Die Another Day

Plot synopsis:
In the pre-title sequence, James Bond and his two South Korean allies infiltrate a North Korean military base belonging to Colonel Tan-Sun Moon, an army officer who is illegally selling weaponry in exchange for African conflict diamonds. Bond poses as a weapons dealer named Mr. Van Bierk, rigging his briefcase of diamonds with C4. He meets Moon and his assistant, Zao. After the diamonds are handed over, Zao discovers Bond's true identity and informs Colonel Moon. Colonel Moon keeps the act up as he offers to demonstrate his new tankbuster weapon to Bond. He drops the ruse when he suddenly uses the tankbuster to blow up Bond's helicopter.Fearing retribution from his father, General Moon, the Colonel then flees in a large hovercraft. Bond detonates the C4, embedding several diamonds in Zao's face. He then steals another hovercraft and chases down Colonel Moon, who tumbles into a waterfall. Soon after, North Korean troops capture Bond under General Moon's orders and he is imprisoned and tortured.Fourteen months later, Bond is released in exchange for Zao, who was captured during that time. He is sedated and taken to meet M, who informs him that his status as a 00 Agent is suspended due to her belief that he may have leaked information under duress. Still bitter over Zao's release, Bond decides to complete his mission by evading MI6's security and travels to Cuba. He traces Zao to an island called Isla Los Organos, known for its gene therapy "clinic" which allows patients to have their appearances changed through gene therapy. On the coast, he meets a NSA agent Giacinta 'Jinx' Johnson. With her help, Bond locates Zao's room inside the clinic and briefly tortures him. Zao flees in a helicopter but leaves behind a pendant. Bond opens it and finds a cache of diamonds identified as conflict diamonds from Africa, but bearing the crest of the company of British billionaire Gustav Graves.Bond flies to London locates Graves at a fencing club. The two engage in a duel of swords, the fury of which is escalated when the two men raise the stakes and injure each other, damaging part of the club in the process. Bond wins the match. Graves invites Bond to a party he is holding in Iceland for a scientific demonstration. Bond also meets Graves' fencing partner, Miranda Frost, a former Olympic athlete.In a disused London Underground station, M restores Bond's Double-0 status and offers assistance in the investigation. Bond learns that Frost has been recruited by MI6, but she has failed to uncover Graves' connection to Zao. Bond takes Graves up on his earlier invitation, and arrives at his ice palace in Iceland where he meets Jinx again. Later Graves begins a demonstration of his new orbital mirror satellite called "Icarus", which is able to focus solar energy on a small area and provide year-round sunshine for crop development.At midnight, Jinx infiltrates Graves' command center in the palace, but is captured by Zao. Bond meanwhile has figured out that Graves is Moon with a new identity, having undergone the same sort of gene therapy that Zao has. Moon reveals that Frost is a double agent. Bond narrowly escapes from Graves' facility in his car. Zao gives pursuit in his Jaguar XKR, and both cars drive inside the rapidly-melting ice palace. Bond kills Zao by luring him under a collapsing chandelier, and then rescues Jinx from drowning.Deployed at the South Korean border, Bond and Jinx infiltrate North Korea using experimental stealth sleds and parachutes. They follow him into his airplane, which is also carrying General Moon (unaware of his son's new identity), his lieutenants, and Frost. Graves reveals the true purpose of Icarus by using its solar beam to cut a swath through the minefield in the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Once the minefield is destroyed, North Korea will have a clear path to invade South Korea, Japan, and other countries. Icarus would also destabilize the western nations by destroying any WMD fired on North Korea. Graves wears a sophisticated armor with a built-in remote control, which operates the satellite. In an attempt to preserve peace, General Moon holds his son at gunpoint, but Graves disables him with the suit then shoots him.Bond advances to kill Graves, but is thwarted when one of his soldiers attacks Bond, deflecting his shot into a window, and causing the plane to depressurize. Jinx manages to stabilise the plane, but is attacked by a sword-wielding Frost, who forces her to switch the plane to auto-pilot. Whilst doing so, Jinx alters the plane's heading so that it is flying directly toward the Icarus beam. During the climatic sword fight, Jinx kills Frost with a knife. In the plane's nose, Graves gains the upper hand over Bond and puts on a parachute. However, Bond pulls Graves' ripcord, causing the parachute to open prematurely so that the slipstream pulls Graves out of the plane and one of it's turbines. With the suit destroyed, Icarus instantly shuts down. Bond and Jinx escape from the plane in a helicopter it was carrying. The two of them share a romantic interlude in a remote cottage, pouring over the diamonds they retrieved from Graves' plane.

Tags: suspenseful, murder

Review:
Creating new, exciting adventures for 007 after 20 feature films in forty years is a difficult task at best, particularly as public tastes change, and the character of James Bond has to maintain at least a degree of the 'persona' created by Ian Fleming.
Wilson, have done a remarkable job in keeping the series 'fresh', if DIE ANOTHER DAY is any indication, the creative forces surrounding them seem to be losing 'touch' with James Bond, and his world.After an astonishing pre-title sequence, climaxing with Bond being captured by the North Koreans, the film offers a horrendous montage of torture, with Bond only surviving due to a timely prisoner exchange (with an unsympathetic M remarking, "If it had been up to me, you'd have stayed in North Korea...", obviously forgetting that 007 had saved her life in THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH).
Pierce Brosnan, at fifty, is superb in this sequence, vulnerable yet defiant, and to this point, DIE ANOTHER DAY has all the makings of a first-class Bond entry.Then Bond jaunts off to find the agent who betrayed him, becoming involved in an investigation involving diamonds, solar power, and a 'too-good-to-be-true' industrialist (smarmy Toby Stephens), and all of the creativity of the opening is lost, with the film becoming an uneasy mix of references to past films and silly, unbelievable situations, sets and gadgets (culminating with an 'Ice Palace' and an 'invisible' Aston Martin).As she had won an Oscar prior to filming DIE ANOTHER DAY, sexy Halle Berry, 36, was publicized extensively as Bond's latest leading lady, CIA agent 'Jinx'.
The most interesting character in the film was certainly Rick Yune, as Graves' 'enforcer', Zao. Charismatic, ruthless, and nearly unstoppable, Zao was nearly a primal force, far more menacing than Graves at his worst.While a sword-fight sequence between Bond and Graves provided a rare film highlight, and certainly ranks as one of the film series' more memorable sequences, much of the rest of the production was silly, with the story set at a break-neck pace to 'hide' the absurdities.
The climax, as a solar 'ray' destroyed the minefield between North and South Korea, allowing an 'invasion' to occur, as 007 and Jinx attempted to commandeer the aircraft controlling the 'ray', stands as one of the most ludicrous finales to a Bond film since MOONRAKER.Although DIE ANOTHER DAY would become Pierce Brosnan's highest-grossing Bond, to date, the film, despite heavily promoting Halle Berry's presence, failed to crack the 'Top Ten' box office attractions in the U.S., and disappointed many fans, worldwide.With the purchase of MGM by Sony, which has wanted to produce a Bond film for years (the studios were entangled in a legal suit that ended just as DIE began production), surprising changes were in store...CASINO ROYALE, the only Fleming title NOT owned by Eon Productions was named as the next 007 adventure...and Pierce Brosnan was FIRED (a sad finish for an actor who'd worked so hard to make 007 viable in the new millennium!) While Broccoli and Wilson are still 'in charge' of Bond productions, they have to answer to new bosses, with definite opinions of their own on where the franchise should go...Can 007 survive THIS?
When you go to see a James Bond film, you should EXPECT any or all of the following: 1)  A completely unrealistic, contrived plot 2)  Unbelievably cheesy and corny one-liners (almost all of which are sexual in nature) 3)  A supervillain seemingly brilliant and mad enough to quest for world domination, but is somehow stupid enough to let Bond get close enough to spoil the whole thing 4)  A female counterpart (or several) that looks good, gets captured, and ultimately gets saved by our hero 5)  Gadgets, cars, and weapons that do fantastic, unbelievable things 6)  Action sequences and stunts that defy fundamental laws of physics and logicHaving said all of that, and knowing what I knew, I was so excited to see this movie, and I loved it.
After having proved himself to MI6 and to the NSA, Bond returns to London and has a spirited fencing match with Graves at the Blades Club There he meets his publicist the gorgeous Miranda Frost In "Die Another Day," Brosnon is wild, and ready to light the fuse on any explosive situation His methods are to provoke and confront His Aston Martin is loaded with high tech gadgetry that renders his vehicle invisible to Zao's sporty Jaguar There's an amazing chase between the two across the frozen waters of Iceland There's also an interesting battle inside Graves' treacherous fortress; and two battles to the death aboard Graves' airplane  Halle Berry is one of the Bond girls who looks so stunning especially when she emerged from the Cuban waters in her bright orange bikini This Oscar-winning beauty matches 007 in intelligence, sophistication and toughness, leaving Bond in the island in an explosive situation Toby Stephens as the psycho billionaire Gustav Graves appears determined to use his unique satellite the Icarus using its power to 'bring light and warmth to the darkest parts of the world or to clear the minefield creating a highway for his North Korean's troops Rosamund Pile plays the fencing master with breathless beauty Miranda Frost Rick Yune plays Zao, the dangerous Korean arms dealer and sports-car aficionado who works for Colonel Moon (Will Yun Lee), the renegade North Korean army officer who was determined to invade the south Michael Madsen plays Damian Falco, NSA spy master and Jinx's boss who's tough on BondThe comical British character actor John Cleese takes over the role of Q...
Madonna was hired to record the title tune and appeared in a cameo role as a fencing instructor"Die Another Day" is the 20th in the series, and is arguably a fun movie to watch delivering a great sword fight so don't miss it!.
I don't know what is about the Pierce Brosnan Bonds but they all have very poor title songs despite having all round superb production values and DIE ANOTHER DAY continues the high production values , a lot of people complain about the CGI and I must admit the cartoonish jet at the end does look like a cartoon but compare this sequence to all the action scenes in the 1980s which were composed of Roger Moore standing in front of some back projection and no matter how much you don't want to say it you must confess we've come a long way since then Some people have also let rip that the film is ruined by post modernist self reference but I disagree .
There is a problem with a plot twist involving both Gustav Graves and Miranda Frost , the twist is good but unfortunately the surprise only works once which means on second viewing the shock value of the plot revelation is gone therefore DIE ANOTHER DAY doesn't have the same enjoyment second , third or fourth viewing unlike classic Bond movies I'm not a big Bond fan but have been fairly impressed with the standards of the franchise from GOLDENEYE to DIE ANOTHER DAY , they've really come leaps and bounds from the Roger Moore debacles like MOONRAKER and VIEW TO A KILL .
You know, there's ridiculousness that's enjoyable, like in "GoldenEye", then there's "Die Another Day", a movie so caught up in its complete silliness it forgets to realize it, thinking its overzealous use of gadgetry, its hilariously bad Robo-villain (cut me some slack, I couldn't think of a better nickname), and Halle Berry.
Miss Berry is easily among the very worst Bond girls, and the fact that she's alongside Rosamund Pike, who manages to do such a good job with what little she's given, doesn't really help at all.In "Die Another Day", there's not a second of humor that works.
David Arnold's score is again very good but he can't save the film and though I really like Brosnan's Bond the direction the series was going in at this point was truly dangerous and could've resulted in the end for Bond if allowed to go on.
Instead, the attention is focused on mindless action scenes with seriously crappy CGI and effects.Moreover, the film looks awful, the dialogue consists of bad one liners and lame sexual innuendos, and the acting belongs in a made for TV movie, (Halle Berry is especially bad).
Pierce Brosnan's last outing as James Bond takes place in Die Another Day which finds 007 trying to stop a rogue North Korean general from starting the Korean War all over again with the attending consequences.
But it sure can be an effective weapon of war as we see towards the film's end as Brosnan and his American counterpart agent Halle Berry.Part of the charm of the James Bond series is that you don't take it too seriously, but there are times that it becomes more like Indiana Jones and his narrow escapes than a modern espionage story.
Toby Stephens, son of Maggie Smith plays a wealthy industrialist with a mysterious past and a cunning adversary for Pierce Brosnan.One thing I really liked towards the end was Ms. Moneypenny fulfilling her fantasy with James Bond.
Some of the North Korean scenes like the elaborate hovercraft chase scene were shot in U.K. as well.It is joyful to catch homage moments in respect to the previous Bond movies like the conspiracy plot at the presidential suite in the Hong Kong hotel with the Chinese masseuse beauty, and Halle Berry's first appearance moment where she wore an orange bikini with a white belt attached to an army knife.
Best of all -the most alluring of all- were the gadgets and equipments used throughout the movie: * Hovercrafts** Electromagnetic ring *** Bounding mines**** Laser cutting watch ***** Giant Space Laser Mirror named "Icarus"-a satellite weapon that directs a blazing ray of heat at its landed or aerial global targets ****** Switchblade Jet Gliders******* The Invisible Aston Martin If you liked the movie, you'd better see the Special Edition D.V.D that includes very very precious and confidential technical details: -DataStream's trivia track with video streaming, storyboard comparisons from scratch to the shot,the advisory details on how to choose the best suitable FPS adjusted camera giving samples of multi-angle camera explorations, the visual effects featurette transcribes the odds-and -ends differences between make-ups and models and non-computer based visual effects and CGI based virtual effects, and finally Madonna's original uncut edition of 007-Nightfire music video that has been banned in some countries of Europe at its time of screening.
This outing begins when James Bond(Pierce Brosnan) is taken prisoner by two evil Corean men(Rick Yune and Will Yun Lee).He flees but again is prisoned,later is freed .He's accused by M(Judy Dench: Shakespeare in love)as informer and is forced to renouncement.He goes to Habana(Cuba),while he's drinking a typical beverage called ¨mojito¨,he knows a gorgeous NSA agent named Jinx(The winner Oscar,Halle Berry)who makes an explosive appearance emerging from the seaside.They teams up to investigate the rare operations in a clinic ruled by a suspect medic(Simon Andreu,an usual Spanish secondary).Then he follows clues and contacting with a cocky megalomaniac(Toby Stephens: son of Robert Stephens and Maggie Smith)and begins an exciting fencing duel.Besides a sexy woman and fence expert(Rosemund Pike),who is actually an MI6 agent.Later they're going to an ice hotel located in Island ,where are developed pursuits,fights and incredible feats, plenty of frenetic action and suspense.There by the crazed industrialist is used a laser-satellite named Icarus against Bond.Ultimately, the story again torn to Corea frontier where inside a Boeing happen a hair-rising final highlight.Pierce Brosnan as James Bond is nice,he gets toughness and coldness characterized by Sean Connery blending with irony,sympathy,suavity characterized by Roger Moore.As always,this is a globe-trotting spy tale set in several countries(Corea,England,Cuba,Island) where is developed an international intrigue with unstopped,interminable action,sophistication and extraordinaries special effects.
Usual appearance of ¨Q¨(John Cleese substituting to Desmond Llewelyn)who delivers the ingenious gadgets like a prodigious ring or an invisible car, objects with special transcendence for the movie.Again Samantha Bond as MonneyPenny in an enjoyable intervention of wet dreams with James Bond.Eye-popping cinematography by David Tattersall.Madonna sings the main title and makes an uncredited appearance as a blades expert.The habitual the last entries ,David Arnold musical score fitting to James Bond action movies.The motion picture is professionally directed by Lee Tamahori.Fun to watch for Bond lovers..
And I'm still trying to figure out why they felt the need to humiliate poor Moneypenny at the end.If Brosnan is going to make another Bond film before he retires the role I hope they get a director who understands the Bond mystique, because this one seems to think it's all about blowing things up while making jokes about your genitals..
Die Another Day contains some of the most IDIOTIC one-liners of all time, DREADFULL CGI, HORRIBLY unfunny jokes, pathetically LAME sexual innuendos, a Bond girl (Halle Berry) that is probably the WORST Bond girl of all time, a main villain (Toby Stephens) that is like Robocop meets a snootish/spoiled British brat, a main henchman (Rick Yune) that is like something out of a Star Wars movie for crying out loud, and last but certainly not least, Brosnan stinks it up as well.Brosnan is now officially the WORST of the five Bonds, and this was by MILES the worst acting performance by any Bond ever.
And to top it all off and add insult to injury, the only good character in the film Miranda Frost (Rosamund Pike) is extremely underused, and the worst thing of all, Madonna (who sings a very good Bond theme) is not only singing the song, but is in the movie.
Luckily, with Kiwi director Lee Tamahori ("Once Were Warriors", "Along Came a Spider") at the helm, James Bond returns in a film that shakes up the system but keeps the all-too-familiar elements that we have come to love.Pierce Brosnan as James Bond: When watching "Die Another Day", you won't be comparing Irishman Brosnan to Sean Connery or Roger Moore.
He appears to have a brother-like relationship with the main villain of the film and is, for a change, an interesting character behind the horribly disfigured face.The Supporting Cast - Judi Dench, John Cleese, and Samantha Bond: The supporting cast all provide great performances and work expertly with their well-written dialogue.
Die Another Day delivers on all these counts.Neal Purvis and Robert Wade have written a very good screenplay that slyly celebrates the series' anniversary, as well as includes all the essential ingredients of the James Bond films.
Overall, Die Another Day works exceedingly well, and is superb entertainment that will also please the long-time fan of the series.Finally, it might be said that Gustav Graves has no advantage over M and James Bond when it comes to understanding Sun Tzu and his "The Art of War": "It is the wise general who uses the highest intelligence of the army for the purposes of spying, and thereby achieves great results."
1- The useless Jinx character 2- Halle Berry's pathetic performance as Jinx 3- Horrible Madonna cameo 4- The Matrix-like special effects (real time to slow-mo back to real time) 5- The CGI para-surfing looks like it was made by a 7 year old 6- The worst song in the series DAD 7- The Gustav Graves character was lame 8- Toby Stephen's performance was bad 9- The horrible script 10- The misused character by Madsen 11- The misused character of Miranda Frost 12- The invisible car 13- The lack of Bondness in the score 14- THe fact that everybody in the world knew that Frost would be the bad girl after 20 minutes 15- Every damn character has about 17 one liners 16- The fact that every single one liner was horrible (I don't like cock fights, bitch, yo mama, how's that for a punch line 17- Thy the hell have Mr. Kil?
Die Another Day Directed by Lee Tamahori.Starring Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry and Judi Dench.Pierce Brosnan's fourth effort as James Bond turns out to be by far his worst, resulting in the overly cheesy and disappointing "Die Another Day." Marking a double anniversary for the series (twenty films in forty years), the movie celebrates the tried-and-true Bond formula by tossing in at least one reference to each previous installment.
This is a typical James Bond flick which means a lot of good things and some bad ones but at least, if you're a fan of the series, you get what you expect.In other words, you get outrageous action scenes, Rambo--like mentality, a wild and fun villain, a "hot" female lead helping Bond, a bunch of sexual innuendos, a hokey-but- interesting story and some outstanding opening credits.I never had any complaints with Pierce Brosnan playing Bond.
It was sadly however that last Bond star the one and only Pierce Brosnan; who has easily established himself as probably the BEST BOND EVER (not saying I don't like any of the others though) Cant believe this movie is now a decade old but this film will live on and continue to entertain legions of Bond fans for decades to come.
The opening of DIE ANOTHER DAY might be considered one of the strongest of the entire series: James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) is captured while working undercover in a North Korean military base and is about to be executed.
Bond's fight with Zao in the gene therapy recalls the hard hitting, tensely edited fights from From Russia With Love where punches thrown look like they could hurt, and their car chase in Grave's melting ice palace gives a true sense of claustrophobia, yet a complete embracing of all the `wow' parts of James Bond.Halle Berry's Jinx is the first effective female equivalent to 007 in the entire series, employing ruthlessness, gadgets and chic cheek.
As I said, Brosnan, makes this movie for me, his performance makes you overlook the sub par performance of Halle Berry (the films only real weakness)So if your looking for a real good action adventure film then buy or rent Die Another Day, its not the best Bond film ever, but on an enjoyment level it ranks only behind Goldeneye, as Brosnan's Best..