Die Another Day (2002)
Overall Rank- 20th
I never had a problem with Pierce Brosnan until I read Ian Fleming’s original Bond novels. The combination of that and the new actor announced to play Bond caused me to turn my back on Brosnan. It’s true that since Goldeneye his Bond films had been less enjoyed by fans of the franchise. While they likely grossed great deals of money in comparison to the films of earlier decades, the three films following Brosnan’s first outing as Bond were less than great in my opinion.
Die Another Day in many ways fueled the fire beneath my disappointment with Pierce Brosnan as Bond. It was groundbreaking for the series, but there were too many nuances that turned me away from it.
Halle Berry as another secret agent supposedly equal to Bond was a far reach and seemed forced. To be honest, I don’t think her acting is all that wonderful. I found her character Jinx more annoying than interesting. Despite being an attractive woman, she really took more away from the series than she brought into it.
Another issue I had was Bond’s imprisonment. While I may seem hypocritical after saying how much Bond was more real in Casino Royale, I felt the idea of Bond being captured and held in a prison was a stretch. I will give Brosnan some credit for finally temporarily shying away from the Bond as a superhero theme present throughout his movies, but once the scene of Bond’s capture ends, he becomes “Super Bond” once again.
I have always respected the Bond movies for their use of real stunt men and women to do the stunts. The fact that C.G.I had not been incorporated (at least not noticeably) in any Bond films was actually an appealing feature of the franchise. The scene of Bond surfing on a melting glacier sealed my belief that Brosnan was indeed killing the franchise. This scene and watching how it was made in the DVD special features completely ruined this Bond film for me. It also reaffirmed once again that Brosnan was trying to make Bond a superhuman.
Gadgets have always been an important part of Bond films, but Die Another Day takes Bond’s reliance on gadgets way too far. An invisible car is not realistic or feasible. I may go to movies to escape reality, but for a franchise that made wild spy exploits seem real, this was a sad departure.
Non-Bond fans, or some who have seen only the new movies will cite this as one of their favorite Bond films. Were they to get back to Bond’s roots, they may change that view.
This ranks among my lowest on the films because it just disappointed me in so many ways. Storyline, villains, girls and use of C.G.I in a very unbelievable scene make this Bond a loser on my list. While some may find it the most culturally up to date and technological Bond film, I simply cannot recommend it as a classic Bond film.