Die Another Day

Die Another Day 3½ Stars (Out of Four)

After forty years of mostly phenomenal success, the latest James Bond film, Die Another Day, faced a SPECTRE-like challenge to bring something new moving forward, while including essential ingredients from the past. The twentieth official EON-produced James Bond film celebrates its own anniversary with several sly winks to long-time fans of the series, while delivering a solid, if not rollicking, fun adventure in its own right.

Sean Connery has said that the role of James Bond should not be underestimated. Pierce Brosnan, to his considerable credit, does not. He is once again perfectly tough, suave, and witty. That he is able to do so seemingly effortlessly may be a double-edged blade, as it is also likely an explanation as to why he is somewhat under-rated in the role.

Brosnan has attempted, throughout his tenure, to explore the inner workings of the James Bond character, and has consistently presented a decidedly more introspective interpretation than any of his predecessors. In this, his fourth 007 adventure, he has combined that with all of the right moves, and it is a fair statement that he has solidified the role as his own. It is certainly a continuation and outgrowth of what he accomplished in the very good The World Is Not Enough (1999), and had hinted at in 1995's GoldenEye and in the Stoke Poges hotel scene of Tomorrow Never Dies (1997).

That said, never before have we seen James Bond as we see him in Die Another Day, and by that I am not referring to the Hawaiian shirt or cigar. Brosnan's tone and straight-forward approach throughout the film is perfect, and the rest of the film follows suit nicely. No tie-straightening scenes here!

The best James Bond pictures have always followed a formula. One essential component of that formula is that no matter how outlandish the plot, the approach and tone of the film remains serious. So when a mute Korean throws a deadly bowler hat, or a megalomaniacal villain uses a bevy of unsuspecting women armed with cosmetics compacts to carry out his evil plans, or James Bond's car features an ejector seat and smoke screen, the audience simply is pulled along for the glorious ride. Another component is that the villain and his henchman must be memorable as well as dangerous, no easy task in a series that lists Dr. No, Red Grant, Goldfinger, Odd Job, and Blofeld on its baddie roster. Die Another Day delivers on all these counts.

Neal Purvis and Robert Wade have written a very good screenplay that slyly celebrates the series' anniversary, as well as includes all the essential ingredients of the James Bond films. Most (myself included) would have been satisfied with that, and be done with it. Surprisingly, Die Another Day goes the extra length, and includes some elements as non-formulaic as ever seen in the series. The plot is indeed over-the-top, but one would never know it from observing the characters executing it.

There are elements that are today very topical, and interestingly, the twisted motivation of the villain Graves includes paternal approval as well as world domination. He rails against "Western hypocrisy" and the British government as "policeman of the world". He has the chutzpah to parachute into Buckingham Palace. He reads Sun Tzu. It would not be a cliché to say there is more much more to this guy than meets the eye.

Ian Fleming's novel "Moonraker" serves as a touchstone in many ways for this film, and a great one it is. James Bond is up against his fellow countryman and universally respected Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens, who delivers a terrific performance). Graves, the mysterious "industrialist", has developed technology that can be used for human good, or cause great catastrophe. It is up to James Bond to determine which. A nice touch, we even get to see Bond at the private club, "Blades", where the arrogantly snobbish Graves (shades of Hugo Drax!) is also a world-class fencing champion. This sets up a balls-out match between he and Bond that escalates into a full-scale sword fight. Not once played for a laugh, it is a highlight of the film.

The pre-credits and credits sequences depict Bond captured by the villain, I mean seriously captured, and tortured and imprisoned for a considerable time. A haggard James Bond is not something the audience is used to seeing, and it is precisely this kind of touch that separate and elevate the last two Bond pictures this close to the level of the series' glory days. (That would be the 1960's, for those who might consider the arched eyebrow the height of Bondian sophistication.)

During the initial sequence, Colonel Moon (Will Yun Lee) is seen during an intense work out with a kick-boxing bag. After he finishes his vicious session, the bag is opened to reveal an under-achieving underling. Well done! James Bond, under the guise of selling diamonds for weapons, meets up with Moon in North Korea. Bond is ultimately unveiled as a spy, leading to his capture and imprisonment. But not before a kick-ass hovercraft chase, and an especially witty bon mot. (This is also the only scene where James Bond fires a machine-gun, if that matters.) Zao (Rick Yune) is introduced as a worthy physical adversary for Bond. A well known and effective trademark of all the Bond henchmen is some type of physical exaggeration or deformity, and Zao has a personal score to settle with Bond for causing his own.

This leads right into Danny Kleinman's credit sequence, and it may just be his best, if not the best of the entire series. That is saying quite a lot considering the great talent and legacy of Maurice Binder. Simultaneously stunningly beautiful and achingly disturbing, this sequence is reason enough to see the film, which I also said of Kleinman's work in Tomorrow Never Dies. There is also no denying that Madonna's controversial theme song has a tangible synergy with the credits, and although the song is certainly a departure, I think it will eventually rank with some of the most memorable Bond themes. Overall, the credit sequence is easily one of the highlights of the film.

Bond eventually does get out of North Korea, and finds himself in an MI6 hospital, where he encounters a particularly harsh M concerned with what he might have revealed under torture. She rescinds his "00" status, he escapes, and is off to track tracks Zao (and Graves) to Cuba, London (where his licence to kill is reinstated), Iceland, and eventually back to North Korea, where he ultimately confronts Graves. The plot is nicely straightforward, certainly not so unwieldy as to render itself moot, though there are a couple surprises including a traitor within MI6 that make it all the more a satisfying story.

Bond meets up with the beautiful Jinx (Halle Berry) in Cuba while posing as an ornithologist named James Bond(!) Beautiful and talented, casting Berry was a major coup, though depicting her in the film as 007's equal took some of the essential focus from Bond. This is one of my biggest quibbles with the film. The climactic fight scene at the end between Bond and Graves was intercut with Jinx's own battle. Ironically, I think Jinx's was superior.

The rest of the stellar cast includes Rosamund Pike as "Miranda Frost", and she is a wonderfully pleasant surprise. Judi Dench is as per usual, excellent. Samantha Bond's "Moneypenny" gets to experience some things we've always suspected she has desired, and at least one she probably hasn't. Toby Stephens is very good as already noted, and Rick Yune is more than memorable as the dangerous and lethal henchman, Zao. Michael Madsen isn't given much to do, which is unfortunate as he is a great and interesting actor. Nice touch to again include Colin Salmon as Charles Robinson. Madonna's character is quite unnecessary, although she does get in one good line.

It has been well publicized that Die Another Day contains many references to previous Bond films. Impressively, none of them seem forced, and several are especially well done. One needs to pay attention to catch many of these subtle touches, if one is so inclined. (The fan in me was, and loved every one.) They do not take away from the experience of the film, but add to it. Somewhat similarly, an ongoing criticism of the James Bond films has been "blatant product placement." Even though Die Another Day has one of the biggest marketing campaigns in memory, blatant product placement here is minimal. The Aston-Martin Vanquish gets quite a bit of screen time of course, and the Jaguar XK8 is simply a beautiful car, but besides that, there is but one mention of Bollinger, and just a few unobtrusive shots of well-placed products such as Heineken, Sony, Brioni, and Norelco.

John Cleese as "Q" is inspired casting, and he does the memory of Desmond Llewelyn proud, while still putting his own stamp on the role. The chemistry between Brosnan and Cleese is much more apparent than in The World Is Not Enough, and works as well and is as crisply written as any `Q scene' in the previous films. Bond's invisible Aston Martin sounds particularly unbelievable, but somehow, Q's matter-of-fact and simple explanation makes it work. A brilliant moment during one of their scenes, a subtle film reference had me rolling on the floor in laughter, though it has more to do with John Cleese's history than James Bond's.

The very talented David Arnold delivers a wonderfully Bondian musical score, and occasionally includes a subtle homage to John Barry, which is very much in keeping with the tone and celebration of the rest of the film. In addition, I don't think a James Bond movie has ever included an original song by the original artist to enhance what is depicted on-screen. Nice touch.

New Zealander Lee Tamahori takes the directorial reins, and his approach suits the film and character well. Incorporating several stylistic techniques (slow-motion, black-and-white, flashbacks) could have been a distraction, but they work, and do provide the film a contemporary feel. The staccato action sequences also reminded me somewhat of Peter Hunt's editing work from way back when. Tamahori should also be given credit for maintaining the more serious tone of the film. There has not been much continuity with Bond directors since the 1980's, it would be interesting to see him do another.

Cinematographer David Tattersall has assured that the film looks great and Peter Lamont has again delivered some beautiful sets. The car chase on ice, "Blades" and the Ice Palace are especially memorable. Though most everything looks marvelous, Die Another Day contains a surprising amount of CGI in its second hour. My biggest criticism about the film is its over-reliance on that arcade-game look and feel at times. I would add, a scene where a CGI Bond is "surfing" while holding onto parachutes is a pale reminiscence of a far more exciting scene from earlier in the film which was physically shot in Maui. What is the logical extension of using extensive CGI, an animated Bond film? The films have sometimes been described as "cartoonish". I trust the producers do not interpret that as a preference.

But these are relatively minor quibbles. Overall, Die Another Day works exceedingly well, and is superb entertainment that will also please the long-time fan of the series.

Finally, it might be said that Gustav Graves has no advantage over M and James Bond when it comes to understanding Sun Tzu and his "The Art of War": "It is the wise general who uses the highest intelligence of the army for the purposes of spying, and thereby achieves great results."

Great results indeed. Well done, 007

It's the 20th Bond film and premiered on the 40th anniversary of the series, and, in many ways, it is really a tribute to the entire series itself. This film's strength and its weakness both lie in the fact that it is a blend of the classic Connery films, the outlandish Moore films, and the grittiness of the Dalton films. It's rolling the entire series into a single two hour adventure and the result is actually pretty entertaining. The first half is definitely stronger than the second; a more serious adventure with a classic feel to it, before taking a nose dive down into utter camp territory. I didn't mind the idea of making some scenes a little over-the-top, but I think they went overboard at times. Throughout the movie, the filmmakers toss in little references to previous Bond films. I suppose it's a fun idea to stop and consider how far these films have come over the last 40-something years, and a long time Bond fan can find amusement in finding these subtle, but long remembered treasures that poke their head in this film for one last time. As for the technical aspects of the film: The special effects are a little too ambitious and don't always come across convincing. The dialogue goes back and forth from excellent to atrocious. The ensemble of actors is pretty strong, except for Halle Berry, who in my opinion was completely wrong for a Bond movie. The villains are a little more dynamic. The action sequences are an improvement, in my mind. Granted, there are some instances where the filmmakers push the envelope a little too far, as mentioned above. However, they also show a certain amount of creativity that seemed to be lacking in the previous two films. Overall, this film is really a mixed bag. At moments there is potential for one of the greatest Bond adventures. At other moments you're thinking, "What the heck am I watching." Personally, I feel the positives balance out the negatives, but if anything, this film is a good popcorn movie. All in all, it wasn't a bad way to close out the series before rebooting it again with Casino Royale.

Pierce Brosnan returns for his fourth and final appearance as agent 007. It started great but then fades. It introduces the delicious Halle Berry as NSA agent Jinx. She makes a great Bond girl.

James Bond is sent to North Korea to kill a renegade colonel selling weapons for diamonds. He is double crossed by someone and is captured. An American agent is killed and 007 is suspected to have cracked. He is quickly returned in a trade for Zao but now British intelligence doesn't trust him. Bond runs away to track down Zao himself. He finds him working for British billionaire Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens). They go to the ice hotel to play with his ray beam satellite.

The North Korean start has some decent action, but it's the fact that he's captured that makes it great. When he had to go to the Chinese for help, I thought this could get interesting. The high point of the movie has to be Halle Berry coming onshore with that bikini. From there, the movie slowly grinds down with one silliness after another.

The worst has to be the villain played be Toby Stephens. His character is unimaginative and can be best describe as a twit or a douche. I was hoping for threatening. Then there's the ice hotel. That just screams trying too hard. And finally the ray beam satellite. It's been done so many times. The movie started off with some grittiness, but slides into cartoon action.

DIE ANOTHER DAY is a unique Bond film for me because I had seen the other entries in the franchise before I discovered the IMDb . In other words my only knowledge of its reputation is down to the comments I have read on these pages and because many commentators are so loud in their condemnation ( Bad CGI , awful title track etc ) I was expecting a really bad movie never mind a really bad Bond movie , but DIE ANOTHER DAY wasn't as bad as I was expecting

It's interesting to note that the Bond series never really concerned itself with painting communists as bad guys . OCTOPUSSY ties in with the cold war very much as does THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS to a lesser degree but in no way can the series be criticised as being right wing or reactionary with GOLDENEYE wearing its heart on it's sleeve that Russian gangsterism is more of a worry than Russian communism so it's something of a shock seeing Bond battle Stalinist commies in North Korea . That is in no way a criticism either .

We're then treated to a bizarre title sequence composed of a torture montage with quite simply the worst theme tune ever devised for a Bond movie . I don't know what is about the Pierce Brosnan Bonds but they all have very poor title songs despite having all round superb production values and DIE ANOTHER DAY continues the high production values , a lot of people complain about the CGI and I must admit the cartoonish jet at the end does look like a cartoon but compare this sequence to all the action scenes in the 1980s which were composed of Roger Moore standing in front of some back projection and no matter how much you don't want to say it you must confess we've come a long way since then

Some people have also let rip that the film is ruined by post modernist self reference but I disagree . Come on chaps when you've seen one Bond movie since the late 1960s you've seen most of them . Plot wise DIE ANOTHER DAY is very , very similar to GOLDENEYE with a " British " villain in charge of a death ray in outer space with a fair amount of LICENSED TO KILL thrown in . It should be remembered both YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE and THE SPY WHO LOVED ME had the same identical plot with serious hardware being stolen from the USSR and America in order to start a nuclear holocaust . There is a ridiculous amount of humour though involving John Cleese as Q . I know you shouldn't take James Bond movies seriously but did we need an invisible car ?

The other thing I disliked was Jinx . Think about it , she's tough and kills without hesitation so how come she needs rescuing from Bond ? She's just a cypher there to create a love interest and it's amazing that the producers seriously considered starting a spin off series with Jinx as the heroine . It would have been as successful as CATWOMEN . There is a problem with a plot twist involving both Gustav Graves and Miranda Frost , the twist is good but unfortunately the surprise only works once which means on second viewing the shock value of the plot revelation is gone therefore DIE ANOTHER DAY doesn't have the same enjoyment second , third or fourth viewing unlike classic Bond movies

I'm not a big Bond fan but have been fairly impressed with the standards of the franchise from GOLDENEYE to DIE ANOTHER DAY , they've really come leaps and bounds from the Roger Moore debacles like MOONRAKER and VIEW TO A KILL . One aspect that is over looked in the series is the character interaction between Bond and M ( Convincingly played by Judi Dench ) and I hope to see this abrasive relationship continue when the series returns with a new actor in the lead role

On a mission in Korea, James Bond is captured and tortured for 18 months. He is swapped with Korean agent Zao for his freedom. However M has swapped him not to save him, but because she believes Bond has cracked and is giving away information. However Bond knows there is another mole in the area and escapes to uncover what Zao is up to and to uncover his Western ally.

I looked forward to this film because I like Bond and easily get caught up in the hype. I think it is just down to the success of the formula and the fact that it feels comfortable to know you're getting a slightly different version of reliable product. For me, familiarity has yet to breed contempt in this series. I wanted to like this film more, although I did enjoy the vast majority of it. It's biggest problem is simply that it tries too hard and wants to do too much. The plot is OK and is a brave start showing our hero broken and in prison, but from there it does try and do way too much. It was good to relate the pre-credits scene to the rest of the film but the film seems restless unless it is having a major bit of plot happening - too many little twists or new bits of plot that stopped the film flowing. The plot is OK at heart but the little additions of diamonds, ice palace, weapons in space, DNA alteration, electrical suits all gets a bit much.

The film's direction is also a bit frantic. A little bit of Matrix creeping in and sudden rushing cameras etc. It isn't needed, indeed they make the cake feel over egged, like the director didn't trust himself enough to a good job and needed gimmicks etc. On top of this there are three or so cgi shots that are really poor (and I mean Mummy Returns poor). It doesn't help that the theme song is one of the worst ever but I could get past that as the action under the credits helped distract from it. The action is all good on the whole but there didn't seem enough room for them and all that plot - also everything was overdone. We don't need matrix type effects in Bond - all we need is a certain amount of flair and well designed shots etc. I sound negative but I still enjoyed this despite the weaknesses cause at the end of the day the formula still works even with the monkeying around.

One of the main reasons is Brosnan himself. he is getting better every film. He does some bad puns but never to the mocking extent of Moore and he also does the dangerous element of Connery. Even when the film starts to get silly he remains strong in the lead. Berry is wasted and is a distraction more than a good addition. From the cringe worthy first scene with Bond (trading smutty one liners) onwards she has no character worth speaking of. Her dialogue is innuendo and not lines, her acting is all in the twitch of her lips as she flirts and that's it. To look at, she does the job, but i thought we'd gotten past Bond girls that are eye-candy and nothing more. Pike is given a more frosty role and does pretty well despite being very cold when viewed beside the flirtatious Berry. Stephens hams it up as Graves. He starts well but the plot spin on his character (esp. the electric suit stuff) takes away from his credibility as a bad guy and he ends up as a cartoon type rather than a real threat. Yune on the other hand is a real good villain - a gimmick (his face) but also presence and real menace without hamming it up. I had hoped he would be the focus but alas no. Dench is good and Madsen is an interesting addition - but perhaps he wasn't the best choice for the head of NSA given the type of roles he is best known for - how many other people could only see Mr Blonde? Cleese does well as the new Q and brings his comedy into the role well, making it similar to the spirit of Q without being a copy. Madonna's cameo is as bad and as pointless as her theme song.

Overall let me stress I enjoyed this film but couldn't help but see the many flaws. It simply tries too hard in almost every area - plot, writing, action, direction. The formula is all there but it feels like they want to up the ante in every way, only at the basic level does the film feel comfortable in it's own skin and relaxes, for most of the time you'd think this was a new film desperately trying to start a franchise as opposed to a long running series.