Die Another Day was shaping up to be the best Bond film ever. My favourite Bond by a mile was back. There was a director that you believed wanted to make a modern Bond, better than all its predecessors. You knew they had the locations. You had seen the bad guy with the diamonds in his face, and he looked too cool to be a disappointment - he was Bond's Darth Maul. The Bond girls looked better than ever. The title was crap, but you learn you live with it (Beyond the Ice always sounded better to me). The theme tune had caused controversy, only serving to increase the anticipation. Arriving at the cinema (where the queue was actually out of the building), it was almost impossible to not feel like a five year old on Christmas morning.
The opening is spectacular, just as you would expect. Not only that, but Bond seems somehow more human in it. There are the usual politically `safe' villain nation - North Korea chosen this time, probably on the grounds that they aren't likely to see the movie. The stunts have continued to grow exponentially, getting bigger and better than the last movie. The excitement levels have been suitably encouraged by the time the opening credits kick in. And blow me, Madonna's theme actually works. I'm not really sure why, but it does. The credits themselves have also grown up. Its not just naked women performing random acts of gymnastics in silhouette, although they are there. The credits themselves actually serve as part of the narrative, which is a blessing as far as I'm concerned. I have never enjoyed the opening credits of a Bond film until now. I was seriously optimistic about this movie.
Pierce Brosnan has finally grown into a rounded Bond. He has developed from the simple suave manner he had already perfected in Remmington Steel into a character with underlying insecurities about the people he works for and a contradicting loyalty to the country he would die for. For the first time since Brosnan took the baton you really want him to win, and to beat the bad guys in a way no bad guy has been beaten before. You also find yourself actually wanting him to get the girl, but not for one night as he inevitably will, but for good. As for the girls, Jinx (Berry) is essentially the American PC version of Bond. She, is black, is independent, is successful, sleeps with anyone she wants - Oprah would be so proud. She is also the first person to have reasonable graphic sex with Bond, although this is still a Bond film so its not that graphic. The main problem I had with Berry's character was her slightly boyish form (save for the two obvious differences): short hair, slim and muscular. This problem comes to light most during the aforementioned sex scene. The scene is all done in silhouette and, did we not know better, we could be convinced that it was a gay sex scene. The Bond girl crown is stolen in Die Another Day by Miranda Frost (Pike). She is far more feminine, sexier and an all round more convincing character.
The two/three main bad guys are also way above average. Colonel Moon (Will Yun Lee) is convincingly hard. We meet him as he practices his martial arts on a punch bag with human stuffing, and we are very glad we aren't in his bad books. His henchman, Zao (Rick Yune) is a modern Jaws. The pair of them are clearly psychotic, and completely perfect for Bond villains. Although the pair of them are outdone by the malevolent Gustav Graves (Stevens) and his Teflon diamond-fortune-funded lifestyle. He is the anti-Bond. He is English (although he admits it is an adopted nationality), suave, likes the finer things and is determined to win at all costs. He also looks like he might be the one guy who could beat James Bond, you believe he stands a chance of winning this fight. The rest of the cast, Judi Dench (as she is credited), John Cleese, Michael Madsen and the usual background characters, they hold their own. Dench is her usual brilliant self, possibly giving her most convincing M performance yet, and Cleese has taken on the role of Q (he received a promotion from R) and appears to have set himself up for as long a stint as Desmond Llewellyn's before him. Samantha Bond on the other hand serves as nothing more than a cheap joke at the end, a shame as I rather liked her interpretation of Miss Moneypenny.
The film itself looks somehow different from the traditional Bond visuals. There is a far more modern feel to the images. It is grainier and harsher and nowhere near as shiny as previous pieces in the oeuvre. There are also original (to Bond films) stylistic traits brought in by Lee Tamahori (Once Were Warriors) which will make this Bond film either unique amongst Bond films, or will make it age badly. Within the piece though they keep the pace fast and edgy. Tamahori also looks like he should actually be a Bond villain, a fact that we can assume has not escaped him, so has paid a lot of attention to the styling of his bad guys. He has also managed to use a script which could have been tacky in its nods to the past and made it sexy and amusing. It appears that as the twentieth in a series everyone involved has taken the best bits of the past and pulled them all together.
Die Another Day will be many peoples favourite James Bond movie, and certainly most peoples' favourite Brosnan Bond movie. Personally it comes in my top five, but I cant help feeling that there couple of minutes that the movie would have benefited from losing. Stood against any other pretenders to the crown (xXx, The Bourne Identity) this effort is head shoulders and bow tie above the rest. A modern movie, with more than a dash of Moore era narrative and plenty of jokes in there for the aficionado, Tamahori has directed a Bond movie that will be remembered as one of the better ones. And if the Broccoli family have any brains in their head they will get Brosnan and Tamahori back for another one, next time with them learning from their mistakes. As for the suggestion of a Jinx spin off series, it may have the face and the breasts, but I just can't see it having the legs.
The opening is spectacular, just as you would expect. Not only that, but Bond seems somehow more human in it. There are the usual politically `safe' villain nation - North Korea chosen this time, probably on the grounds that they aren't likely to see the movie. The stunts have continued to grow exponentially, getting bigger and better than the last movie. The excitement levels have been suitably encouraged by the time the opening credits kick in. And blow me, Madonna's theme actually works. I'm not really sure why, but it does. The credits themselves have also grown up. Its not just naked women performing random acts of gymnastics in silhouette, although they are there. The credits themselves actually serve as part of the narrative, which is a blessing as far as I'm concerned. I have never enjoyed the opening credits of a Bond film until now. I was seriously optimistic about this movie.
Pierce Brosnan has finally grown into a rounded Bond. He has developed from the simple suave manner he had already perfected in Remmington Steel into a character with underlying insecurities about the people he works for and a contradicting loyalty to the country he would die for. For the first time since Brosnan took the baton you really want him to win, and to beat the bad guys in a way no bad guy has been beaten before. You also find yourself actually wanting him to get the girl, but not for one night as he inevitably will, but for good. As for the girls, Jinx (Berry) is essentially the American PC version of Bond. She, is black, is independent, is successful, sleeps with anyone she wants - Oprah would be so proud. She is also the first person to have reasonable graphic sex with Bond, although this is still a Bond film so its not that graphic. The main problem I had with Berry's character was her slightly boyish form (save for the two obvious differences): short hair, slim and muscular. This problem comes to light most during the aforementioned sex scene. The scene is all done in silhouette and, did we not know better, we could be convinced that it was a gay sex scene. The Bond girl crown is stolen in Die Another Day by Miranda Frost (Pike). She is far more feminine, sexier and an all round more convincing character.
The two/three main bad guys are also way above average. Colonel Moon (Will Yun Lee) is convincingly hard. We meet him as he practices his martial arts on a punch bag with human stuffing, and we are very glad we aren't in his bad books. His henchman, Zao (Rick Yune) is a modern Jaws. The pair of them are clearly psychotic, and completely perfect for Bond villains. Although the pair of them are outdone by the malevolent Gustav Graves (Stevens) and his Teflon diamond-fortune-funded lifestyle. He is the anti-Bond. He is English (although he admits it is an adopted nationality), suave, likes the finer things and is determined to win at all costs. He also looks like he might be the one guy who could beat James Bond, you believe he stands a chance of winning this fight. The rest of the cast, Judi Dench (as she is credited), John Cleese, Michael Madsen and the usual background characters, they hold their own. Dench is her usual brilliant self, possibly giving her most convincing M performance yet, and Cleese has taken on the role of Q (he received a promotion from R) and appears to have set himself up for as long a stint as Desmond Llewellyn's before him. Samantha Bond on the other hand serves as nothing more than a cheap joke at the end, a shame as I rather liked her interpretation of Miss Moneypenny.
The film itself looks somehow different from the traditional Bond visuals. There is a far more modern feel to the images. It is grainier and harsher and nowhere near as shiny as previous pieces in the oeuvre. There are also original (to Bond films) stylistic traits brought in by Lee Tamahori (Once Were Warriors) which will make this Bond film either unique amongst Bond films, or will make it age badly. Within the piece though they keep the pace fast and edgy. Tamahori also looks like he should actually be a Bond villain, a fact that we can assume has not escaped him, so has paid a lot of attention to the styling of his bad guys. He has also managed to use a script which could have been tacky in its nods to the past and made it sexy and amusing. It appears that as the twentieth in a series everyone involved has taken the best bits of the past and pulled them all together.
Die Another Day will be many peoples favourite James Bond movie, and certainly most peoples' favourite Brosnan Bond movie. Personally it comes in my top five, but I cant help feeling that there couple of minutes that the movie would have benefited from losing. Stood against any other pretenders to the crown (xXx, The Bourne Identity) this effort is head shoulders and bow tie above the rest. A modern movie, with more than a dash of Moore era narrative and plenty of jokes in there for the aficionado, Tamahori has directed a Bond movie that will be remembered as one of the better ones. And if the Broccoli family have any brains in their head they will get Brosnan and Tamahori back for another one, next time with them learning from their mistakes. As for the suggestion of a Jinx spin off series, it may have the face and the breasts, but I just can't see it having the legs.