Die Another Day (2002)

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.

Director:

Lee Tamahori

Writers:

Ian Fleming (characters), Neal Purvis,

Stars:

Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Toby Stephens

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 5 wins & 29 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pierce Brosnan	...	James Bond
Halle Berry	...	Jinx Johnson
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

Storyline

Pierce Brosnan gives one last mission as James Bond. Starting off in North Korea, Bond is betrayed and captured. 14 months later, Bond is set free, but traded for Zao who was captured by MI6. When back in his world, Bond sets off to track down Zao. Bond gets caught up in yet another scheme which sends him to millionaire Gustav Graves. Another MI6 agent known as Miranda Frost is also posing as a friend of Graves. Bond is invited to a presentation held by Graves about a satellite found in space which can project a huge laser beam. Bond must stop this madman with a fellow American agent, known as Jinx. Whilst Bond tries to stop Graves and Zao, will he finally reveal who betrayed him?

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Plot Keywords:

north korea | cuba | laser | colonel | escape | 

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Taglines:

"Bond...James Bond" [Advance teaser poster]

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for action violence and sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

jamesbond.com [us] Official site

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Korean Cantonese Spanish German Icelandic Italian

Release Date:

22 November 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

D.A.D.

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$142,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,235,418 (Japan) (7 March 2003)

Gross:

$7,463,693 (Japan) (11 April 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eon Productions, Danjaq, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

133 min

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES Dolby Digital EX SDDS

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Pierce Brosnan's final appearance as James Bond in a Bond movie. The role was taken over in 2006 by Daniel Craig for Casino Royale. Brosnan's final appearance as Bond with his voice and likeness is in the Bond video-game James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing.

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Goofs

The Icelandic car number plates shown in the film do not have the correct typeface (they used the same typeface as on British number plates).

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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]

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits play over scenes directly related to the plot of the film (in this case, the torture of 007). This is a first for a Bond film. Also, footage from this sequence later appears as a brief flashback - something only seen in the series twice before (OHMSS and Moonraker).

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Connections

Referenced in Top Gear: Episode #1.4 (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Die Another Day (Dirty Vegas Remix)"
Performed by Madonna and Dirty Vegas
Written and Produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzaï
Madonna appears courtesy of Warner Bros. Records

User Reviews

The End of an Era.

It's the 20th Bond film and premiered on the 40th anniversary of the series, and, in many ways, it is really a tribute to the entire series itself. This film's strength and its weakness both lie in the fact that it is a blend of the classic Connery films, the outlandish Moore films, and the grittiness of the Dalton films. It's rolling the entire series into a single two hour adventure and the result is actually pretty entertaining. The first half is definitely stronger than the second; a more serious adventure with a classic feel to it, before taking a nose dive down into utter camp territory. I didn't mind the idea of making some scenes a little over-the-top, but I think they went overboard at times. Throughout the movie, the filmmakers toss in little references to previous Bond films. I suppose it's a fun idea to stop and consider how far these films have come over the last 40-something years, and a long time Bond fan can find amusement in finding these subtle, but long remembered treasures that poke their head in this film for one last time. As for the technical aspects of the film: The special effects are a little too ambitious and don't always come across convincing. The dialogue goes back and forth from excellent to atrocious. The ensemble of actors is pretty strong, except for Halle Berry, who in my opinion was completely wrong for a Bond movie. The villains are a little more dynamic. The action sequences are an improvement, in my mind. Granted, there are some instances where the filmmakers push the envelope a little too far, as mentioned above. However, they also show a certain amount of creativity that seemed to be lacking in the previous two films. Overall, this film is really a mixed bag. At moments there is potential for one of the greatest Bond adventures. At other moments you're thinking, "What the heck am I watching." Personally, I feel the positives balance out the negatives, but if anything, this film is a good popcorn movie. All in all, it wasn't a bad way to close out the series before rebooting it again with Casino Royale.