posted
I wasn't exactly sure which forum this belongs in, here or General Sci-Fi, but it's here for now. Feel free to move it if you feel necessary
Anyway, James Bond, 007, back yet again for the 20th film, Die Another Day. 4th for Pierce Brosnan, and the 40th anniversary of the series. I just got home from watching it tonight in a rather good theater. Definatly unique compared to the other Brosnan films, Die Another Day opens with Bond playing pretend in North Korea, trying to take down a renegade North Korean general. The premises is alright, although I don't see how hard it could be to buy hovercraft anywhere in the world nowadays. Unfortunatly, unline the other Bond films, Bond himself does not escape. Bond is actually captured and tortured for 14 months in a North Korean prison.
Cue the opening credits and by far, the worst Bond song ever. Performed by Madonna, there are two versions of this song. One is a normal moody Madonna song, the other is an electronic dance remix of the same song. Guess which one made it into the movie... Another first is the fact that the opening credits overlay during actual parts of the movie. Instead of seeing just the naked girls flying across the screen with weapons, we see them flying across the screen and actually interacting with what is going on during the movie (Bond's torture). Overall, music bad, intro good.
Now, return to the movie, and Bond is traded for our main henchmen kinda guy, Zao, and returned to England. Unfortunatly, everyone thinks he squeled and so he's no longer a Double-O, and basically a useless person now. So, Bond goes renegade. I believe this is the 3rd renegade Bond movie (I think the last was "License To Kill"?) So Bond is now on a personal hunt of Zao, and first ends up in Hong Kong (good scene with the Hotel Owner/Chinese Agent), and then Cuba. Enter Jinx. Now, I'm not fond of Halle Berry. I really don't think she's anything special. And making her come off almost exactly like Ursula Andress in Dr. No was a bit much (although I guess it's part of the anniversary thing...). They both go trotting off to some island where they do "DNA resequencing" or something, that literally replaces your entire body with new DNA. Makes absolutely no logical sense, but apparently Zao is there getting the treatment. Cheap neon lights and plastic make for the medical effects here, and they don't come off to well, both here and later on in the film. Anyway, Zao runs, Jinx gives chase, however the Cubans catch up to her, and Jinx is forced to jump into the ocean to evade. Cheesy FX Shot Galore! I really don't think they were trying with that one, and they could have done it a lot simpler without CGI.
So now Bond is heading to London to track down our main bad guy, Gustav Graves, an Icelandic diamond kingpin, and very Bond-like in a bad way. He's also wrapped up in himself. Think the guy in charge of Virgin. He also apparently goes without sleep during his life. It'll be explained later. He's also a fencer (you know, swords). His instructor is Madonna, AKA Verity. Her part doesn't really stand out, she just has a few lines (almost all with sexual innuendo), and basically doesn't get in the way. Also enter Graves' secretary, Miranda Frost. YUMMY Anyway, a very nice fight ensues between Graves and Bond with swords, definately a lot better then any fist fight Bond has been in before.
Now, Bond is suddenly given a calling called from good old M, who had abandoned him after being saved from prison earlier in the movie. Since Bond has found Graves, she's now suddenly found a use for Bond and needs him back. Bond is quick to give her hell over her actions earlier, but he joins back up. Q shows up. Yes, Q, he's not R in this one since he replaces the old Q. Only a brief mention to the old Q is made, but the new Q is no longer a bumbling idiot. He is annoyed by Bond as the old Q was though, so its almost as if he's not really a replacement, merely a continuation. Old toys from previous Bond films appear, like his rocket pack and the small jet plane he used in a film. His new toys are a ring that has a sonic pulse to shatter glass, a new watch (Q mentions it's his 20th watch, same number as Bond films there have been), and...of course...the car. The car is fine, a good old Aston Martin Vanquish with all the goodies, rockets, machine gunes, ejector seat, bullet proof, etc. Except...IT HAS A CLOAKING DEVICE! The only letdown to this wonderful car is the fact that it is apparently able to become invisible. Really, I could have done without this cheap gimmick. As Q put it, "Aston Martin call it the Vanquish, we call it the Vanish".
So Bond heads to Iceland and one of those famous "Ice Hotels". Now, I've seen pictures of those Ice Hotels, but they look nothing like this. This thing is a bit over the top for my liking. EVERYTHING is ice, and that bothers me. Graves is trying to show off his new "Icarus" satellite, that can direct sunlight anywhere it wants (someone has been watching too much Batman Forever ). Anyway, Jynx is back and trying to get to Graves. Needless to say, she screws up and gets zapped by Graves' new PowerGlove. Remember that stupid glove that you could get for the Nintendo? Same thing except with a tazer. Bond on the other hand is knocking boots with Frost (since she is apparently a deeply undercover MI6 we learn). He soon follows Jinx's path to try and get Graves, finds Jinx under the attack from Lasers by a guy named Mr. Kil (gee, this sounds oddly familiar ). Gratitutous violence with the death of Kil, rather gruesome for a Bond film. Anyway, Bond confronts Graves, and we find out Frost is really a double agent, she's betrayed MI6 (had me fooled, that's for sure). So Jinx is trapped in a room in the Ice Hotel, and Bond is escaping in a rocket car. Enter Cheesy FX #2, of Bond trying to surf after an avalanche on a iceburg. Really could have been handled better again. Anyway, Bond makes it to his car, and...
...Enter the car chase. BEST car chase in a Bond film. I mean this was mad. Bond's car is found when some halfwit smashes into it while cloaked, so Zao gives chase in his neon green Jaguar XKR, which I think had more weapons then car itself. Both these men absolutely thrash their cars, shooting each other up. Zao's car has a chain gun come out of the trunk, and it's pretty damn useless because neither car comes home with bullet holes. In fact, even after Bond flips the car on its roof and then flips it back over, and then both men drive their cars THROUGH the ice hotel (for almost too long, I think), neither car is worse for wear except for the Vanquish's windshield purposly being destroyed to save Jinx. Zao is fittingly killed.
Anyway, Graves has loaded everything onto a huge AN-225 Condor and flown to North Korea again, and Bond is back at HQ with Jinx (who is NSA). By the way, you might recognize her boss, actor Michael Madson). Bond and Jinx are sent in to try and stop Graves before he can lead an army into the Korean Demilitarized Zone, but they fail, so they have to jump on his plane. Graves' PowerGlove has now expanded into full body armor, so he looks like a cheap Halloween Robocop with a Virtual Reality headset. Very cheap. Anyway, a VERY long-winded monologue with Graves and his "father", way too long in fact. Way too much character development for a guy who is going to die 5 minutes from now. Bond fights Graves in a decompressing "war room" in the bottom of the plane, Jinx swordfights Frost in a "temple" kinda room upstairs. Frost is looking even yummier in this scene, by the way. Anyway, take wild guesses as to who wins. So Bond and Jinx are now left on a burning cargo jet (the reason it's burning is rather stupid too, I think. That has to be the longest "crashing" plane I've ever seen), and the only way out is the conveniant helicopter stored inside. Of course, granted, they had to destroy two exotic supercars in the process (bastards... ), but nonetheless they get out. Basically, the end...
...except Miss Moneypenny and Q is an absolutely pointless but hilarious scene with virtual reality. I for one was fooled by it (not by the whole thing, merely by who the person was). Also, Leather must be the fashion statement this year, since not only does Jinx wear almost nothing but leather, but the North Korean military apparently wears leather now too...
So, anyway, Die Another Day. Definatly better then Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough. Better then GoldenEye? Maybe. It's definatly a lot more original then GoldenEye. How it ranks up to the other 16? Definatly one of the better Bond films, better then anything Dalton did for sure, and better then most of the Moore movies. So anyway, go see it for yourself and judge.
(I had to put in a picture of the Aston, sue me...)
[ November 24, 2002, 09:22: Message edited by: The359 ]
-------------------- "Lotta people go through life doing things badly. Racing's important to men who do it well. When you're racing, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting."
-Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney, LeMans
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I saw this film last night and was blown away. I really like it. I'd put it in between TND and GoldenEye as well. However, I LOVE the new theme, especially the techno remix. Bond has been all about diffrent music (from Nancy Sinatra to Paul McCartney to Duran Duran) Maddonna is a welcome addition.
The whole film is a very diffrent movie then the previous Bond films, but I think it worked out.
By the way, the adaptive camo is a real technology. There is a vest that has been developed that produces a similar (less convincing, however) effect.
The OICW in the opening sequience was SWEET.
Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
Yes, 16, sorry, not 36. I was writing that at 5am, brain not working, etc.
I forgot to mention something else that annoyed me. They'd throw this "fast-forwarding" effect in at different parts of the movie. Bad parts actually, where it wasn't really needed. I would rather have left the effect completely out of the film.
And I know the camoflauge is something being developed, but it'd never work like that, especially on a car.
-------------------- "Lotta people go through life doing things badly. Racing's important to men who do it well. When you're racing, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting."
-Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney, LeMans
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
This film is the worst of the Brosnan films. Good, but not better then Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, and certainly not better then The World Is Not Enough.
posted
The fact that Frost was a double agent was amazingly predictable. There was no other reason for her to be there. Five minute conversation spent assuring M she doesn't shag her colleagues, and 10 seconds after she next encounters Bond she's doing exactly just that.
There are a number of plot holes in this film: Colonel Moon becoming the next Richard Branson (the "Virgin guy," but with added solar-power-satellite-in-orbit) in 14 months for one. And the fact he's going to use it for a spot of mine-clearing and that's all.
But for all that it wasn't too bad. Certainly better than TND or TWINE, which were unmitigated shite.
It's sold us on the Vanquish, though. When we first saw the stunt car on Top Gear along with the XKR, we preferred the latter: now my wife wants an Aston Martin. 8)
posted
I didn't like the way Jinx killed the doctor in the clinic, nor how she called the dying, stabbed Frost "bitch" when she was dying. Way too cold-blooded, she enjoyed it too much.
The british snob with his trained grin was irritating, and the swordfight and the heights it was taken to were way out of line for a quick bet. Anyone of them could've been killed at almost any point of the fight.
It was fun to see the appearance of the prominent Lawrence Makoare (Mr Kil, laser-in-the-mouth), he was the commanding Urukhai in Lord of the Rings, the one who lost his head.
-------------------- "I'm nigh-invulnerable when I'm blasting!" Mel Gibson, X-Men
Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
A friend is telling me that the matron of the fencing school was Madona in a cameo, I say NOT NOT. I'm right, aint I? Especially, not after that song.
-------------------- joH'a' 'oH wIj DevwI' jIH DIchDaq Hutlh pagh (some days it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps in the morning) The Woozle!
Registered: Nov 2002
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posted
Yeah, that's Madonna. Here's a link to the credits for Die Another Day. Reportedly, Madonna got ticked at Pierce Bronson because, during the fencing segment, he started singing "Like a Virgin." Madonna thought he was "dissing" her. Apparently this little tidbit was a more important story on the evening news than a warehouse fire.
Registered: Mar 1999
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quote:Originally posted by Snay: To my knowledge, this was the 20th (not 40th) film!
Well, it's actually the 22nd, considering Never Say Never Again and the farcial Casino Royale. (I'd be inclined to forget about the latter entirely, but one should never discount Connery's fairly tolerable last hurrah as Bond...)
There was also that 1954 TV-telecast version of Casino Royale (quite different from the aforementioned 1967 film) but that wouldn't really count in my book.
-MMoM
-------------------- The flaws we find most objectionable in others are often those we recognize in ourselves.
Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
IIRC, "Die Another Day" is the 20th MGM Bond film. Another company through some odd loophole got the rights to two of Flemming's books and made James Bond movies.
So, really, "Die Another Day" is the 20th not ripped off Bond
quote:The premises is alright, although I don't see how hard it could be to buy hovercraft anywhere in the world nowadays.
The weapons aren't the hovercraft. The gun that Col. Moon uses to blow up the helicopter - the one with those titanium tipped whichevers - are the weapons that the Sierra Leone government (or rebels) are trying to trade diamonds for. They have to turn to Col. Moon to get weapons because no one else will deal with "conflict" diamonds.
The hovercraft are Moon's toy ... as he said, he can't "import" the weapons over the mine field in trucks or whatnot, because they'd blow up. Hovercraft, OTOH, can float over the mines ... so it's all good.
posted
Ah, gotcha. I had no clue what Conflict Diamonds were, so I was in the dark there.
"Never Say Never Again" was produced by Warner Brothers the same year as "Octopussy", and was basically a rehash of "Thunderball". The only member of the regular Bond cast was Connery himself, who of course had already quit the series long ago. It's the illegitimate bastard child of the series, basically.
-------------------- "Lotta people go through life doing things badly. Racing's important to men who do it well. When you're racing, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting."
-Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney, LeMans
Registered: Mar 1999
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![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
Another first is the fact that the opening credits overlay during actual parts of the movie. Instead of seeing just the naked girls flying across the screen with weapons, we see them flying across the screen and actually interacting with what is going on during the movie (Bond's torture). Overall, music bad, intro good.![[Cool]](cool.gif)
Anyway, a very nice fight ensues between Graves and Bond with swords, definately a lot better then any fist fight Bond has been in before.
![[Mad]](mad.gif)
), but nonetheless they get out. Basically, the end...![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
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