In
typical Bond fashion, Die Another Day opens with a slam bang action sequence.
It involves hover crafts, machine guns, huge explosions, and it's an absolute
thriller. Surprisingly, the action piece ends in a most unexpected
way. The audience is then treated to another innovative credit sequence accompanied
by Madonna's techno flavored theme song (one of the worst Bond themes ever). Incidentally,
the material girl also has a cameo in the film).
What
follows, is two hours of sheer, familiar fun, in which Bond sets out to save the
day yet again. And while Die Another Day probably features some of the most silly,
absurd, and implausible scenarios in a Bond-picture history, it also captures
that undeniable 007 spirit that's been lacking in recent adventures. Because of
the unlimited energy and high spirited tone, I found myself grinning throughout
most of this picture, and I was reminded of why Bond is such a great character.
With all the hype surrounding XXX earlier this year, I was more than pleased to
see that Die Another Day is far more engrossing than the Vin Diesel vehicle.
I
wouldn't say Die Another Day takes the Bond character into unfamiliar territory,
but it does push the envelope in terms of technology and gadgets (believe me when
I tell you, there's plenty of both). I also loved the scope of this picture. Throughout
it's two hour and ten minute running time, we are whisked away to Havana, England,
Korea, and Iceland. There is no shortage of breathtaking locations in this movie.
Brosnan
is incredibly comfortable in his fourth outing as 007, and because of certain
events that take place early on in the picture, there is a sense of growth in
this timeless character. It's also nice to see that Brosnan isn't too old to kick
a little ass. Halle Berry doesn't fare as well as Jinx. While she's certainly
beautiful, her line delivery is less than impressive. But then, the Bond franchise
has offered up some of the worst female characters in movie history (see Tanya
Roberts in A View to a Kill or Denise Richards in The World is Not Enough). While
I wouldn't rank Berry at the bottom of the barrel, her character and performance
hardly reach the heights of Diana Rigg in On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
At
the very least, Jinx does get to take part in a lot of the action. Die Another
Day also stumbles in the villain department. Actually, there are a couple of villains
here, and aside from looking cool, they really don't bring anything new to the
table. The Bond franchise needs another crazy villain like Christopher Walken's
Max Zorin in A View to a Kill (even if that particular film is one of the worst
in the series.) Judi Dench is terrific as M, while the reliably entertaining John
Cleese shows up in an all too brief role as Q, the handy gadget creator. It would
have been nice to see more of the British funny man.
Director
Lee Tamahori (Once Were Warriors, Along Came A Spider) has done a fantastic job
with pacing, and really seems to have a feel for the Bond mythology. He even throws
in gags involving past Bond adventures. And while there are a few visuals in this
picture that are positively dreadful, and while the director can't resist taking
things a bit over the top, I was thoroughly entertained by Die Another Day.
This
isn't the most original of Bond adventures, but it certainly puts the fun back
into the proceedings.
