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Pierce Brosnan's second outing as the suave superspy proves to be one of the most polished entries yet. Some would argue that it's a patchy affair and certainly not as streamlined as GoldenEye but TND bristles with fine moments. It also boasts one of the best pre-credit scenes in history, thanks largely to the David Arnold score and a near wordless performance from Bond causing havoc at a terrorist arms bazaar. A pity things soon peter out. Sheryl Crow belts out a rather bland opening theme - catch kd lang's closing song, Surrender, to hear how it should have been done - and before you know it, we're back on familiar territory. Media tycoon Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce) creates war between China and the west so he can cover it with his TV, magazines and newspapers - and there's no prizes for guessing who's called in to stop him. The plot maybe nothing new but as the last Bond movie had grossed over $350million, the producers weren't going to change a winning formula. What makes this a cut above the 007 offerings of old is the ever more impressive stunts and often hilarious scenes. Bond's showdown with the sadistic Dr Kauffman (Vincent Schiavelli) is 'delicious', there's a car park chase to die for and a motorbike scene that would give Evel Knievel nightmares. By the finale, tension goes out of the window as a hammy Pryce goes through the motions as an all too familiar villain (he's far too nice to be a psychopath); Bond tackles Aryan henchman Stamper (Gotz Otto) and slinky martial arts heroine Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh) prove that, despite wielding some nifty kicks, she is just another damsel in distress. If you've seen You Only Live Twice and The Spy Who Loved Me, then chances are you'll be hit with a nagging sense of deja vu as lots of people run around a lavish set with machine guns while a bomb ticks away the seconds toward an inevitable conclusion. However, TND is a movie that offers many unintentional laughs, especially on repeated viewings: Teri Hatcher as Bond's pouting ex-lover, Paris. "Did I get too close?" she purrs like an extra from Sunset Beach. "Too close for... comfort?" As for Pryce, he sounds like he's in panto while dishing out lines such as: "There's no news, like... BAD news." While the movie may be a familiar mix of stunts and explosive set pieces, Brosnan really does bring this movie alive. The smoothest hero in quite some time - he even drinks vodka in hotel rooms with more cool than Roger Moore managed in 12 years as 007 - it's his charm that papers over the cracks in the script. Sean Connery may have been the best Bond of the Sixties but as the millennium draws to a close, nobody does it better than Brosnan. Pierce Brosnan.
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