Die Another Day

Well this review might be a bit shorter than it should be. I just wrote virtually the whole thing and then lost it when the UPS here died on me. But that’s life in a developing country eh?, Anyhow, It’s too depressing to write the whole thing up again so I’ll be brief here.

Die Another Day is the latest Bond instalment, and in many ways it stands up to or is even better than most of the previous films, although it does have a few glaring flaws too. At the end of the day though, this is a very Bond film. Not too sure that makes so much sense, but it’s the only way I can think to describe it. There’s something stylistically unique to James Bond flicks, and Die Another day lives up to that style admirably.

The good stuff? Well, this film is very cantered on characters, that’s good. The actual plot is patently outlandish, and for the most part unimportant. It’s got something to do with giant space lasers and a rogue North Korean army general and his mobster son. Whatever, the characters make up for it. I think this is the first time a CIA agent has had a major part in a Bond film; and it’s definitely the first time the Bond girl is another spy. This film also has one of the best bad guy henchmen in recent memory. Also the CIA director giving M hell was excellent to see. I’ve got to think that the American wouldn’t really be overly happy with all of Bond’s shenanigans. Incidentally I also though having the opening song done by Madonna was a smart move, she brings a sound unheard of to the Bond themes before. And the fact that Bond spends 14 months in a Korean prison cell is pretty cool, although of course, it doesn’t seem to bother him too much. I suppose by its very nature they couldn’t have Bond be anything but calm, cool, and collected.

Anyways the not so good stuff. Well, some things got a little out of hand. Some elements just went one step too far. And that’s saying a lot for a Bond film. Two elements particularly bugged me. One, Bond has an invisible car. Yes, that’s right, an invisible car. Am I crazy? Has this technology be around for a while, is it right under my nose, is it even remotely plausible? I know it’s bond, but I just can’t buy it. Secondly, there’s one action sequence that was just way too far over the top. Picture if you will Bond dangling in a rocket car over the precipice of a glacier a thousand feet about the icy waters of the North Sea as a giant space laser cannon is about to break the glacier in two plummeting Bond to a certain grizzly death. Good set up eh? Anyhow, Bonds miraculous escape (which he would obviously make) was so patently ridiculous I just couldn’t understand it. I mean, yes he is Bond, but come on!!! I don’t want to give it away, but it’s completely absurd. Despite these flaws in the grammar of the film, this is still a pretty entertaining ride. And James Bond always has some pretty fantastic adventures, I’d rather just concentrate on the character elements anyhow.

This is Bond, but it’s slick and polished in a way that Bond film haven’t been. This is a big budget action film with a guaranteed large take at the box office, and consequently they spent the money they needed to make it look good. I like this trend in Bond film of recent years. Every one seems to be bigger, cooler, and more action oriented. This is a pretty good move on the producers part. Anyhow, what I’m saying is it looks good. The cars are cool, even the baddies have super tricked out cars in this one, the clothes, the characters, everything just looks very cool. The only critique I have is that some of the CG in the action sequences was a little bit fake looking. Then again, that’s not necessarily their fault. Some of the stuff they did was fairly grand in scale, so for the most part I can forgive them.

This film has a pretty snazzy guest star. Halle Berry plays CIA agent Jinx. And while she is absolutely gorgeous, she also manages at least here to kick some serious ass. In fact I can’t remember Bond really killing too many bad guys in the past, but Berry’s Jinx character does it a lot. Not gratuitous, I just only now realized that though. Anyhow, while Berry is cool, and fits the character profile well, my favourite surprise guest appearance in this film was the hot headed bad ass CIA director played to a T by Michael Madson. Although I’ll probably always have trouble seeing him in films and not thinking of Mr Blonde from Reservoir Dogs, he still manages to be incredibly cool, and a real pleasure to watch. The other actors here, well they do their thing. It’s nothing too impressive, but nothing too bad. This is pretty standard for these actors now, and they play their respective roles well enough. I can’t be bothered to find out who directed this film, I think he’s Norwegian or something though. Anyhow, it doesn’t really matter, the film was fine, and I seriously suspect that a Bond film directs itself for the most part. Sorry if that sounds dismissive, but there’s a very set formula for all of these Bond flicks, and hey it works.

I liked this film on the whole, it’s a fun popcorn film. Nothing too serious, nothing to deep; it’s Bond at his best. Check this film out if you need a break from life for a while, simply put it’s a good time that requires little involvement and will undoubtedly entertain you.