James Bond’s newest mission begins with a high-speed hovercraft chase through a minefield in the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea. From Hong Kong to Cuba to London, Bond circles the world in his quest to unmask a traitor and prevent a war of catastrophic proportions. On his way he crosses paths with Jinx and Miranda Frost, who will play vital roles in his latest adventure.
In typical Bond fashion, Die Another Day opens with a slam bang action sequence. It involves hover crafts, machine guns, huge explosions, and it's an absolute thriller. Surprisingly, the action piece ends in a most unexpected way. The audience is then treated to another innovative credit sequence accompanied by Madonna's techno flavored theme song (one of the worst Bond themes ever). Incidentally, the material girl also has a cameo in the film).
I wouldn't say Die Another Day takes the Bond character into unfamiliar territory, but it does push the envelope in terms of technology and gadgets (believe me when I tell you, there's plenty of both). I also loved the scope of this picture. Throughout it's two hour and ten minute running time, we are whisked away to Havana, England, Korea, and Iceland. There is no shortage of breathtaking locations in this movie.
What follows, is two hours of sheer, familiar fun, in which Bond sets out to save the day yet again. And while Die Another Day probably features some of the most silly, absurd, and implausible scenarios in a Bond-picture history, it also captures that undeniable 007 spirit that's been lacking in recent adventures. Because of the unlimited energy and high spirited tone, I found myself grinning throughout most of this picture, and I was reminded of why Bond is such a great character. With all the hype surrounding XXX earlier this year, I was more than pleased to see that Die Another Day is far more engrossing than the Vin Diesel vehicle.
I wouldn't say Die Another Day takes the Bond character into unfamiliar territory, but it does push the envelope in terms of technology and gadgets (believe me when I tell you, there's plenty of both). I also loved the scope of this picture. Throughout it's two hour and ten minute running time, we are whisked away to Havana, England, Korea, and Iceland. There is no shortage of breathtaking locations in this movie.
Brosnan is incredibly comfortable in his fourth outing as 007, and because of certain events that take place early on in the picture, there is a sense of growth in this timeless character. It's also nice to see that Brosnan isn't too old to kick a little ass. Halle Berry doesn't fare as well as Jinx. While she's certainly beautiful, her line delivery is less than impressive. But then, the Bond franchise has offered up some of the worst female characters in movie history (see Tanya Roberts in A View to a Kill or Denise Richards in The World is Not Enough). While I wouldn't rank Berry at the bottom of the barrel, her character and performance hardly reach the heights of Diana Rigg in On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
At the very least, Jinx does get to take part in a lot of the action. Die Another Day also stumbles in the villain department. Actually, there are a couple of villains here, and aside from looking cool, they really don't bring anything new to the table. The Bond franchise needs another crazy villain like Christopher Walken's Max Zorin in A View to a Kill (even if that particular film is one of the worst in the series.) Judi Dench is terrific as M, while the reliably entertaining John Cleese shows up in an all too brief role as Q, the handy gadget creator. It would have been nice to see more of the British funny man.
Director Lee Tamahori (Once Were Warriors, Along Came A Spider) has done a fantastic job with pacing, and really seems to have a feel for the Bond mythology. He even throws in gags involving past Bond adventures. And while there are a few visuals in this picture that are positively dreadful, and while the director can't resist taking things a bit over the top, I was thoroughly entertained by Die Another Day.
