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, Rosamund Pike

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 6 wins & 35 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
Michael Gor	...	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 | iceland | 007 | gadget car | british secret service | 

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Taglines:

Pierce Brosnan as Ian Fleming's James Bond 007 [USA Poster]

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for action violence and sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

MGM [United States] Official Site

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Korean Cantonese Spanish German Icelandic Italian Arabic

Release Date:

22 November 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

James Bond 20

Filming Locations:

Deepdale Farm, Burnham Deepdale, Norfolk, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$142,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$47,072,040, 24 November 2002

Gross USA:

$160,942,139

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$431,971,116

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

Icarus was originally called Solaris, but was changed when the producers found out that Solaris (2002) was in production.

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Goofs

Reflected in Miranda's sunglasses during the initial demonstration of the Icarus satellite.

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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

In the traditional walk-and-shoot opening, the bullet Bond fires can be seen shooting towards the camera - meaning that Bond has shot up the gun barrel of his opponent!

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Alternate Versions

The following scenes were cut from the film:

• During the scene where Bond is driving on Cuba in his Ford Fairlane, there were some military maneuvers going on alongside the road.
• There was an additional dialogue scene between Bond and Raoul.
• The scene where Jinx kills Dr. Alvarez was originally longer: after the kill she breaks into his safe and steals a CD which she hides under her dress (in the making-of documentary you can see the CD hanging around Halle Berry's neck).
• Deleted was a scene with Bond arriving at Heathrow. To avoid passport control, he disembarks the plane via the landing gear.
• A scene with Jinx and Graves playing Ice Golf was cut. In this scene it was revealed why she is chasing Zao.
• Lee Tamahori shot a raunchier version of the scene where Bond is rescued by Miranda Frost from Mr. Kil while investigating the biodrome. Here they were skin-deep in the hot tub to give the illusion they were lovers. This scene was cut due to censorship reasons.
• A small scene where Jinx (in her leather outfit) is walking through the ice palace. This can be seen in the making-of documentary.
• Originally General Moon realizes much earlier that Gustav Graves is his son. While Bond and Jinx are exploring the Antonov, they stumble across General Moon and Bond explains to him who Graves really is. He then continues with Jinx to go for the cockpit, while the General watches Graves and Miranda Frost planning the military campaign.

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Connections

Featured in The Jay Leno Show: Episode #1.4 (2009)

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Soundtracks

London Calling
Written by Mick Jones and Joe Strummer
Performed by The Clash
Courtesy of Epic Records and Sony Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd.
by arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

The Power Of The Sun Itself

Pierce Brosnan's last outing as James Bond takes place in Die Another Day which finds 007 trying to stop a rogue North Korean general from starting the Korean War all over again with the attending consequences. The North Koreans must have been watching Plan 9 From Outer Space because the gimmick they've come up with sounds remarkably like what those aliens were warning the Earth against developing.

The power of the sun itself is brought into play here. There's a giant mirror in space which seeks to focus and concentrate the sun's energy for peaceful power purposes. But it sure can be an effective weapon of war as we see towards the film's end as Brosnan and his American counterpart agent Halle Berry.

Part of the charm of the James Bond series is that you don't take it too seriously, but there are times that it becomes more like Indiana Jones and his narrow escapes than a modern espionage story. Die Another Day takes this point to the extreme.

The year before Halle Berry won her Oscar for Monster's Ball and Die Another Day was her next film. Of course she's forever in the record books as the first black woman to win a Best Actress Oscar. But that's for history. I wonder if film fans remember her better as a Bond girl.

There's another Bond girl as well, another MI6 agent played by Rosamund Pike. She's one deadly female and most resourceful. Toby Stephens, son of Maggie Smith plays a wealthy industrialist with a mysterious past and a cunning adversary for Pierce Brosnan.

One thing I really liked towards the end was Ms. Moneypenny fulfilling her fantasy with James Bond. She's engaged in an early version of the Star Trek holograph deck. The poor woman has been carrying a torch for 007 for almost 50 years now, you'd think one of the Bonds would have given her a tumble already. Poor lovelorn Lois Maxwell now Samantha Bond ain't that ironic casting.

Die Another Day is not as good as some of the other Brosnan entries in the Bond series, but should satisfy the cult of fans out there.