World! Is Fleming turning over in his grave? This film shows how a powerful publisher can create the news, and not just distort it (use your own example). [Will the viewers make the connection to the Real World?] "Eliot Carver" seems to be modeled after Robert Maxwell (was he the front man for powerful forces who stayed in the background?) There are changes to reflect modern culture and political correctness. James Bond still circulates among high-levels to gather information. But one scene shows him overindulging in vodka, as if to suggest a growing problem in an aging operative.

Bond is caught snooping in the villain's lair, but makes his escape despite the efforts of many guards (who are of various races for this equal opportunity employer, and also recalls Bond's enemies from past films). A former lover of Bond's is murdered (as in "Goldfinger"). The killer in the hotel room looks like he was recycled from "Doktor Strangelove". The car chase in the indoor parking lot recalls "Diamonds Are Forever", but is more spectacular. The skydiving to the wrecked ship recalls other films. Bond and Wai Lin (the female Chinese operative) are caught and brought before Eliot Carver (another recurring scene from Fleming's novels). The villain never delegates these tasks. Their escape shows the product placement of BMW and Land Rover (and reminds me of a Jackie Chan film). They escape the Heckler & Koch MP-5 firing villains. The attack scene in the shop recalls another Jackie Chan film, with its choreographed