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Bond: predictable, enjoyable
By John Behling
Published:
Monday, November 25, 2002
Pierce Brosnan reprises his role as British superspy James Bond in MGM’s “Die Another Day,” which opened nationwide Friday.
Even with fast cars, beautiful women, a plethora of violence and an aura of overall coolness, I found it hard to get myself out to see “Die Another Day.”
After the bad “Tomorrow Never Dies” and the worse “The World is Not Enough,” I thought I’d had just about enough of Pierce Brosnan as Agent 007.
Granted, “Goldeneye” was a great film, and the Bond franchise itself has hosted a number of great films including “Thunderball” and “Gold Finger,” but the question is whether “Die Another Day” is just another Bond film.
The film begins in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea with a daring attempted assassination and hovercraft chase scene. But after this burst of action, “Die Another Day” takes an unpolished twist.
Unlike any other inescapable situation 007 has been in, this one truly is inescapable. Bond is held in a North Korean prison for 14 months. Although these 14 months take place during the three-minute Madonna song and title sequence, “Die Another Day,” the change in formula should definitely be noted.
This twist adds a touch of seriousness that was absent from the last two Bond pictures and makes for an interesting start.
This quickly leads to the world-traveling, high-paced spirit of the franchise. Another twist worth noting is the inclusion of the female agent “Jinx” (played by Halle Berry). Jinx contributes both to the action and to the scenery as the American counterpart of the English/American joint attempt to stop a megalomaniac in control of an unthinkable destructive force.
While the idea of having a female agent join Bond in his exploits is not new to the series (Michele Yeoh played Bond’s counterpart in “Tomorrow Never Dies”) Berry’s character is distinct and adds a lot of flavor to the film.
Other than these two slight embellishments on the Bond formula, the rest of it remains both predictable and enjoyable.
There are plenty of gadgets, including an invisible car and a ring that shatters shatterproof glass. There’s also no shortage of interesting villains, including Zao, the disturbing creation of a diamond-laced bomb and a half-baked attempt at gene therapy. Also, the fighting, driving and lovemaking all make the grade.
So, as a Bond film, “Die Another Day” receives high marks. Of course, you’ll have to suspend reality to believe most of the stunts, all of the plot and some of the acting, but this is nothing new to a Hollywood movie.
In the end, “Die Another Day” is a well-written execution of the cookie-cutter Bond formula and shows that there is still life for Bond, even after 24 films and five different lead actors.
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