Claim: Pierce Brosnan worked with a director.

Die Another Day -LRB- 2002 -RRB- is the twentieth spy film in the James Bond series , and the fourth and final film to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond . The film follows Bond as he leads a mission to North Korea , during which he is betrayed and , after seemingly killing a rogue North Korean colonel , is captured and imprisoned . Fourteen months later , Bond is released as part of a prisoner exchange . Surmising that someone within the British government betrayed him , he attempts to earn redemption by tracking down his betrayer and killing a North Korean agent he believes was involved in his torture .   Die Another Day , produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli , and directed by Lee Tamahori , marked the James Bond franchise 's 40th anniversary . The series began in 1962 with Sean Connery starring as Bond in Dr. No . Die Another Day includes references to each of the preceding films .   The film received mixed reviews . Some critics praised the work of Lee Tamahori , while others criticised the film 's heavy use of computer-generated imagery , which they found unconvincing and a distraction from the film 's plot . Nevertheless , Die Another Day was the highest-grossing James Bond film up to that time if inflation is not taken into account .