Has
007 Become a XXX Franchise?
DIE ANOTHER DAY
RATING: B
Starring
Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Toby Stephens, Rosamund Pike, Rick
Yune, John Cleese and Judi Dench as "M". Costume Designer
Lindy Hemming, Music by David Arnold, "Die Another Day"
Performed by Madonna, Editor, Christian Wagner, Director of Photography
David Tattersall, Production Designer Peter Lamont, Co-Producer
Callum McDougall, Executive Producer Anthony Waye, Written by
Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, Produced by Michael G. Wilson and
Barbara Broccoli, Directed by Lee Tamahori.
Rated PG-13, Running Time 133
MINS, 2.40:1 Anamorphic Scope Aspect Ratio.
After a three year hiatus Pierce
Brosnan returns as James Bond, British Secret Service agent 007,
Ian Fleming's popular literary character that has appeared in
over twenty films. The fortieth anniversary of the screen franchise
gets off to a bang when Bond is captured during an assassination
attempt on an arms dealing Colonel in North Korea. After being
imprisoned and tortured, Bond is set free only to discover he's
been betrayed by his government, a traitor is in his midst and
he is suspected of leaking secrets during his captivity. Bond
decides to go rogue agent and pursue Zao (Rick Yune), a North
Korean terrorist that slipped through his fingers, but not before
becoming disfigured by some explosive diamonds after his run in
with 007.
 Tracking
Zao to Havana, Bond meets Jinx (Halle Berry) a sexy and mysteriously
deceptive agent who reveals to him Zao's involvement with Gustav
Graves (Toby Stephens), a meglomaniacal playboy whose source of
wealth is a diamond mine. Graves and Zao may be involved in a
plot that would reunite North and South Korea and take Bond across
the globe to London, a magnificent ice palace in Iceland and beyond.
Don't worry, he'll still have time to surf (yes, a surfing 007)
ice climb, para-sail, drive his invisibility capable Aston Martin,
stop the bad guys, save the world and maybe nab some time with
Graves' beautiful personal assistant (Rosamund Pike). Only 007.
No wonder every man and boy wants to be like him.
For a man who is barely fifty,
Brosnan still looks just as lean and fit as ever. He may not be
as lean as his "Remington Steele" days, but the bottom
line is he's in great shape and this is no over the hill James
Bond. He's comfortably grown into the role over the years, bringing
Bond into the new century and rivaling the performance of Bond's
original on screen creator, Sean Connery. With this new outing
Brosnan's Bond still has the trademark wit, but he has greater
feral intensity, almost as if the Andy Osnard character in last
year's "The Tailor of Panana" has rubbed off on him
a little. This bit of ruthlessness within him harkens back to
Fleming's original novel. Timothy Dalton managed to put a little
of this darkness into his underrated but unsuccessful interpretation
of 007.
 My
biggest gripe with the film is not Lee Tamahori's precise direction,
but the editing of the film itself. Since the development of the
last Bond film we now live in a post "Matrix" world.
It seems that every action film since that cult hit feels they
must try and emulate its visual style in order to maintain audience
attendance. This new edition of Bond doesn't contain any silly
martial arts sequences or wire tricks, its just that the editing
is so kinetic and chaotic it makes one eventually feel jaded and
bored. Bond films always had great action but they were never
about trying to just dazzle the audience and were above this style
of filmmaking. Even last summer's Bond rip-off "XXX"
didn't resort to these tactics. I miss the simplicity in Tamahori's
direction like his previous films "Once Were Warriors",
"Mulholland Falls" and even last year's mediocre "Along
Came of Spider." I was also surprised by the disturbing level
of violence within the film. Bond films have never been this violent
and along with the annoying fast and slow motion camera moves
it looks like they are trying to enter John Woo territory. James
Bond may be a suave secret agent but he is after-all a killer
with a licence to kill. Too many of Bond and Jinx's opponents
end up on the wrong ends of a knife, gun or laser beam in such
a violent fashion that it upsets and jolts the audience, taking
them out of the story.
 Sitting
in the theater watching this film I couldn't help but roll my
eyes over its inconceivable gadgets and insane plot. The plot
is indeed ridiculous and implausible, but then I caught myself
and realized, "Wait a minute, this is a Bond film."
Everything in "Die Another Day" isn't any more ridiculous
than "Goldfinger" trying to irradiate Fort Knox, space
battles in "Moonraker" and a publisher trying to start
a war so he may sell more newspapers in "Tomorrow Never Dies."
Neal Purvis and Robert Wade's script is a little too dense for
a Bond film. They don't have the talent to place humor and wit
within the story like previous Bond scribe, comedian Bruce Fierstein.
In the past three features Fierstein's Bond adventures never took
themselves too seriously. Still, I enjoyed the clever sight gags
that appear in the film like the stileto knife boot from "From
Russia With Love", the crocodile submarine from "Octopussy",
the jet pack from "Thunderball" and of course, the bikini
clad Berry's emergence from the ocean like Ursula Andress' Honey
Rider in "Dr. No."
 Returning
for the ride in this new adventure are series regulars Samantha
Bond as Moneypenny, Colin Salmon as Robinson, John Cleese as Q
and the great Dame of them all, Judi Dench as M. Dench and Brosnan
once again share that chemistry amongst their characters that
can be both maternal and acidic. She has great affection and sympathy
for Bond but would never tell him. They disagree on each other's
methods but follow the same code. Dench portrays the rugged experience
of a veteran who was once a field agent like Bond. They couldn't
be in greater agreement when discussing the consequences of the
job: "Never make any deals. Once you're caught you're given
up."
I cringed a little when Brosnan
referred to John Cleese as "Q", sorely missing his creator,
the late Desmond Llewelyn. The right choice was made in Cleese
who seems as if he is cut from the same cloth, never amused at
007's attitude towards his work. Brosnan: "You know, you're
cleverer than you look." Cleese: "Oooh, better than
looking cleverer than you are."
 It's
a great pleasure to see Halle Berry as a Bond girl, not just because
she's a black woman, but for her power as a screen presence. Berry's
Jicinta "Jinx" Johnson is unlike any Bond girl in recent
memory. Not only does she have class, but her attitude and fierceness
rivals that of Pam Grier and other black actresses of exploitation
cinema. She's the real "Foxxy Cleopatra" and like a
predator keeps her eyes in front, focused on her target. Berry:
"And what do predators do at night (Mr. Bond)?" Brosnan:
"They feast, like there's no tomorrow." She's also more
than a match for Bond in bed and pretty voracious. I thought she
was gonna break his back several times.
I'm happy to see Bond working
with and going against such "new blood" as his young
supporting cast. There's a small gap in the years between Brosnan
and Berry's ages but newcomers like Stephens, Yune and Pike are
fresh, fast and deadly for our hero, making him feel more like
"a relic from the Cold War" as M once called him. Starting
with Stephens, the Bond franchise has thankfully got a villain
that is much like 007 himself. Stephens' Gustav Graves is the
sort of daredevil millionaire playboy that would rival Richard
Bramson, but at the same time he plots to wreak global havoc.
I think this is the first time that the major Bond villain is
a younger, faster and stronger man who poses a real threat to
007 and may actually win. Bond and Graves engage in a pretty fierce
duel that demonstrates fencing is more than just swinging colored
light sticks around.
 Rick
Yune so underrated in Scott Hicks "Snow Falling On Cedars"
and so poorly used in "The Fast and the Furious" is
perfectly cast as the venomous Zao. He's what a Bond villain should
act and look like and I really enjoyed studying the work that
went into the makeup of his scarred face. Brosnan's taunts to
Yune's ugly puss bounce right off him. Brosnan to Yune's scarred,
diamond encrusted face: "You know I missed your sparkling
personality!" Yune after punching Brosnan's stomach: How's
that for a punchline?
I couldn't believe it when I
discovered that newcomer Rosamund Pike is only 22 years of age.
For such a young woman she's the perfect match for an experienced
veteran like Brosnan and thankfully her character of Miranda Frost
is no plaything or damsel in distress. She's got Bond's number
from the moment she locks eyes with him. Pike: "I know all
about you Mr. Bond. Sex for dinner, death for breakfast!"
 All
of the key production members from the franchise have returned.
People like production designer Peter Lamont, Danny Kleinman (kudos
for another innovative opening title sequence), stunt coordinator
Vic Armstrong and composer David Arnold make this series work.
I was a bit disappointed in Arnold's work on the score this time
out. As a diehard Bond fan he's managed to capture the essence
of John Barry's work on previous features. His combination of
techno and orchestral brings 007 into the 21st century. The techno
aspect overwhelmed the score just a bit and along with the loud
soundtrack can cause some stinging in the ears. Madonna's theme
song aint' too shabby, its something that will grow on you, but
will this techno/synth piece appear dated in the next few years?
I did very much enjoy David Arnold's Cuban bandrendition of the
James Bond theme in the Havana sequence.
Under the helm of producers Barbara
Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson the Bond franchise has never been
more successful. This series may have invented the action adventure
genre in cinema but could never be as great as it once was. Those
films were from an era gone by that has been replaced with a time
of such urgency and immediacy. Everything is just so fast paced
today, even for 007. The Bond franchise is keeping up with the
pack but just barely.
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