Die Another Day - Pierce Brosnan is Jinxed by Halle Barry
Written: Dec 14 '02 (Updated Aug 10 '09)
Product Rating:
Pros: Pierce Brosnan. Halle Barry. Roasmund Pike. It's a Bond movie.
Cons: Predictable at times. Silly and unrealistic in places.
The Bottom Line: Die Another Day, the 20th Bond movie, was entertaining. It is worth watching if you like Bond. People who don't like Bond shouldn't bother.
I’ve liked James Bond movies for several years. The movies aren’t extremely complicated, original, or serious, but they are very entertaining. I’ve enjoyed all the Bond movies that I have seen. I really like Pierce Brosnan as Bond. I’ve also liked Roger Moore and Sean Connery. I don’t like Timothy Dalton too much in general, so I’ve never seen his Bond movies. I saw a little bit of one of them on tv once, but I just couldn’t get past the fact that he was playing Bond, so I turned it off. For several months I’ve been waiting to see Die Another Day, the 20th Bond movie. I waited a few weeks to see it, so the theater was practically empty so I didn’t have to put up with a tall person sitting in front of me.
PLOT
James Bond was on an assignment. He was pretending to be someone else to buy weapons with conflict diamonds from South Africa. This was happening in North Korea. Bond’s cover was blown which led to an explosion and a hovercraft chase. Things didn’t go well and Bond was captured. He was tortured for fourteen months before there was a prisoner exchange between England and North Korea. Zao, the prisoner James was being traded for, had been there when the weapons deal went bad. He was injured in the explosion and had diamonds embedded in his face.
James learned that MI6 believed that he had shared secrets while he was in the prison in North Korea. He was under security and going to be taken to the Falkland Islands to be decommissioned. James didn’t like that idea. He was convinced that someone had set him up. James escaped and started to investigate to find out who had betrayed him. His search led him to a top secret clinic off the coast of Cuba. People went to the clinic to get new identities complete with new DNA. James discovered that Zao was a patient. James met Jinx, a mysterious woman, while on Cuba. She was up to something at the clinic.
James continued his investigation and discovered something about Gustav Graves that seemed strange. Graves had discovered diamonds in Iceland during the time James was being held in the prison. Graves was very wealthy. Something about the diamonds Graves found in Iceland was identical to conflict diamonds from South Africa. That fact got James to thinking. James met Graves and his assistant, Miranda Frost, at a fencing club in London. James later traveled to Iceland for a demonstration that Graves was giving. Miranda and Jinx were both there as well. What was Graves up to? Why was Jinx there? Why was Miranda there? Whom could James trust?
CAST
Pierce Brosnan - James Bond Halle Barry - Jinx Toby Stephens - Gustav Graves Roasmund Pike - Miranda Frost Rick Yune - Zao John Cleese - Q Judi Dench - M Will Yun Lee - Colonel Moon Samantha Bond - Miss. Moneypenny
Lee Tamahori - Director
Written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade
Die Another Day was 132 minutes long. The movie was made in 2002 and rated PG-13 for some violence and sexuality. I don’t think young children should see this movie because of those things. It might be ok for older children to see, but that is a decision parents should make. There were a few swear words used here and there, but the swearing wasn’t excessive. The word that rhymes with luck was never used.
Die Another Day was an action movie like all James Bond movies have been. Some of the Bond movies have had more action than others, but all of them have had some action. In Die Another Day the action started at the beginning of the movie with some shooting, a few explosions and a chase with hovercrafts. Throughout the movie there was action in the form of other chases, shootings, and explosions. There were some times when the movie was slower, but I didn’t get bored at any time since there was so much going on.
There was violence throughout Die Another Day though it wasn’t excessive. There were some explosions at different times during the movie, and people were injured. There were some shootouts in which people were injured. I did notice that James was reloading his gun, something that isn’t always shown in movies. There was a scene in which Graves and James fenced right after they met for the first time. They ended up using real swords. Both were injured and bleeding. That match did get rather intense. There was another scene later in the movie in which two other characters were fighting with swords and knives. There were other violent scenes later in the movie, but I’m not saying anything specific about them because I don’t want to say too much about what happens later in the movie. I have seen some movies that have been a lot more violent, but some people may think this movie is too violent. Parents should watch the movie to judge the level of violence themselves before letting a child see the movie.
Since Die Another Day was a Bond movie, some things turned up during the movie that are typical for these movies. There have always been beautiful women in Bond movies, and Die Another Day was no different. Jinx and Miranda Frost were the Bond girls for this movie. The women don’t look anything alike, but they are each beautiful. The two women were different from each other, though they both ended up in bed with James, something else that is typical for a Bond movie. Jinx was rather mysterious when she first turned up. She was adventurous. Miranda seemed to be more reserved and cooler. Miranda seemed to give off an air of elegance at times that Jinx didn’t have. Jinx wasn’t really a typical Bond girl though. She was more like James than any other Bond girl has been. She could take care of herself for the most part. She was independent. From a few things that she said, Jinx tended to end up in bed with different people, just like James does.
James ended up involved with both Jinx and Miranda, but there really wasn’t any romance in Die Another Day. Jinx and James met right after he arrived in Cuba. That night, they were having sex. What happened in the time between when they met and when they ended up in bed was not shown. So we really don’t know if they spent any time talking or doing anything else or if they headed straight to one of their rooms and jumped in bed. There really wasn’t any development to their relationship. The next morning, James woke up alone because Jinx had already left. Later in the movie, James met Miranda Frost. He seemed to be attracted to her, but she acted like she didn’t want to even talk to him, let alone become involved. She was very cool and distant. She didn’t want anything to do with James. However, a bit later in the movie when they were alone together, she wasted no time in getting naked and jumping into his bed. I think that she and James spent even less time together before having sex than James and Jinx had. The scene between James and Jinx was rather racy. There was some skin shown in both sex scenes, but no actual nudity. The scene between James and Miranda wasn’t as racy as the other one. Miranda still seemed to be reserved and cool even when she was in bed with James. Some people could be offended by those scenes, especially the one with James and Jinx. James may have made an error in judgement concerning someone he had sex with, but that has happened before too.
There have been gadgets in previous Bond movies, and there were new gadgets in Die Another Day. In one scene, when James was talking to Q, some of those things that appeared in previous Bond movies showed up in the background of the scene. I know that some people think that Q and the inventions are a bit silly, and I guess they are, but I like them. I know the things are realistic, but they entertain me. I really liked the new car James got in this movie.
Every Bond movie has had a villain and there has usually been some kind of headquarters for the bad guys as well. I’m not saying who the main bad guy in Die Another Day was. There were a few other bad guys, including some people who were working with the main bad guy. Zao was a terrorist who was around when James was trying to buy weapons with diamonds. He turned up again later in the movie and he was working with the main bad guy. Zao had diamonds embedded in his face thanks to the explosion that happened at the beginning of the movie. He looked rather strange with those diamonds in his face, and after he started getting treated at the clinic, he looked downright creepy. His complexion changed after he started getting the treatment there. It got a bit lighter, and I think his eyes changed color. Another character played a big part in helping out the bad guy. Someone wasn’t who they seemed at first. There was a huge hotel type place that was built out of ice that was important near the end of the movie.
There were some slow motion type shots in a few different scenes in Die Another Day. I’m not sure how to describe those scenes, but they were similar to some shots that were first used in The Matrix. I guess the director wanted to make sure that this movie is up to date with the techniques used in it or something, but it was a little strange to me to see those shots. I’m not overly fond of those types of shots anyway. In fact, I’m getting a little tired of seeing them used in so many movies now. They worked fine in The Matrix, but they are getting old turning up in practically every new movie now. There were a few special effects used, mainly in relation to a gadget or the new car. I thought they were well done and seemed to work well with the movie, though when James did the parachuting/skiing - whatever he was doing - off the side of an ice cliff, that was just silly. During the opening credits of Die Another Day, there were the typical images of women in silhouette doing different things. However, this part of the movie also showed James being tortured, so for the first time, something relevant to the plot was going on at that time.
In past Bond movies, there has been a song that played during the opening credits. The songs have been by well-known singers. For Die Another Day, Madonna performed the song of the same title. It is a little different sounding, but I didn’t think it was horrible. It is electronic sounding. It is very different sounding from any other song from a Bond movie. Madonna also had a small role in the movie as a fencing instructor. She only had a few minutes of screen time. I think she did ok.
There were some returning characters from previous Bond movies in Die Another Day. James Bond of course has been in all twenty of the movies. This movie did show that James is not invincible. There was a situation he couldn’t get out of on his own, which has never happened before. In the last Bond movie, the fact that James is getting older was addressed. Pierce Brosnan is the fifth man to play Bond and I really like him in the role. Bond has gone through some changes over the course of the series of movies.
M, Bond’s boss, was also back in Die Another Day. Judi Dench has played M in all of the Bond movies since Goldeneye. Her role was smaller in Die Another Day than it was in The World is Not Enough. I think it is kind of funny that James, a womanizer, has a woman for a boss. She doesn’t put up with anything from him and will put him in his place. M’s secretary, Miss. Moneypenny, also returned. Samantha Bond has played Moneypenny in the last four movies. Her part has always been small. Moneypenny has been in love with James for years, but nothing has happened between them. Will Moneypenny finally get her man after 20 movies? I’m not telling.
Q always turns up in a Bond movie. He had a few scenes in Die Another Day. He invents all the different gadgets that James uses on his missions. Q takes his work very seriously, and gets annoyed with how some of his inventions end up damaged or destroyed after James is done with them. John Cleese took over the role of Q in this movie after Desmond Llewelyn died in a car accident right after The World is Not Enough came out. Cleese played R in that movie, Q’s assistant. He did briefly mention something he had learned from his predecessor, but that is all that was mentioned about the previous Q.
The acting in Die Another Day wasn’t Oscar worthy, but it was good. I think Brosnan was really good as James. He is getting a little older, but he still looks good. Toby Stephens was very cocky as Graves. He was over the top in his performance at times, but it worked for the character. He had a smug look on his face at times that fit perfectly with his character. I thought that Halle Barry was good as Jinx. She was a strong, independent woman who could handle most situations herself. James did rescue her twice, but she did things that helped James as well. She was not a typical weak, helpless woman. I thought she was believable in the role. She was a beautiful woman who was also intelligent. She did have a few scenes in a bikini, and she did look good in those scenes. She is in good shape, but she isn’t a tiny little walking toothpick of a woman that looks like she’ll go air born if the wind blows like some other actresses. Jinx was a different character from others Halle has played, including her role of Storm in X-Men and X2: X-Men United. Rosamund Pike was also beautiful and in good shape. She isn’t a tiny little woman either. Both of them look like they are a normal, healthy weight. I get so tired of seeing the super thin actresses with bones sticking out all over. Roasmund was also very good in her role of Miranda. She had an elegance about her in some scenes that really seemed to fit her character. She was able to convey just with her look at times that she wasn’t interested in James. Judi Dench only had a few scenes, but she was good in them. Samantha Bond and John Cleese each also had only a handful fo scenes, but they were also good.
CHARACTERS
James Bond - He is a British spy for MI6. Something went wrong on a mission and he was captured and tortured in North Korea for fourteen months. He was really upset when he figured out that someone set it up to look like he had told his captors secrets. He seemed hurt that M didn’t believe him at first. He was determined to find out who had betrayed him. He was good at his job. He had a tendency to jump into bed with women he didn’t know to well. He was a bit of a womanizer, but he wasn’t abusive towards women. He felt protective of them at times.
Jinx - She was in Cuba and met James after he arrived. She quickly ended up in bed with James. She was mysterious and a bit secretive about what she was up to. She was up to something at the clinic and her actions there made is easier for James as well. She turned up again later in the movie. She was independent and strong. She could take care of herself, but she did need help a few times.
Gustav Graves - He discovered diamonds in Iceland and became very rich. He was famous and seemed to enjoy all the attention. He thought he was better than others at times. He was arrogant and cocky. He might be up to something. He was good at fencing.
Miranda Frost - She worked as an assistant for Graves. She was good at fencing. She didn’t like James when she first met him and didn’t want him around her. She was cool and reserved most of the time. She said she didn’t want anything to do with James, but she jumped into his bed fast enough when she had the chance.
Zao - He was a terrorist. He was working with the man James tried to buy weapons from at the beginning of the movie. He had diamonds in his face thanks to an explosion. He was a violent man.
M - Head of MI6. She wasn’t exactly thrilled to see James after the exchange because Zao was free. She changed her mind later in the movie.
Miss. MoneyPenny - M’s secretary. MoneyPenny is good at her job. She is very efficient. She has been in love with James for years.
Q - He invents the different gadgets that James uses on missions. Q is annoyed by James at times.
I really liked Die Another Day. It is an action packed, entertaining movie. This is a movie to watch for pure enjoyment. There are no hidden meanings in it. Fans of Bond movies should check it out. People who don’t like Bond movies, or action movies in general shouldn’t bother to see it.
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