The official trailer for Tomorrow Never Dies arrived in 1997, marketing Pierce Brosnan's second Bond film and the franchise's most prescient entry: a story about a media mogul manufacturing global conflict for ratings that has only grown more relevant with time. The film's contemporary villain gave the trailer an unusual topicality, and the marketing presents a production of real action invention and cultural intelligence.
First Impressions
The trailer is immediately kinetically exciting, with the Hamburg car park sequence and the motorcycle chase through Saigon conveying a production of sharp action invention. Brosnan's Bond is fully settled into the role, and the film's media-manipulation narrative gives the footage an intellectual edge that distinguishes it from its immediate predecessor.
What the Trailer Reveals
The trailer establishes Elliot Carver's scheme to provoke war between Britain and China for exclusive broadcasting rights, Bond's mission across Europe and Asia, and the film's naval climax. Jonathan Pryce's Carver is introduced as a villain of unusual topical relevance, Michelle Yeoh's Wai Lin is glimpsed as one of the franchise's most capable action partners, and the stealth ship sequences hint at a film of technical scope.
Music and Sound
Sheryl Crow's title song is one of the more melodically accomplished of the Brosnan era, a piece of rock-inflected pop that suits the film's thriller register well. David Arnold makes his Bond scoring debut with a score of energy and thematic intelligence, establishing a sonic identity for the Brosnan era that would define the franchise's sound for the next decade.
Most Memorable Moment
The motorcycle chase through Saigon, with Bond and Wai Lin handcuffed together, is the trailer's most inventive action sequence: a set-piece of physical comedy and stunt work that captures the chemistry between Brosnan and Yeoh with real clarity. It is the moment the trailer is at its most entertaining.
Trailer Verdict
Tomorrow Never Dies is the Brosnan era's most underrated film, and this trailer is part of why it gets overlooked: it sells action when the real selling point is the villain. Carver is one of the franchise's sharpest creations, and Pryce is excellent. A film worth revisiting, marketed well but not quite at its best angle.