Die Another Day Review
Posted by Ian Challis on 11.22.2002
James Bond is back, this time with Halle Berry at his side...
Die Another Day
Release Date: November 22nd 2002
And so Bond reaches adventure no.20, looking tired and worn-down from the flabby, anonymous drivel of The World Is Not Enough. With pretenders to the throne clamouring at 007's heels and a distinct sense of danger hanging over the movie world’s most successful franchise, it’s no surprise that Die Another Day is perhaps the most heavily-promoted Bond film ever. Has it set the series back on the road to roaring success? Read on...
The film opens with the usual blustery pre-credits sequence: Bond (Pierce Brosnan) gets into a dust-up in North Korea after infiltrating a group of separatists hell-bent on reuniting the divided country. But this is vintage Bond with a difference; after a superb hovercraft chase, Bond is captured by the enemy, and over the course of the credits (set to Madonna’s terrible synth-pop title track) we bear witness to the horrific torture he is subjected to. Cut to fourteen months later, and a beardy Bond-looking remarkably like Jeff Lebowski-is finally set free, traded for insane terrorist General Zao (Rick Yune). Bitter at being abandoned by his government and desperate for revenge, Bond ignores M’s (Judi Dench) assertion that "he’s no use to anyone anymore" and goes maverick, seeking out Zao for some payback. His searches lead to him crossing paths with slinky NSA agent Jinx (Halle Berry), and together they come up against mysterious toffee-nosed diamond entrepreneur Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens), who just happens to have a giant laser orbiting the Earth...
As you sit and watch D.A.D, it’s not hard to imagine Q himself sizing up the floundering franchise and making some much-needed modifications: "Dear me, 007, we are looking tired. Let’s get you set up with some real big guns; here, this Oscar-winning actress with certainly boost approval ratings. And try out these nods to Bond history; that’s sure to pull in the punters. And while you’re here you might as well grab this Action Hero Starter’s Pack, that’ll show that Vin Diesel fellow-oh, do grow up, 007." The self-consciously updated formula has mixed results; the first major disappointment is Berry, embarrassingly bad as the sassy, high-kicking Jinx. Clearly not cut-out for this tongue-in-cheek style, she falters in her first scene and never recovers, shooting off one-liners with careless abandon and growling out lines like "Yo Mama" as if she were auditioning for Austin Powers 4. Still, her efforts are just about on par with the majority of the cast: Stephens does little more than sneer menacingly-although that’s not unusual for Bond baddies-and Zao, whilst visually being one of the more unique henchmen, is really no more than cannon-fodder for Bond’s eventual heroic ass-kicking. Rosamund Pike, as Graves’ quintessentially English PR woman, almost makes an impact, but her really rather silly about-face midway through the film leaves her high and dry, with nothing to work with. Thankfully Brosnan is game for anything, flitting between the puntastic script and the hard-edged action sequences effortlessly. He’s ably matched by Judi Dench’s sardonic M and John Cleese, taking over the much-missed Desmond Llewellyn’s role with aplomb. Michael Madsen is good value, too, as Jinx’s gruff boss Falco, although his screen time is minimal.
Where the film drops the ball again, however, is with the gag-heavy script, which threatens to collapse under it’s own weight long before the climax. The camp stylings of Bond, Jinx, Graves et al don’t sit well with the grittier, hard-boiled revenge story that’s being spun, and the result is a bizarre combination of messrs. Connery and Moore’s tenures as the Walther-toting hero. Bond has become a Jekyll-and-Hyde character; one second he’s archly sending up the over-the-top style that the films are known for, the next he’s growling with angst and saving the world, tongue firmly out of cheek. It’s incredibly inconsistent, and that’s a real shame, as the deliriously over-the-top plot is better than most of the Bond back catalogue. And although some of Bond’s narrow escapes verge on the ludicrous (ice surfing, I’m looking at YOU), the superlative story also allows for some truly fantastic set-pieces. Graves’ Arctic Ice Palace is not as ridiculous as it sounds, and the adrenaline-pumping swordfight between Graves and Bond is a definite high point. Perhaps the most stunning, though, is Bond and Zao’s fantastic Icelandic car-chase, speeding through the Palace halls as it melts around them. In comparison, the North Korean-based aerial finale seems oddly flat, and you begin to feel that the film really should’ve ended fifteen minutes ago.
Faced with adversity, MGM have strived to update the stale Bond formula, and have, in part succeeded. His hi-jinx are still believable in a present-day environment, and although Bond’s slipping more and more into the musclehead action-hero characterisation, the extravagant plot lines still have just enough classic Bondage about them to qualify. Unfortunately, they seem intent on making their films into a homage to all styles of the past outings, and the result is intensely off-putting. Dark, disturbing action and high camp do not mix, and with Bond 21 foremost in every fan’s mind, it’s time for the studio to pick a direction and stick to it.
The 411: An uncomfortable blend of the Connery and Moore eras, Die Another Day will not satiate the masses like it should. But thanks to the charming Brosnan, an enjoyable plot and some classy set-pieces, it manages to make the grade, seeing off the risible xXx with room to spare. Bond will live to spy another day, but only just.
