Die Another Day

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Toby Stephens, Rosamund Pike, Rick Yune, John Cleese, Judi Dench, Michael Madsen
Directed by: Lee Tamahori
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
2002

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: 007 (Pierce Brosnan) teams with an American agent (Halle Berry) to bring down a madman (Toby Stephens) with ties to North Korea, who wants to destroy the world for his own gain.

Review:

Tim: Pierce Brosnan's fourth and final outing as James Bond is also, unfortunately, his least effective. I really like Brosnan as Bond, but this is not the way I wanted him to go out. Die Another Day is a weak film because it pushes the boundaries of believability, and ultimately, is just too far-fetched to believe. This is the greatest weakness of the film, and the reason for its substandard quality.

I have always felt the Bond franchise works better when it sticks closer to reality. When things get too far-fetched, the films suffer. For example, Moonraker is one of the worst Bond movies because it is so hard to believe any of it is true. Here, we are expected to believe there is a device that allows you to capture the sun's energy and shoot a giant sunbeam into the earth that blows things up. Seriously, this is what we are sold here, and are expected to buy willingly. We are also asked to believe MI6 has a car that is pretty much invisible, and also that using a parachute and a panel from a vehicle, Bond can windsurf around a huge tidal wave filled with ice. These are the kinds of scenes that push the boundaries of reality and really hurt the movie.

I also felt like the whole film was a bit weak in the writing department. I like that Bond spends 14 months in captivity to start the movie, but the rest of the film felt lazy. For example, on three separate occasions, people make a joke about "the point" when referring to a knife or sword blade. This is absolutely lazy, crap writing and is greatly responsible for sinking this film. Another perfect example of the shoddy writing is the stupid innuendo-infused final scene that uses cheap dialogue in an attempt to be funn and witty. It fails miserably. There are other complaints, too. I thought Halle Berry's acting was mostly atrocious. I know she is a good actress, so I cannot comprehend why she is so wooden and weak throughout the entire film.

I know I am complaining a lot, so I do want to focus on a few positives. Pierce Brosnan is once again good as Bond. I think his acting is very good, and his charisma is top notch. It's not his fault that he had a terrible script to work with. I also liked the performance of Rosamund Pike. I thought she added to the film, even though she often had bad dialogue to work with (and what was she wearing on the plane?). I thought there were elements of the story that worked quite well. I always like when Bond is out for revenge, and those elements mostly worked. The giant ice palace might not have been a good idea, but the basic plot was decent.

Die Another Day is easily the worst of Brosnan's Bond films. It wasn't terrible, but it represented a drop in quality that signaled the franchise needed new blood. I actually wish Brosnan would have had a few additional films in this franchise, but this film clearly indicated that wouldn't have been the right move. It was time to stop, reevaluate the series, and make some changes. There was a lot put into this film, but it added up to very little. It is definitely time to look at the ingredients going in.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, Casino Royale