Die Another Day (2002)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Lee Tamahori

Writers (WGA):

Ian Fleming (characters)
Neal Purvis (written by) ...

Release Date:

22 November 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

Events don't get any bigger than...

Plot:

James Bond is sent to investigate the connection between a North Korean terrorist and a diamond mogul who is funding the development of an international space weapon.

Plot Keywords:

James Bond | Cuba | Escape | Laser | Colonel

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 5 wins & 26 nominations

Cast

Pierce Brosnan	...	James Bond
Halle Berry	...	Jinx
Toby Stephens	...	Gustav Graves
Rosamund Pike	...	Miranda Frost
Rick Yune	...	Zao
Judi Dench	...	M
John Cleese	...	Q
Michael Madsen	...	Damian Falco
Will Yun Lee	...	Colonel Moon
Kenneth Tsang	...	General Moon
Emilio Echevarría	...	Raoul
Mikhail Gorevoy	...	Vlad (as Michael Gorevoy)
Lawrence Makoare	...	Mr. Kil
Colin Salmon	...	Charles Robinson
Samantha Bond	...	Miss Moneypenny

Also Known As:

Beneath the Ice (USA) (fake working title)
Beyond the Ice (UK) (fake working title)
D.A.D. (USA) (promotional abbreviation)
James Bond 20 (USA) (working title)
James Bond XX (UK) (working title)
Juggernaut (UK) (working title)
Nobody Lives Forever (UK) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for action violence and sexuality. (theatrical version); Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action violence, and sexual content including innuendo. (2006 video version)

Runtime:

133 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Korean | Cantonese | Spanish | German | Icelandic | Italian

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #39340) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Malaysia:U | South Korea:15 | France:U | Brazil:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Iceland:12 | Ireland:12 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12A (original rating) | UK:12 (video rating) (2003)

Filming Locations:

Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Eon Productions

Trivia:

The character Wai Lin, played by Michelle Yeoh in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), was originally supposed to make her return, aiding Bond in Hong Kong, but no arrangement could be worked out with the actress and she was replaced by Chinese Intelligence agent (and hotelier) Chang. Wai Lin's presence is confirmed by an extra on the DVD release concerning the writing of the script: Barbara Broccoli is shown leafing through an early script, and it clearly contains lines for Wai Lin.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: After escaping from the Royal Navy cruiser and swimming to the shores of Hong Kong, Bond arrives on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong (the background shows Hong Kong Island). However, there is no Yacht Club on Kowloon, only on Hong Kong Island.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mr. Van Bierk: [stepping out of helicopter] Look, what is this? I'm supposed to...
[Bond puts a gun to Mr. Van Bierk's head and takes his sunglasses]

Movie Connections:

Featured in David Walliams: My Life with James Bond 007 (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

DIE ANOTHER DAY

Fun but tries too hard to it's detriment

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.