Ho-hum fun (James Bond - Die Another Day (Ultimate Edition, 2 DVDs))

Member Name: Jake Speed

Product:	James Bond - Die Another Day (Ultimate Edition, 2 DVDs)
Date:	30/07/07 (57 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Grand-scale action, Pierce Brosnan

Disadvantages: Terrible story, FX

The fortieth anniversary James Bond film - Die Another Day - was released in 2002 to reasonably favourable reviews. Today it is widely regarded to be one of the worst films ever made. Or at least one of the worst James Bond films ever made. Is it as bad as some make out? The answer is yes and no.

Problem number one for Die Another Day is the script. At the start of the film Bond is in North Korea. After a surfing sequence which probably took months to film for about three seconds of screen time Bond infiltrates the headquarters of colonel Moon, a North korean officer who trades in illicit weapons. Moon discovers that the man he is doing a deal with is actually a British agent here to kill him. All hell breaks loose and Bond escapes in a hovercraft as the pre-credit chase sequence kicks in. The pre-credit sequence sums up Die Another Day. Entertaining, technically competent, but lacking focus and that certain something to elevate it above the ordinary. Clearly everyone involved struggled with this one and about an hour in they give up on the plot and start blowing things up.

007 is practically disowned by the British after they trade him with Moon reluctantly. The title sequence is slightly different this time and features a montage of Bond being tortured in a North Korean prison. It's impressively done although Brosnan's shaggy beard was an uneccesary touch. We get the point. Bond was captured and put in prison for some time. Bond escapes from a British ship harboured in Hong kong and walks into a Hotel with his pyjamas on. I liked this moment a lot and Brosnan shows how much he owns the role. He has a beard and a pair of pyjamas on but he's still very much James Bond.

Bond moves onto Cuba and Halle Berry is introduced as Jinx. Jinx works for the CIA and makes her entrance Ursula Andress style from the sea. Berry is given some terrible double-entrendres to say in her first exchange and throughout the film. Why did they give her such a thankless task? I have no idea. Bond and Jinx destroy a clinic and encounter Zao (Rick Yune). Zao has diamonds in his face thanks to Bond's explosive briefcase from the pre-credit sequence. The trail leads to Gustav Graves, a mysterious young British tycoon. Bond has a duel with him at the Blades fencing club and Madonna has a cameo before they destroy the club. Graves is played by Toby Stephens and his sneering performance is ample evidence that he was completely miscast.

Die Another Day is very much a game of two halves. The first half attempts to develop a story and is relatively restrained. The second half is a non-stop action fest with gadget laden cars and ice-palaces getting blown up. Flying in the face of conventional wisdom, I probably prefer the second half. Yes the CGI plane finale screams "Sorry about this but we couldn't think of anything else" and the para-surfing scene is hands over eyes terrible but the last hour of Die Another Day does offer grand-scale fun in hefty doses. Bond has an invisible car and exploits it amusingly. It also features in a spectacular chase. If the merest mention of an invisible car makes you roll your eyes then Die another Day is probably not for you. Personally I can't see where else you would expect to ever see an invisible car except in a James Bond film! It's fantasy!

The ropey CGI impacts slightly on the climax but there is a terrific virtual reality joke involving Moneypenny. References to other Bond films go through the roof in this film but it was supposed to be a celebration of the series. Brosnan is fine and works miracles trying to keep his head above the chaos around him and Rosamund Pike is suitably icy as Miranda Frost. Stephens is terrible and Berry was given a poorly developed part. I can't stand Judi Dench as M but enjoyed John Cleese as Q.

Overall Die Another Day offers some good fun but is a long, long way from classic Bond.

Extras:

Considering the wealth of material on other Ultimate Editions Die Another Day is a dud. No documentary and not even a solitary trailer, just a few on-set reports. Brosnan is noticeably absent from the sparse material - no suprise perhaps that he was 'let go' before the next film.

Summary: Mildly diverting mess of a film