I've seen all the Bond movies since Sean Connery era, not because I'm such a fan, but because there are quite entertaining movies, with beautiful girls, great cars, a lot of action and so on.
"Die Another Day" was advertised as the best Bond movie ever, so I thought it might be something special. That's why I've bought the DVD, so I can watch it in the "tranquility" of my Home Theatre Sytem and really enjoy. And, unfortunately, I was a little bit (more) dissapointed with what I've seen. Why? I'll explain it to you as follows:
First of all, the movie starts with Bond being captured by a North Korean army general and tortured for 14 months. Despite the fact he we beaten todeath, he has no bruise, nothing, only a big beard which suggests us he has been in prison for quite a while. It's quite unusual for Bond being captured by enemy and kept for so long. So I thought, "hmmm, might be quite an interesting movie". After these 14 months, Bond is traded to the British/Americans for a Korean (North)agent called Zao. Americans think Bond revealed important data under torture (as an American agent in Korea has been killed one week before Bond being traded), so our poor Bond is named "traitor". And now, what can Mr.Bond do to "wash" his name? Only to find Mr.Zao and the person who betrayed him (yes, he was betrayed by somebody in the MI5 headqurter !!). So, he hunts down Zao and this hunt takes him in different places on Earth, like in Havana, where he meets an agent (played by Halle Berry) and gets into bed with her the same night. Some clues make him think that the "diamonds" king Gustav Graves has something to do with it. I don't want to unveal the end of the movie, because there is no point in doing so, as some readers did not watch the movie yet. So I'll let you discover by yourself the end (which is, by the way, a happy end, as Mr.Bond never dies, he successfully saves the world from the paranoic-maniac who develops a fearfull-incredible laser and threatens to destroy all the his enemies - his enemies being America and England, and, in the end, stays with his gorgeous woman)
Now about the movie: - Pierce Brosnan seems to be quite bored with this role, I was expecting him more fresh - the songs from the movie are not as good as before (where is "The Goldenye" by Tina Turner??) - the bad guys are the dullest I've ever seen in a Bond movie, they don't have that "bad" thing which makes them real BAD. - there is the same old "advertising" in the movie (the car is a Aston Martin Vanquish vs Jaguar XK5, the watch is Swiss made, he flies with British Airways, and so on) - I must admit the car chase on the ice is quite good, it is the first time in a Bond movie when the bad guy has a "gadgets-full" car and fights Bond with the same weapons. - There are some new things in the movie: a hovercrafts chase, Bond being captured for so long, a "mole" at MI5, etc, but these not save the movie from its "dusty" atmosphere, as you can't expect people to see the same thing again and again. (and again)
As a conclusion, I honestly regret I bought the DVD, it's not worth the money. Even the movie has all the Bond ingredients (women, cars, bad guys, etc), it doesn't have that "wow" factor which makes it a MOVIE.
And something else for you to observe when you watch the movie. They tried to recreate some old scenes from Bond movies: Halle Berry in the water as Ursula Andress in the famous Dr.No scene or when Mr.Bond is being shown some old Bond gadgets in the old tube station. Is not the same, by far !!
It is enjoyable as a movie, but definitively not the best Bond movie !!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Production Year: 2007 - Action/Adventure - Director: Paul Greengrass - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, Joan Allen, Edgar Ramirez, David Strathairn, Paddy Considine, Albert Finney
Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Advantages: Great action, stunts, nice humour, good baddies (if you get my meaning) and Halle Berry! Disadvantages: Double entendres are more 'worthy' of a Carry-on film
Apr 30th, 2003
very helpful by (88%):
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