The 18th official Bond film is one of the best in many years, by far Brosnan’s finest hour. Harking back to the better entries of, “Goldfinger” & “For Your Eyes Only,” Brosnan gives a fine performance that is full of charm, energy and swagger. The screenplay bests Goldeneye by being swift and streamlined with a friendlier running time. Shedding his jitters from his debut performance, Brosnan slides across the screen as one smooth bastard as he’s given an equally charming villain to play off of. Jonathan Pryce as media mogul, Elliot Carver, is an unusual Bond baddie who is not interested in world domination, but total control over the media. His newspaper, “Tomorrow” not only reports the news, but creates it. Using the advanced technological capabilities of the Carver Media Group, he engineers a conflict in the South China Sea between two Chinese planes and the English battleship, HMS Devonshire. The ship is sunk and one of the planes is destroyed. War between China and Britain looms, with Carver having the inside story by making headlines and grabbing the ratings- Fuck world peace! And that's where Bond comes in. The one thing the Bond flicks have failed on in recent years are the villains; (“Goldeneye” redeemed that somewhat, but the baddies from “License to Kill” back to “Octopussy” were humdrum). They had forgotten that the stronger the villain, the cooler Bond looks. By giving him someone that is equal too or better than him makes it all the more satisfying when he offs the dude, destroys his headquarters and floats away in the escape pod with a hot babe sipping Champaign. Carver is a nice surprise; astute, urbane, threatening and magnetic, he easily ranks up there with Auric Goldfinger and Ernst Stavros Blofeld as a worthy baddie. His sidekick/henchman, Stamper, is quite the foe, with a striking resemblance to Robert Shaw in ‘From Russia with Love”, and as excepted meets with a typical grisly demise. Director Roger Spotiswoode delivers on the action. The films highlight is the remote controlled BMW that gives new meaning to backseat driver. The look on Brosnan’s face as he pilots the car remotely is priceless, relishing every bullet fired and missile exploded. The supporting cast is equally good, Hong Kong action icon, Michelle Yeoh, stars as Way-Lin, a Chinese operative sent to collaborate with Bond and expose Carver. A nice twist as she is just as lethal, smart and fearless as Bond. No longer a female to just rescue or fuck; she’s stands on equal ground with 007. They flirt and share some intimate moments, but mostly fight side by side and make their escape on a thrilling motorcycle chase in Cambodia with a low flying chopper hot on their trail. M, Moneypenny and Q all have some nice bits too offer, Moneypenny especially as she delivers the best line in the film, “Oh James, you were always such a cunning linguist.” (Get it?) Teri Hatcher brings things to crawl as her character, Paris Carver, Elliot’s wife, was once an old flame of Bond is a colossal bore. An attempt to bring out 007’s vulnerable side works on Pierce’s end, but Hatcher is a black hole of tediousness and we are thankful for her limited screen time. Composer David Arnold relies on too much techno for the score and Cheryl Crow’s titular tune is bland, depressing and instantly forgettable, just like her. Despite those few bumps, the film is Brosnan’s best and one of my top favorites.