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:

Both the Aston Martin and the Jaguar were completely stripped of engine and running gear. These were replaced by the Ford V8, 4WD kit and 4spd Auto 'box from Ford's Explorer. This was to help them perform on ice.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Gustav lands in the parachute, a man is seen helping him take the harness off. When the camera angle changes, the man disappears, and he seems to be taking it off himself.

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 Best Ever Bond (2002) (TV)

Soundtrack:

DIE ANOTHER DAY

Brosnan departs on a series high note

Although it has now become the "in" thing to deride Pierce Brosnan's swan song as James Bond as being too unbelievable and gadget-oriented, it was well-reviewed and the most successful Bond film at the time of release.

Bond: Brosnan was still fully invested in the role at the time of his departure. Unlike Sean Connery, whose boredom with the role was starting to show, Brosnan went out with class. In each film, he was looser and more comfortable with the part than its predecessor.

The women: Halle Berry makes a breath-takingly sexy entrance a la Ursula Andress rising from the sea. Unlike Andress, she actually has some role to play in the subsequent action. Her banter with Brosnan seems a bit forced to me and the comic timing slightly off with the double entendres. Also, for an experienced secret agent the writers make her awfully easy to capture, but even with all of that she still ranks as one of the more memorable of the Bond women. Rosamund Pike is also effective as the aptly named Miranda Frost, whose aloofness allows her to resist Bond for much of the film, while she is on her own apparent mission.

The villain: I must admit that I quite enjoyed the villains in this piece. Toby Stephens, sneer almost surgically in place, is terrific as an arrogant showboater who taunts Bond at every opportunity and is one of the rare main villains to be physically young and robust enough to give Brosnan a run for his money. His back story is unlikely, but fairly interesting for a Bond villain. Rick Yune is also effective and striking as a co-hort with diamonds embedded in his face due to an accident earlier in the film.

Some of the visual effects in the film are easy to tell that they are matte screens, but the film moves like lightning and manages to remain consistently inventive throughout. Additions like the invisible car and assorted gadgets seem far less improbable during the course of the film than they do in retrospect, but add to the overall sense of fun. The plot is fairly straight-forward and coherent, although the identity of a mole is obvious enough that one wonders why neither Bond or M figure it out before they do. Intense action scenes, jaw-dropping gadgets, a fine cast and exotic locales all add to the successful concoction. The only drawback: the bizarre title song by Madonna does not really fit the crummy mold of "wailing diva" numbers that the series had sunk to, but instead defines an entirely new level of crap.