Review of Die Another Day (2002) - The Plodding Jamboree
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- Опубликовано: 12 окт 2024
- Ah, Die Another Day... The perpetually torn apart movie that serves as an end to Pierce Brosnan's run as James Bond. Released in time for the 40th anniversary of the series, this film is nothing if not big, loud and ambitious. It has a star studded cast, creative people well-versed in contemporary action cinema, and a story that covers everything from terrorists to camouflaged public figures. The trouble is that if you fail at going for spectacle when you leap from the diving board, the splash from your belly flop will be remembered more than your attempt. Is the film really that bad, or are our memories a little skewed because of the presence of bad things in an otherwise solid movie?
Next in the Series: Casino Royale (2006)
Die Another Day is like the all you can buffet of Bond movies. It's fried chicken topped with pasta topped with salad topped with ice cream. Some pieces taste great, some pieces taste terrible, and when you're done you might feel a bit sick afterwards. But damn it, in 6 months time I guaranteed you I'm going to think "You know what I want tonight? All you can eat buffet"😅
That's a fun way to think about it.
@@stephenjarvis534 I don't care what people think , (referring to the haters) I think Die Another Day is a great film
I'm one of the few people who can still greatly enjoy Die Another Day inspite of its many whacky elements. It's the last over the top Bond film we've had, and we'll probably never get one again. Brosnan is still on top form, and the supporting cast do the best with what they're given (Toby Stephens, Rick Yune and Miranda Frost are my highlights). The action is pretty good (the tsunami surfind is at least a decent concept), as is the score. I love the Aston Martin Vanquish; it's my second favourite Bond car behind the DB, and partakes in my favourite car chase in the franchise (an enemy with a gadget-laiden car is a really cool idea). Madonna's title song is quite underrated, and at least it's catchy. Die Another Day is a Bond film I'll happily watch over many others. Even though I knew how derided the film was before seeing it, I didn't hate it, and gradually found more to like as time went on.
Nice tribute to Pierce at the end. Not my personal favorite Bond, but I agree that it probably did mean more to him than any of the others, and he gave it everything he had. I am grateful and appreciative for what he achieved with the role.
This is a really wonderful review! You skipped the stuff that's been spoke about to death, and really focused on some areas that I never thought about - the comparisons to Skyfall, the fact that Bond falls away in the second half, comparing General Chang to General Gogol. I also love that you're OK with the invisible car - like you said, we've had flying cars, underwater cars, invisible cars based on real military tech that was being developed really isn't that far of a stretch. Awesome stuff as always!
Fully agree, especially about General Chang. I had overlooked it before, but his role as a "peaceful warrior" was so very well done.
This was the film that told me that I was a huge fan of Bond and felt like I had been betrayed. I didn't hate Jinx, but I didn't like her. I despised Madonna's lead song. I thought the speakers in the theater had malfunctioned. It was the sheer awfulness of this film that was the reason I failed to see "Casino Royale" in the theaters. That's how visceral my reaction was to "Die Another Day."
Of course I found myself agreeing with your points as you made them over the half hour, but that's not why I watch these. It's the articulation. When you got to the itemized criticisms of Tamahori and the editing, I was thinking, "YES! That's what the problem was!!" Surprised you didn't mention the speeded up fencing scene as a low point. Thank you again.
I DON'T remember the fencing scene be sped up. MY GOD! WHY would anyone DO such a STUPID thing??? All you have to do is watch a real swordfight to know that it's EXCITING enough. Whether it's "The Adventures Of Robin Hood" in 1939 with Errol Flynn & Basil Rathbone, or "The Androids of Tara" on DOCTOR WHO with Tom Baker & Peter Jeffrey.
@@henrykujawa4427 Gritty brutality (Polanski's Macbeth and The Three and Four Musketeers), Stylised Swashbuckling (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and the Star Wars Prequels), it's a SWORD FIGHT. It doesn't need to be sped up to be cool or intense!
The more you remind of the scenes in this film - the more I Like this film! Reminds me of how beautifully filmed it is and the whole cast are excellent, especially Berry and Brosnan chemistry and it is all just darned entertaining !!!
Thank you for that tribute to Pierce at the end. He will always be my favourite, but people look down their nose at me when I say so.
This movie is largely a disaster, but it’s fun, and I would go back to it before half of Craig’s output in a heartbeat!
So you consider it so bad it's awesome, then. Can't blame ya.
I'll never get why people often dismiss Brosnan. He's sleek and cool, able to do both the serious scenes and one liners at the same time.
Jinx was the primary problem with this movie. They tried really hard to insert a character whose SOLE purpose was to be a breakaway character for future franchise films. And it just does not work.
Let's say she's one of the standout problems. 😅 But rly you're right and it's an avoidable mishap too. Especially when they had a second Bond girl at hand, which fit a Bond movie better thematically as well as regarding her chemistry with Brosnan. In case of the Jinx breakaway/spin-off I've reasoned before, the studio likely lost all its confidence in doing that, way before the film debuted. Otherwise I couldn't imagine them writing off the Miranda Frost character in the end...
She was also useless.
28:38 I really think his performance int the World Is Not Enough was even better. And I am glad that Pierce is getting some love. I remember when Casino Royale came out in 2006 and especially when Skyfall was a massive hit in 2012, people were constantly bashing Brosnan for no reason at all and would not even admit that were a lot of good things that came from the Brosnan era. I think now people miss those standalone adventures and pines for the time where each Bond film was its own contained story.
You know what the real pity is? Change up one or two things and the first quarter of this movie is practically the best the series has been!
You mentioned the choppy editing by Christian Wagner, he used this technique in films directed by Tony Scott and John Woo, which is why I always felt like Die Another Day had that Scott / Woo flair.
One my favorite guilty pleasure campy fun spectacle underrated entertaining enjoyable fun action Bond movie adventure amazing review bro greatness of amazing awesome review I. Love this movie so much yes yet this movie have a lot of flaws I don't care die a another day is fun Bond movie adventure 😊😊😊😊😊I love this movie
I do enjoy this one. I think the first half as you say is great. The PTS and credits are fantastic , despite the song. Brosnan is in great form. Rosamund Pike as Frost is excellent too.
The ice chase between the Aston and Lotus is excellent with brilliant stunts. Which makes some of the bad CGI later even worse!
Some cringe dialogue and odd direction limit the film though.
Die Another Day was the first bond film I seen in the cinema. I still do actually really enjoy this movie- it’s a guilty pleasure. I’d rate it over Quantum, Spectre, Live And Let Die, YOLT, From Russia With Love. Sometimes I’d even rate it over Skyfall (I find the 3rd act in Scotland very drawn out with M’s death).
I think part of DAD appeal is the wackiness e.g invisible car. It has one of the best car chases in the series (possibly outdone by TND). The characters do remind me of A View To A Kill, larger than life.
The weaknesses are the terrible theme song, poor CGI and lines like “Yo mama”.
Sometimes you just want a film that’s an easy watch/ escape and DAD fits that bill. Plus Cuba and Iceland locations are stunning. Rosamund Pike as Miranda was genius- she steals the show for me. I’m not too fussed on Jinx.
You made an excellent point about Bond lacking distinction in this film. Everyone had one liners and we see fantastic gadgets from villains. This was a symptom of the Brosnan era's main problem: Every moment was "Bondian". Every scene, every frame, had to be distinctly be Bond. The series at this point was absolutely terrified of not operating outside of the Bondian world. Yes, The World is Not Enough tried new ideas but the execution of them were DOA. Any emotion from that film always came off as cheap. Even though I am not much of Brosnan fan, I think he deserved a good one to go out on.
FYI: The speeding and slowing of the frames is called speed ramping.
@@ricardocantoral7672 Thanks! I'm not a professional editor, so it's nice to know some of the terminology.
@@stephenjarvis534 There has to be a God because speed ramping eventually went out of style.
Great review. One additional critique I have about the film is that it is never explained why Bond, Jinx, and numerous others transported their cars all the way to Iceland to attend a one night gala. Like, couldn’t they simply take a taxi, limo or shuttle from the airport? Yeah, I know, suspend your disbelief, I know…
Nice video, but I watched your henchman ranking video and I’ve got to disagree about Necros. He single-handedly infiltrates an MI6 safe house through disguises and accents, and uses his signature Walkman to assassinate people, and fights the MI6 agent disguised as a butler in the safe house kitchen in a brutal, creative sequence which sets him up later for the thrilling mid-air fight as a tough henchman. He also has a personality, he seems to have traits of Autism because he listens to the pretenders on repeat and he gets off on talking to his victims before killing them.
I would say Brosnan as 007 is much like Henry Cavill or Ben Affleck as Superman and Batman, such perfect casting choice who I ultimately felt was wasted with material that didn't utilise his talents in ways I think they should.
I've said it before in I think your Tomorrow Never Dies review in which I feel like the Brosnan films feel like films that wanted to take chances and you can tell Brosnan wanted to go above and beyond, but always felt like checklist rather than films that so happen to follow a formula with it plays their risky ideas too safe or ultimately goes no where with them.
@@callummoore6962 The Cavill Superman was particularly depressing. The man was the perfect replacement for Christopher Reeves. What do the writers do to him? Make him a blight on humanity.
A fun little bit of trivia- the Antonov An-124 seen at the end of the film (Gustav Graves plane) carries the registration UR-82007. Whether or not they intentionally used an aircraft with 007 in the registration or if it was pure coincidence, I'm not sure. An interesting titbit though.
I think my favourite part of this movie was learning years later that it was filled with 19 references to previous Bond movies (one each).
That said, I did like the first half hour or so, and the scene in the London Underground.
Well, several films have multiple references. Dr. No has both Jinx emerging from the water and the electronic sound played during Bond's escape from the ship, From Russia with Love has a camera crew filming in the bedroom and two gadgets in the Q scene, Octopussy has three gadgets in the Q scene, and so on.
I'm in the camp of people that grew up on this Bond in particular. And while I can aknowledge most if not all the many flaws, that follow up as soon as the film hits the Cuba scenery, I will always hold this as one of the most fun rides a movie can be. IMO it fits right along the other uber iconic movies of that time that were The Matrix, The Mummy, LOTR and the early Harry Potter movies. Just the finale and the scenes leading up to it (surfing 😉) are where it falls direly apart for me. The sci-fi influences were being overdone at that point, seeing the plane go right trough a giant space laser and Gustav's electrocuting suit - weird and silly beyond belief. Having Miranda die in the swordfight is forever one of the biggest story mistakes and given the fact, they would pass up such an easy chance to have both girls around for any follow-up, makes it hard to believe that the studio ever had high hopes on the supposed Jinx spin-off movie.
This film had its potential in the first hour or so
27:48 and Pierce deserved better. Some of the scripts and dialogue they were giving him was appalling. I really do blame Barbara Broccoli and Michael G.Wilson. They were comfortable as Pierce's Bond movies brought in the cash, despite the mixed critical reception of the movies after GoldenEye. And when Sir Roger Moore said that Die Another Day was a bit over the top in 2002, you know you have done something. And in the Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007 documentary, Pierce even laughs out loud when they talk about the tsunami surfing scene. And look at how much backing they gave Daniel Craig. After Spectre, he went on a talk show and said, "I would rather slash my wrist than play the role again" and yet he was backed all the way. While Pierce got let go because of their ineptitude to hire the right people after Goldeneye and for me even after the World Is Not Enough. If I was Pierce, I would be a bit annoyed as well.
19:09 even with the editing there is no saving this movie. Maybe Quantum of Solace can be saved with a re-edited version. But Die Another Day will not work. And I agree with DutchBondFan, some of the scenes makes you think you hit the fast forward button on the remote.
I remember being dissapointed when it came out. Some parts are indefendable. But after depressive Craig and some older movies not aging well now a days I can enjoy it and ranks at an average position.
I think the first half is pretty good actually.... I remember the big deal at the time was to see 007 in a prison camp in rags. I mean in Tomorrow Never Dies he goes to infiltrate a fortress and he wears a suit.
Pierce had three Bond movies and one Spy Kids movie
28:47 that I will give. Him and Sir Roger Moore never complained or was a malcontent towards the role of Bond. Unlike Sir Sean Connery, George Lazenby and even Daniel Craig, Pierce never had a problem with the producers and genuinely cared about the franchise more than himself.
Never had a problem with the invisible car. Especially since Top Gear proved it can be done 👀
I grew up on the Connery Bonds. My dad took me to the movie theaters to see them, starting with From Russia With Love (yes, I'm an old fart). He is my favorite actor to play the role followed by Dalton then Craig. Brosnan was good, but aside from Goldeneye, was given subpar scripts (not his fault). The thing about Brosnan was that it seemed he really didn't know how to fight. He was always getting the crap kicked out of him far too easily. Goldeneye IMO is his best. DoD was really poor. Was it the worst in the series? No, I nominate View to a Kill for that distinction.
As to cars...the DB5, then Dalton's AM.
Could have been worse. MY first (ahem) "James Bond" film was that THING Charles K. Feldman did in 1967. Imagine! Of course, between 1970 and 1973, I read the first 3 or 4 Ian Fleming novels in order. Then I saw GOLDFINGER on ABC. I spent the rest of the 70s watching Bond films I'd never seen before, and continuing to slowly read thru the entire series of books right to the end. And it seems, every time I'd read a book before seeing the movie, the movie disappointed me terribly. Except for OHMSS.
Speaking of cars... Jack Kirby gave NICK FURY a flying car in his very 1st episode in STRANGE TALES #135 (cover date Aug'65), we saw a car turn into a submarine in #137 (Oct'65), and Jim Steranko gave Fury a car that could change its color or become INVISIBLE in ST #162 (Nov'67). Yeah. 35 YEARS before Bond got an invisible car! Although, in Fury's case, the car was made of transparent material, and he had to wear a full body SUIT that made him invisible while driving it.
@@henrykujawa4427 Ooof. That's a rough one to start with. At least Goldfinger was your first serious one. Interesting observation about the Fury comics. While I like a lot of Marvel films, I've read very little of the comics (unlike DC), so that's cool to learn.
@@stephenjarvis534 In the 60s, JACK KIRBY was their main creator, writer, designer, illustrator. And he never got credit or PAY for any of his writing! "Nick Fury" was one of my favorite series back then, but during Kirby's run, he was reduced to just writing & "layouts", with a rotating roster of illustrators that kept changing every couple of months. All the same, I've long felt the comics series would make an idea series of 4 movies if adapted authentically: 3 focusing on Hydra (it really is structured like a massive trilogy), and the 4th on The Yellow Claw. (They would have to make a couple of "small" but vital changes to the Yellow Claw story, however, as the book's editor needlessly interfered by making 2 early chapters a flashback-- and the last panel of the finale, changing the identity of the main villain. The editor was jealous because Jim Steranko was getting more fan mail than he was, and he engaged in "editorial interference" as a way of "showing who was boss". How petty can you get?)
Most of the 60s "Nick Fury" series was not reprinted until the 2000s, but now there's a pair of books collecting the entire (short) run. By the way, many comics characters tend to be modelled on real people, but you have to go back to their original artist-creator tofigure out who. It took me ages to realize that Kirby apparently modelled Fury's appearance on actor Ralph Meeker.
Excellent review as always. You always use such choice music in your intros and exits!!
Do you mind dropping a link to soundtracks you've used??
That may be a little tricky with some of them. I scoured the internet to try and get the physical CDs, including the La La Land limited edition releases for 5 of the films, this being one of them. The intro track is Kiss of Life, the one that closes the actual review is Going Down Together, and the final is the extended version of Company Car from Tomorrow Never Dies. Since I try to use the actual soundtracks when I can, these aren't what I used, but hopefully they should suffice this time.
ruclips.net/video/IiZbPbI8Dco/видео.htmlsi=eIXsAEU4VUsND1FN - Kiss of Life
ruclips.net/video/Ixzqx2C2c5E/видео.htmlsi=VtOaCfLpdiVMinW4 - Going Down Together
ruclips.net/video/sTpVVrI5Sfw/видео.htmlsi=7jhuhaB5PVW7pfJM - Company Car
@@stephenjarvis534 Thank you so much for taking the time to reply back! Very excited to listen to each of these!
When you're outdone by your tie-in music video (and actually overhated theme song), you know you done goof'd.
Hell, even the title sequence is bad this time round!
@@NebLleb This is the only Kleinman sequence I don't care for that much.
@@stephenjarvis534 Yeah, it was basically "Hey, Kleinman. Here's some footage of Pierce getting beat up and grimacing. Put some hot chicks over it, make them fire and ice-themed as opposed to silhouettes because the second half is set in an icy environment and involves a space laser and call it a night. You'll get paid three times your salary!"
Damn 2002 was not a good year for the Bond series... Or it would've been if not for NightFire. That game rocks.
Your comment on Brosnan having the Bond role taken away before he was ready to stop is poignant because it recently happened to him again. His role as Dr. Fate was one of the best parts of the mediocre Black Adam film. I would love to see him play Fate again in other DC films, but due to create derisions behind the scenes, he won't be able to play that part again.
Brosnan seems to have all the luck when it comes to franchise roles, right?
Although, DC has a real problem sticking to a plan when it comes to their shared universes. I can't believe we will see yet a third attempt at that in theaters next year.
Bond producers ditched Pierce after he gave them the biggest bond hit ever. This film was way better than most of Daniel Craig versions. And the intro action scene was awesome. He was saved by the bell 😊. Daniel Craigs films no time to die and spectre sucked 😅
Just prep yourself. I have nice things to say about No Time to Die, though I imagine the Spectre review will be fairly negative.
Totally agree.
Greatness of the review Dad 20 Bond movie die a another day i love this movie so passionate much die a another day fun movie 😁
Out of all the Bond films, even though some aren't that good, I can still find something to enjoy with them. However, Die Another Day is the one exception. Out of all 20-something Bond films, this is the only one that I just straight-up hate.
Having just re-watched this film, Toby Stevens character/performance in this film seems like a bizarre precursor to Elon Musk. Art imitating life/life imitating art, strange times we live in.
Ok hear me out, Die Another Day is secretly genius, while the DNA race change procedure, invisible car, the CGI tsunami windsurfing and diamond satellite (which is more believable than Silva's escape from Skyfall) can be over the top and the dialogue can be a bit cheesy, it's still fun, enjoyable and very reminiscent of what the Kingsman films are doing. Lee Tamahori's direction is unique and very original, David Arnold's musical score is his best, Madonna's theme song is awesome, the fencing scene is kickass and the cast are giving there 100% especially Pierce Brosnan. Honestly if this was the direction the Bond films were going to go in instead of ripping off Jason Bourne in the Daniel Craig film I would have been happy. SIQMUND FREUD, ANALYZE THIS!
@thomasanderson2757 I wish I could concur, as nothing would make me happier than to say my favorite Bond actor had nothing but hits.
The all five Craig being "Bourne ripoffs" claim never made sense to me. I definitely see it when talking about Quantum (as that film had more than just visual style in common with that series), but I spent 3 weeks with that series very recently, and beyond some superficial things, I couldn't disagree more that Craig was just doing Bourne in every one of them.
@@stephenjarvis534 I only think QoS and Skyfall ripped off Jason Bourne while Casino Royale, Spectre and NTTD are more like traditional Bond with a modern twist
While DaD wasn't my first Bond film, it was the first one I saw in theaters as a young kid. I enjoyed it then, and really soured on it over time. When I wrote my ranking article for the (official) franchise, it was second to last, right next to AVTAK.
Well, I had a few beers, and rewatched it earlier this year. Yeah, a lot of it is dumb, and there's too much fan service. However, I was enjoying it. Brosnan carries a lot of the film, and I had a blast. It's not moving up a whole lotta rungs on my ranking, but it's above the likes of Spectre and Moonraker for me now.
I'm in agreeance that Everything or Nothing is like the 5th Brosnan film. Hell, I've got multiple copies in my house, and even have a signed copy of the game, with Willem Dafoe's signature on it.
When I think of Bond, Brosnan is generally who comes to mind. Now, my favorite film is a Craig one, (and the one you're covering next), but Brosnan is "my" Bond. Just as how the Bond theme from TLD is what I think of when I think of that tune, Brosnan is who I see in my head when I think of Bond.
I'm really looking forward to the next review. I know how much you (and the community at large) loves CR, so hearing your takes on it is gonna be exciting.
@Paul_Whaley Heads up, the next Bond film review will be Casino Royale and my nerves are all kinds of racked at the prospect of tackling my favorite. However, it is not the next video I'm working on. It's something unrelated to James Bond (and not as random as Gears of War), but I think you'll like it.
@@stephenjarvis534 Awesome! I know how much effort it takes to make these really thought out, and produced reviews. I'm looking forward to the next video. More gaming videos? Maybe a review of a classic 70s film? A livestream where we get to pick your brain? Whatever it is, I'm in for it.
Have a great day! Thanks again for the review, always happy to see them pop in my notifications.
@@Paul_Whaley It’s another franchise retrospective. The one clue is that I have used a clip from it within the last three reviews.
@@stephenjarvis534 Oh? There's a lot that it could be, and I'm ready for any of it!
When I first saw Die Another Day, I thought the film would be about Bond earning his 007 status again. No, sorry, by the end of the first act, he’s an 00 again.
A film that was so putrid, it took me years to be able to watch anything with Toby Stephens in it.
The shocking irony, for me, is that I liked the BBC Radio version of "DR. NO" way more than the 1962 movie! No doubt because... IT FOLLOWED THE BOOK!
Easily the worst of the original 20. Strays too much into braindead videogamey vibes, especially in the third act. It has its moments but Brosnan deserved so much better.
For me, it works until that DNA transplant nonsense is introduced.
I would put it above A View To a Kill and The World is Not Enough.
I never had an issue with Pierce. I think he was fine as Bond. But some of the directing and script writing was poor. Rosamund Pike was done dirty in this movie. She is brilliant in everything I have seen and it pains me that she was in probably the worst Bond movie of all time. I agree that the first half of the movie was okay. There was intrigue and they did try to pull off a Licence to Kill type scenario when M revokes Bond's OO status and he goes rogue. But it gets resolved so quickly that you hardly remember it. And once the movie goes to Iceland, it nosedives into oblivion. Lee Tamahori struggles with the vision and it shows.
Bond meeting his match in the opposite Sex was already done Wei lin
Brosnan is a bond I prefer to Craig because I grew up with Roger. He was a great bond but unfortunately given awful material to work with for the most part. His films have dated badly and he should have made a few more.
Pretty bad film. Absolutely dies when the setting returns to London. The Clash is the last good thing in it, the rest is the Bond movie that was written by throwing darts at a board marked out with pro-forma plot points and set-pieces. All 19 EON films which preceded it have earned multiple viewings from me. I have never gone back to watch DAD a second time.
@@darcyj19 I think it dies before that. Specifically, when they introduce that DNA replacement nonsense. At that moment, you know it's all downhill.
Funny enough, this isn't my least favorite bond film but I do think it's Brosnan's worst (not his fault though, he's trying his hardest in a movie with a terrible script and lots of tonal whiplash.) Is it filled with many problems? of course but at the same time it's at least entertaining enough where i'm willing to shut my mind off and just enjoy the stupidity of some of the scenes. I still feel like Pierce deserved a fifth film. He clearly wanted to as well but EON wanted to reboot the franchise instead.
There is one advantage "Die Another Day" has over "Skyfall": It's not boring....
@@stefanpp1155 I think Skyfall works until that lame climax.
Utterly appalling Bond movie. Plus it’s boring once they arrive at the ice hotel.