Die Another Day Review
by Bob Bloom (bobbloom AT iquest DOT net)November 22nd, 2002
DIE ANOTHER DAY (2002) 3 stars out of 4. Starring Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Toby Stephens, Rosamund Pike, Rick Yune, Kenneth Tsang, John Cleese, Michael Madsen and Judi Dench. Second unit directed by Vic Armstrong. Music by David Arnold. "Die Another Day" performed by Madonna. Written by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade. Produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. Directed by Lee Tamahori. Rated PG-13. Running time: Approx. 2 hours and 15 mins.
Bond is back ... and with a vengeance.
For his 20th cinematic outing, 007 has pulled out all the stops. Die Another Day careens from North Korea, with stops in Hong Kong, Cuba, England and Iceland before returning to the demilitarized zone separating South and North Korea..
Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, who have been in charge of the Bond franchise since the death of their father, Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, used this thriller to preview off the series' future as well as pay homage to its past.
Wisely, screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade have returned to one of the tenetís of the Bond mythos — creating a super-villain who is a worthy adversary. No more deranged media moguls out to start a war to boost circulation, we are back to the megalomaniac genius who seeks world domination.
In this case it is Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens), a diamond dealer who has created a fantastic hi-tech weapon that makes him nearly invincible.
Die Another Day brings back something that has been missing from the Bond character for many years ... a sense of danger.
Pierce Brosnan in his fourth outing as 007 has finally matured into the role. In his previous assignments he was too much the pretty boy and the charmer. He was more Roger Moore than Sean Connery. Brosnan has aged into the character, giving him an added demeanor. His boyish looks nearly faded, Brosnan can appear grim, determined and dangerous without the audience snickering.
In Die Another Day, Bond is not only out to stop Graves and his right-hand man, Zao (Rick Yune), but to find the traitor who betrayed him. In the opening reel 007 is captured and endures 14 months of brutal treatment and torture in a North Korean military prison.
Also refreshing is the prickly relationship between Bond and M (Oscar-winner Dame Judi Dench), who revokes his 00 license, rebukes the agent for allowing himself to be taken and hints that he divulged information.
Another of the movieís plusses is Oscar-winner Halle Berry as Jinx, an American agent working with Bond. And while she and Bond share one of the steamiest bedroom scenes in the series history, Jinx is more than a set decoration. She is a capable, athletic and deadly professional who can shoot as straight as her British counterpart.
The secondary female lead, Rosamund Pike as British agent Miranda Frost also combines beauty, wit and athleticism.
Of course, like all Bond movies the gadgets, stunts and special effects are the glue that holds the film. And Die Another Day does not disappoint, even though some of the gizmos do seem far-fetched. Bond's camouflaged Astin Martin, for instance, armed with everything short of an atomic bomb, while a crowd pleaser, strains credulity.
Second-unit director Vic Armstrong has devised some breathtaking action sequences, opening with a wild hovercraft chase through the minefields of the DMZ. Others include a brutal duel at a stodgy British men's club, a car chase on the Icelandic ice and a fiery midair finale set on a disintegrating jumbo jet. Plus the series has created one of its finest sets, a gigantic ice palace that serves as Graves' headquarters.
Like most Bond outings in recent years, some of the stunts are so outlandish that they border on being cartoonish. A heavy reliance on CGI technology is beginning to creep into the series.
But the action is paced so rapidly that you get so caught up in the moment, and ignore the flaws until after the end credits.
Die Another Day works hard at trying to capture the glory days of the series early years. Many props and musical cues pay tribute to those films and will be easily recognizable to the astute Bond connoisseur.
Director Lee Tamahori (Along Came a Spider, Once Were Warriors) deftly mixes the old and the new, spicing up a franchise that was badly showing its age. At a brisk 2 hours and 15 minutes, Tamahori injects new life into James Bond and helps demonstrate why — when it comes to the spy game ... nobody does it better.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or at [email protected]. Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on movies.
Bloom's reviews also appear on the Web at the Rottentomatoes Web site, www.rottentomatoes.com and at the Internet Movie Database:
http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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