Tomorrow Never Dies

Brosnan's second outing as agent 007. Media mogul Elliot Carver wants to start a war to ensure exclusive broadcast rights. He must be stopped (that's about it, for plot). The first half builds promisingly, adding depth to Bond's character, along with the usual mix of violence, humour and gadgetry, but after the amazing carpark car-chase, things start to go awry, as 007 resorts to standard tactics, waving weaponry about without bothering to dodge the bullets. All very entertaining, but not really Bond. This is a pity, because by then girl A (Hatcher, lacklustre) has been replaced by girl B, Wai Lin (Yeoh, who's such a great foil for the hero that she's worth a franchise of her own). Sadly, if her role is badly underwritten, the script problems are most evident in Pryce's Carver, who peaks too early and doesn't get nasty enough lines to elicit boos and hisses. Luckily, Brosnan, whose Bond is easily the best since Connery's, is more than strong enough to paper over the cracks. Flawed, but fantastic fun all the same.