Bond is back, breaking all the rules
Rating: 7/10
Running Time: 127 minutes
UK Certificate: 12
On DVD
Pierce Brosnan stars in another outing for James Bond now in the post-cold war era he finds himself doing battle with North Koreans. Bond is in that part of the world attempting to carry out the assassination of a brutal communist colonel, however things do not go according to plan because he has been double-crossed by an unknown traitor. He is captured, imprisoned and tortured. After more than a year in a North Korean jail, he is returned to the West as part of a prisoner exchange. However, he finds himself in disgrace and being held by his own side who believe he revealed secrets during his torture.
Determined to prove his innocence by finding the fellow British agent who betrayed him, Bond escapes, following the colonel's former top henchman Zao (Rick Yune) to Cuba. From there, he follows a trail of diamonds as they lead to a power-hungry mogul called Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens). Ultimately, he arrives in Iceland for the introduction party for Graves' new satellite, only to discover that it has enormous potential for use as a weapon. With the help of NSA agent Jinx (Halle Berry), he has to stop Graves' use of the weapon while discovering who the traitor is.
'Die Another Day' is a creditable addition to the Bond collection, with its typical chase sequences and large explosions. It's certainly lively, and most of the action looks good although the CGI 'surfing' sequence was something of an exception. Brosnan's Bond is a little different in this film more fallible and human, even vulnerable at times which does fill out the character somewhat. Halle Berry too makes an interesting change from previous Bond girls, as an intelligent and capable agent in her own right. All in all, it's nice to see Bond films progressing even after all these years.
Features an uncredited cameo appearance by Madonna as Verity.
It's Got: Plenty of action
It Needs: To avoid too much CGI human stunts have always been the backbone of Bond films.
DVD Extras More than 10 hours of extras come with this outstanding two-disc special edition. Extras: Director and producers commentary, Commentary by Pierce Brosnan and Rosamund Pike, Trivia track, Behind the scenes featurettes, Documentaries, Making of, Multi-angle action sequences, Scene evolutions, Making of "Die Another Day" by Madonna, Title design, Digital grading, Equipment briefing, Image database, Making of 007: Nightfire game, Trailers, TV Spots, Making of booklet, Double-sided sleeve. Music video: "Die Another Day" by Madonna. DVD Extras Rating: 9/10
Summary
A fine addition to the Bond film collection, with the usual collection of gadgets, bad guys, chases and plenty of action.