James Bond Retrospective: Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Gadgets Following GoldenEye, which marked the beginning of the Bond series€™ deal with German car manufacturer BMW, the car provided for Tomorrow Never Dies plays a much larger role than the Z3 in GoldenEye and features in the arguably the film€™s most memorable set piece. The car, a BMW 750i, includes a huge number of gadgets ranging from rockets deployed via the sunroof, a caltrop dispenser from the rear bumper, re-inflatable tyres and a wire cutter that raises from the bonnet mounted BMW insignia, however the car€™s greatest feature is the fact that it can be driven by a remote control panel and LCD screen underneath the keypad of Bond€™s Ericsson mobile phone. Incidentally, the phone also features a fingerprint scanner, electronic lock-pick and a stun gun. Taking place in a Hamburg multi-storey car park, the sequence sees Bond make his escape from Carver€™s henchmen driving the car from the back seat utilising all the car€™s features along the way. Taking three weeks to film, the sequence was shot on location in London€™s Brent Cross shopping centre car park with a specially modified car that could be controlled by a stuntman driving the car from the back seat using only a video screen to see where he was going. As with many of the Bond stunts throughout the series€™ history, this is a superbly executed sequence, brilliantly choreographed and nicely shot to include all the fine details of the scene from Brosnan laughing to himself in the back seat of the car to the final payoff where the car crashes into the Avis car rental office, it is a scene packed with good humour and terrific ideas. David Arnold€™s score further enhances the scene with a musical cue co-written with purveyors of the big beat sound, Propellerheads, who had previously worked with Arnold on his Shaken And Stirred project. The track Backseat Driver, is another example of taking the Bond sound and tying it to the time by incorporating contemporary styles of music. Composers Marvin Hamlisch, Bill Conti and Eric Serra have all attempted this approach with their Bond scores with varying degrees of success and this collaboration is certainly one of the better efforts. James Bond Will Return€.. Following the monumental success of GoldenEye at the box-office, Tomorrow Never Dies managed to take over $330 million worldwide, just $20 million less than the previous film. In the US, the film had the misfortune of being released just a few days after Titanic, which would go on to become one of the highest grossing films of all time keeping Bond from the top spot. With Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson now at the helm of the franchise and with Pierce Brosnan firmly established and accepted in the lead role the future was looking good for James Bond€€. To catch up on previous installments of the James Bond Retrospective click here: Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty€™s Secret Service, Diamonds Are Forever, Live And Let Die, The Man With The Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View To A Kill, The Living Daylights, Licence To Kill, GoldenEye