TOMORROW NEVER DIES (54)

Directed by: Roger Spottiswoode

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh

The Pitch: 007 does battle with Elliot Carver, an evil media mogul bent on fomenting WW3.

Theo Sez: A vast improvement on the smug, featherweight GOLDENEYE, able at least to make Bond more than the sum of his catchphrases even if it's not quite sure how to reposition him for the No-Fun Nineties : Bond in love is hard enough to swallow, but seeing this symbol of unbridled hedonism coming over all possessive, like a jealous husband, is as off-putting (if, presumably, in the reverse way) as seeing your grandmother drunk. The film still works unexpectedly well, boasting a superb villain (second only to Dr. Evil among 1997's world-dominator wannabes), some more- outrageous-than-usual puns ("Another Carver building - the man must have an Edifice Complex!"), and an amiably intricate Boys' Own quality to its heroics : our man tends to use props in imaginative ways (a clothesline to disable a helicopter rotor, that kind of thing) rather than just blasting his way out of trouble, and the villain's plan is insanely complicated. Still saddled with an inadequate leading man - the best of it, the first 20 minutes, is significantly Brosnan-less - and a long way behind the mischievous charm of its 60s forebears ; but, as a hunk o'action, surprisingly solid. Though hopefully the next instalment will allow poor dilapidated Desmond Llewellyn the retirement he so richly deserves.