Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Sexy, Funny & Spectacular...Bond is Back!
After 40 years and 20 films, you would think the James Bond franchise would be a tired one. Far from it. In "Die Another Day", her majesty's finest regains his killer touch. Sexy, funny and spectacular, this is one of the best of the series - not simply a great Bond movie, but a great Action movie.The opening titles - the usual dancing girls, intercut with the movie's action - get the party started as the pace of the movie quickly moves along. Bond (the delicious Pierce Brosnan) is captured, tortured and sets out for revenge against North Korean renegade Zao (Rick Yune). He's soon facing off with Toby Stephens' sneering entrepreneur, foiling his plans for world domination all while romancing the mysterious Jinx (Halle Berry) and Miranda Frost. The script smartly steals ideas from the Bond back catalogue, mastering all the elements which make the old school outings great: sly in-jokes, preposterous action, clumsy innuendo and 'classic' one-liners. It's a throwback which recalls the heights of both "Goldfinger" and "Live and Let Die", combining the cool of Connery with the playfulness of Moore, without ever descending into parody or campiness. It also reinstates the childish wow-factor at outrageous gadgets (an invisible car!) and terrific stunts (including an all-time great sword fight), blasting the veteran franchise into the 21st century. Bond is back and better than ever! Highly recommended!
Rating: - Twenty First Century Bond
DIE ANOTHER DAY catapults James Bond into the Twenty First Century. This movie is fast paced and cram packed with action on the land, in the sea and in the air. Pierce Brosnan is James Bond and he does it everywhere. Brosnan's Bond is more relaxed, confident and deadlier than all his previous outings as 007. The new Aston Martin has some really great innovations and plays a major part in the movie as its predecessor DB5 did in GOLDFINGER. That being said this film combines both the reality base of the recent Bond films with the larger than life plots for world domination from the older Bond films but with enormous amounts of technological advances added. The result is a whole new frenetic and furious look. David Arnold's pivital score as a whole reflects this new direction as he updates his approach to the music with increased electronic mind blowing audiotronics that really pushes the envelope. The movie's only shortcoming is Halle Berry as Jinx. Jinx is a bit of an enigma. Is she there as Bond's friend or foe? They really don't work together but instead just happen to be around to pull each other out of a jam. Jinx works for the NSA. It is clearly seen that the NSA and MI6 aren't exactly on congenial terms. The movie never really addresses any relationship between Bond and Jinx. That's one fault. Also, the villain's plot was a little uninspired since it involved a virtual duplicate of Blofeld's diamond refracting satellite from DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER. However, DIE ANOTHER DAY does not fail to entertain and it delivers far more action than any other Bond film to date. Besides, it's the first time we get to see Bond smoke since LICENCE TO KILL!
Rating:  - Ian Fleming must be rolling in his grave...
"Die Another Day", the 20th movie in the James Bond franchise, is not like a wine at all. It does NOT get better with age. I doubt this is what creator Ian Fleming was thinking about when he wondered if his franchise would continue. Well, James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) does return here with some help from the NSA agent Jinx (Halle Berry). These two capable actors light up the screen when they're together, but unfortunately, they have to act in such a preposterous plot.Okay. Two North Korean military personnel want to change their identity to escape persecution, and take power of whatever they want with a huge space-weapon. One officer has already changed his entire identity, while the other is almost there, while looking like a true ghost of a villain. The plot is far-fetched (total body-DNA resequencing, helicopters being able to survive falling debris from a super-jet, and so on). Along the way, there's sexy women (Berry and cold, cold, but oh-so-hot Rosamund Pike), an incredible Aston Martin that can cloak (now THAT'S feasible), and top of the line action sequences. But tell me something. Whatever happened to the espionage and infiltration that made the Bond series what it was? Doesn't happen here, and "Die Another Day" could have been directed by John Woo for all we know. I did like Tamahori's speed up and slow down technique, and his beautiful orchestration of the action scenes (esp. with the swords). Madonna's theme song was refreshing simply because it was techno, but the smack in the face is that the Bond series is resorting to huge action sequences and T&A. "Die Another Day" will me enjoyed more for those then went to see "XXX" rather than those who saw "Dr. No".
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