Die Another Day (2002) – Encore Review

“As I learned from my predecessor, Bond, I never joke about my work. ” – Q

Number of Times Seen – 4 times (Theater on 24 Dec 2002, DVD, 18 Dec 2014 and 17 Dec 2018)

Link to original review – Here

Brief Synopsis – After a filed mission, James Bond is imprisoned in Communist North Korea and the government denies he worked for them.

My Take on it – This film is notorious for being one of the weakest of the James Bond films and that largely has to do with the very silly plot that doesn’t work well enough at all.

Pierce Brosnan was always a great choice to play 007 and this was his final outing in the role because he realized that things we spiraling downward with the character.

The villains in this film aren’t memorable at all and will never be recalled as being among the best villains of the series.

Even with 3 formidable Bond girls; Madonna, Halle Berry and Rosamund Pike, the film doesn’t manage to be interesting enough.

The best thing about this film is the reappearance of John Cleese as Q who adds a bit of humor to the mix.

The gadgets he introduces in this film are fun to watch besides the fact that they might have gone a bit too far with the invisible car.

In a way, I’m glad this film is so bad because it allowed the producers to reboot the franchise once again and revamped the whole idea which works so much better.

Bottom Line – One of the worst Bond films because it makes so little sense.  Brosnan was always a great Bond but he can’t do the role any justice in this one. The villains aren’t memorable at all and even with 3 formidable Bond girls, something still doesn’t work well enough.  Best thing about this film is Cleese as Q and his gadgets even if they go a bit too far by introducing an invisible car.  Smart move to reboot the series after this film and give someone else a shot at the character.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – A spin-off was planned, featuring Halle Berry’s character Jinx as the lead. Neal Purvis and Robert Wade wrote for two months, and even a director was hired (Stephen Frears). However, after the low box-office performances of other female-character-driven action films like Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003) and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003) (they weren’t failures, but they only managed to make a small profit worldwide), MGM pulled the plug on the project. Halle Berry has said that she would love to return as Jinx in another Bond movie. She has allegedly said that she would like to do it so much, she would do the role for free. (From IMDB)

Rating – Razzie Worthy (4/10) (downgrade from original review)

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