The more things change, the more they stay the same, especially when it comes to the James Bond film series. And we've come to expect certain things from this very successful spy-movie franchise, especially spectacular stunts, great gadgets and outlandish plots.

Still, most of the Bond pictures made in the past 15 years have been by-the-numbers action pieces, a sign that the series is desperately in need of new blood. It seemed to get that transfusion in 1995 when Pierce Brosnan received his license to kill — and just in time for "GoldenEye," the most successful of the movies to date.

But Brosnan's second appearance as Bond, "Tomorrow Never Dies," the "official" 18th film in the series, would have been a pretty lackluster follow-up if not for the presence of Hong Kong action star Michelle Yeoh (Jackie Chan's "Supercop"), probably the strongest female character to grace the Bond films in recent years.

Thanks to Yeoh, the movie manages to overcome its muddled plot. But things are further marred by a "bigger-explosions-are-better" mentality that makes much of the movie numbing. It sounds like a ridiculous complaint, but there's actually too much action here. (A sidenote: You can probably guess why they don't make a more mood-oriented film, like "From Russia With Love" — it would probably be deemed too boring because it doesn't have enough action.)

The extremely thin premise has the suave superspy sent to look into a suspicious confrontation between a British naval vessel and Chinese jet pilots, which has put the two world powers into a no-backing-down faceoff.

Bond quickly discovers that the at-sea battle was orchestrated by power-hungry media mogul Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce), who staged the real-life tragedy in order to have headlines for his new satellite news network.

During his investigation, Bond manages to romance a former flame (Teri Hatcher), who just happens to be Carver's wife, and picks up an unexpected ally in Wai Lin (Yeoh), a Chinese spy sent by her government to look into the matter. The two ultimately discover Carver's real lair, a gigantic mobile ocean base that uses stealth technology.

The ending isn't going to surprise anyone. Things obviously climaxes with an explosive but disappointing finale, which actually pales in comparison with the spectacular opening. However, Brosnan and Yeoh do have fun getting there, especially with a motorcycle vs. helicopter chase through the streets of Saigon that is particularly thrilling.

Unfortunately, both the cast and director Roger Spottiswoode were working with an ever-changing script (at the cast's behest, the original screenwriter, Bruce Feirstein, was brought in to rewrite the whole thing), and at times it shows (the expected witty one-liners have never been this lame).

Also, while Brosnan and Yeoh are great, their co-stars don't have much to do. Without scenes for needed context, Pryce comes off as one-dimensional, and Hatcher's appearance is all-too-fleeting, as are bits with the usuals (Judi Dench as M and Desmond Llewelyn as gadgets supplier Q).

"Tomorrow Never Dies" is rated PG-13 for violence and mayhem, some vulgar gags and one-liners, sex, brief nudity and a couple of profanities.