12/01/2002
Die Another Day stars Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, Halle Berry as Jinx, Toby Stephens as Gustav Graves, Rosamund Pike as Miranda Frost, Rick Yune as Zao, John Cleese as Q, Judi Dench as M, Michael Madsen as Agent Damian Falco, Will Yun Lee as Colonel Moon, Samantha Bond as Moneypenny, Colin Salmon as Charles Robinson, Lawrence Makoare as Mr. Kil, Emilio Echevarria as Raoul, Rachel Grant as Peaceful, and Anna Edwards as Scorpion Girl.
Die Another Day is the second worst Bond film ever made. Casino Royale was the worst. The film should have been named Steal Another Scene. Where to begin? The opening, James Bond gains access to an arms deal in progress with a Communist country. Sound familiar? Instead of a Harrier Jet he is on a hovercraft. Next scene, hot babe exists water in a tropical country complete with island laboratory, Dr. No where are you? Let's see, we have a killer satellite and diamonds, I guess Diamonds are Forever. Of course the ever popular, laser, while strapped to a metal table ala Goldfinger torture. We also have a motel made out of ice in the same design as the underwater city in The Spy Who Loved Me. For those underwater escapes we have the same breathing device from Thunderball.
Having described my barrage of deja vu, there are some new gadgets worth mentioning, a very cool surfing scene, an Aston Martin with stealth liquid crystal technology, a cool rocket powered ice boat, and some cool cars. John Cleese is a perfect Q, and Judi Dench as M is dull and boring at best. Moneypenny is also miscast. There are also green screen scenes, where the background is grey and out of focus, and in the middle of Iceland, on a frozen lake, a rocket ice boat ride runs into a group of trees that have never been there before.
There is good action, but it is overshadowed by the retread scenes. Thankfully, Halle Berry has very little dialog. Why? Because she can't act.
I give it 2 out of 5 wirecutters: 