A disappointing effort - like eating a big meal but being left unsatisfied at the end of it. Using the same analogy , it's like certain fast food chains trying to dish up new twists and neglecting the tried and true main menu. I think perhaps the director who best understood what the James Bond formula/franchise was all about was Guy Hamilton who's general attitude was; let's have action, let's have girls, let's have gadgets and let's have FUN. Perhaps Lee Tamahori was stuck with material over which he had no control and had to make do with what he was given , but the result for Die Another Day is an uneven and at times just plain silly movie. I love Bond movies and I tried hard to like this one but I was left disappointed. Perhaps the problem with producing a Bond movie lies with the character himself ; Bond has to be believable but not too real ; he has to be an expert spy but not a super-hero ; he has to have girls but not be a selfish womaniser ; he has to be above all a loyal agent..it's a fine line ,not to be crossed over. Pierce Brosnan is by far the best actor around these days to play the role of Bond but I wonder if he himself will be having doubts about further outings as Bond ? Brosnan seems to be very sincere to the Bond character but given what has been presented this time he might be weighing up the risks to his career if another example such as this is offered up to long time Bond fans. I suspect that another poor example could spell the end of the Bond saga.
Summary : Stunning opening scenes of surfing , beautifully filmed leads to silly Everglades type hover-craft being used as military vehicles by some cardboard cut-out Korean bad guys. Bond is captured and supposedly tortured for months by the Koreans but is then released on a prisoner exchange - strangely suffering no long term ill effects except a long beard. Then we find that Bond is now considered useless and to have cracked under torture. M ( the incredibly under-used Judi Dench ) then coldly tells Bond that he is no longer a double 00 . Of course we are expected to appreciate that M expects Bond to go maverick and uncover what is going really going on. Trouble is that it's been done before - didn't work very well then and doesn't work very well now either. Next we are presented with some hot diamonds and an orbiting laser satellite - gosh where have I seen that before ? Q now played by John Cleese ( again shamefully under-used in a tiny role ) presents Bond with an INVISIBLE Jaguar.... oh dear. I wonder if Jaguar are wondering if this product placement will lose sales due to the laughably clumsy handling of their product. Instead of exciting scenes with Bond in a great car we get bad CG effects and no feel of the car at all... Of course the special Bond wristwatch is presented , but in such a ho-hum way with a flippant line by Q " bring this one back unlike the other 20 ".. problem is that in this movie it REALLY is ho-hum..... Maybe that's what the problem is .... were the makers of this movie just plain bored ? Pierce Brosnan does his best and tries to bring credibility. Halle Berry is beautiful but is given nothing to work with .. her charm and comic talent are just wasted. Judi Dench .. squandered. John Cleese may as well have stayed home.. squandered. Rosamund Pike has genuine screen presence but seems she can't be fitted in to give her a chance. Toby Stephens has great snarling charm but his scenes are overwhelmed by the background noise.. he could have been used much more effectively. Actors need to be given room to act.. here they are steamrollered.
It's like someone was let loose in the effects room but no-one was checking the product. Silly forward repetitious rushing camera shots...... Some really bad CG effects... this is a movie not a PC game. Bond comes off as a bad super-hero rather than "our man". The result is that the movie-goer is left detached , uninvolved. It's like a series of clips glued together but not a coherent whole. Some VERY good moments do not save the rest - my favourite is the scene with Moneypenny and her virtual James Bond realising her fantasies .. genuinely funny. Sorry guys better luck next time.
Summary : Stunning opening scenes of surfing , beautifully filmed leads to silly Everglades type hover-craft being used as military vehicles by some cardboard cut-out Korean bad guys. Bond is captured and supposedly tortured for months by the Koreans but is then released on a prisoner exchange - strangely suffering no long term ill effects except a long beard. Then we find that Bond is now considered useless and to have cracked under torture. M ( the incredibly under-used Judi Dench ) then coldly tells Bond that he is no longer a double 00 . Of course we are expected to appreciate that M expects Bond to go maverick and uncover what is going really going on. Trouble is that it's been done before - didn't work very well then and doesn't work very well now either. Next we are presented with some hot diamonds and an orbiting laser satellite - gosh where have I seen that before ? Q now played by John Cleese ( again shamefully under-used in a tiny role ) presents Bond with an INVISIBLE Jaguar.... oh dear. I wonder if Jaguar are wondering if this product placement will lose sales due to the laughably clumsy handling of their product. Instead of exciting scenes with Bond in a great car we get bad CG effects and no feel of the car at all... Of course the special Bond wristwatch is presented , but in such a ho-hum way with a flippant line by Q " bring this one back unlike the other 20 ".. problem is that in this movie it REALLY is ho-hum..... Maybe that's what the problem is .... were the makers of this movie just plain bored ? Pierce Brosnan does his best and tries to bring credibility. Halle Berry is beautiful but is given nothing to work with .. her charm and comic talent are just wasted. Judi Dench .. squandered. John Cleese may as well have stayed home.. squandered. Rosamund Pike has genuine screen presence but seems she can't be fitted in to give her a chance. Toby Stephens has great snarling charm but his scenes are overwhelmed by the background noise.. he could have been used much more effectively. Actors need to be given room to act.. here they are steamrollered.
It's like someone was let loose in the effects room but no-one was checking the product. Silly forward repetitious rushing camera shots...... Some really bad CG effects... this is a movie not a PC game. Bond comes off as a bad super-hero rather than "our man". The result is that the movie-goer is left detached , uninvolved. It's like a series of clips glued together but not a coherent whole. Some VERY good moments do not save the rest - my favourite is the scene with Moneypenny and her virtual James Bond realising her fantasies .. genuinely funny. Sorry guys better luck next time.