Film Review: Die Another Day (2002)

James Bond fans today tend to view older instalments of the film series, particularly those featuring Sean Connery and Roger Moore, with a sense of nostalgia, curiosity, or respect. However, the films starring Pierce Brosnan as the suave British spy never received such treatment. The most obvious explanation for this phenomenon is that Brosnan's films, on average, simply weren't as good as their predecessors. This impression is difficult to escape after watching Die Another Day, the last of Brosnan's Bond films.

The plot begins in North Korea where James Bond is sent on a mission to eliminate Colonel Tan Sun-Moon (played by Will Yun Lee), who trades weapons for conflict diamonds. He succeeds, but not before being compromised and ultimately ends up in a North Korean prison where he would be tortured for the next fourteen months. His ordeal ends when he is exchanged for Tang Ling Zao (played by Rick Yune), Tan's henchman who got caught while conducting covert actions in the West. Knowing that he was betrayed by someone from his side, Bond is determined to find the traitor and goes rogue. The key is Zao, who is apparently being given medical treatment in Cuba. Bond goes there and meets Giacinta "Jinx" Johnson (played by Halle Berry), an NSA agent on a covert mission of her own. They discover Tan's diamonds and the trail suggests that Zao might be connected to Gustav Graves (played by Toby Stephens), a flamboyant entrepreneur. Bond's boss M (played by Judi Dench) restores Bond's active status and orders him to travel to Iceland to investigate, while secretly assigning Miranda Frost (played by Rosamund Pike), another agent, to watch over him.

The producers of Die Another Day at least attempted to do something different in this new Bond film. The film begins with a spectacular action scene in which Bond is captured and forced to endure fourteen months of imprisonment and torture – an ordeal the character had never faced before in the history of the franchise. At times, it appears that the producers wanted to return to the literary roots of the Bond series, making the story darker, grittier, and more anchored in the real world – an approach that would be fully implemented in the 2006 reboot, Casino Royale. They tried to adapt the series to the geopolitical circumstances of the 21st century, with the plot taking place in two countries that were supposed to be relics of the Communist bloc: North Korea and Cuba. However, in an effort to appease demographics wearing Che Guevara shirts, the characters, both villainous and otherwise, use every opportunity to point out Western hypocrisy and exploitation of the Third World through conflict diamonds or, in one case, depict the medical achievements of Castro's island as second to none.

After a very promising start and a decent first half, Die Another Day begins to unravel around the midpoint when the plot shifts to Iceland. By this time, various references to previous Bond films, introduced to celebrate the franchise's 20th instalment, have become tiresome. Even worse is the series of action set pieces that rely almost exclusively on CGI at the expense of physics or common sense, making the film too campy and "out there" even for Roger Moore, the embodiment of Bond series campiness, who went on record with the same sentiment.

The poor impression made by the film is exacerbated by an unimaginative script that introduces a completely unnecessary and unconvincing plot twist near the end, followed by awful dialogue and even lamer attempts at humour. The poor quality of writing is in line with the title song performed by Madonna (who appears in a completely unnecessary cameo as a fencing instructor), which is considered the worst piece of music in the entire history of James Bond films.

New Zealand director Lee Tamahori directs the film with great skill, keeping the fast tempo and making all those flaws less visible or at least tolerable for casual viewers. The same can be said of Pierce Brosnan, who mostly goes through the motions but nevertheless delivers a solid performance. Halle Berry as Jinx does a much more impressive job as a Bond Girl. After her memorable introduction (reminiscent of Ursula Andress in Dr. No), her character is depicted as resourceful and equal to Bond, very much like Michelle Yeoh's character in Tomorrow Never Dies." This impression was so good that MGM actually contemplated starting a spin-off series dedicated to Jinx, but the project was ultimately cancelled due to high costs, allowing Berry to play another action heroine in Catwoman with disastrous results.

The supporting cast, unfortunately, is relegated to superficial roles, with talented actors like Toby Stephens and Rosamund Pike given limited opportunities to shine. Rosamund Pike in her actual film debut is reduced to eye candy and in one particularly exploitative scene, takes part in an action scene with an inexplicable lack of adequate clothes. Pike, on the other hand, has played the icy character of Miranda Frost in a way that could be, in retrospect, seen as an excellent way to prepare for her iconic portrayal of Amy Dunne in Gone Girl.

Die Another Day, thanks to the popularity of the franchise, had great success at the box office, but rather mixed reviews. The producers apparently took notice and decided to reboot the series with Daniel Craig, allowing James Bond to live another day.

RATING: 4/10 (+)

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