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 ie Another Day" is the 20th James
Bond movie. That statement alone should tell you all you need to know about this
movie. If you've seen one Bond movie, then you will know what to expect (and
what not to expect) going into this one. And because the franchise is putting
out its 20th feature, everything that could possibly be done has been
done, and nothing that hasn't been done will ever be done.
"Die Another Day" opens like all Bond movies do,
with Bond (Pierce Brosnan) being inserted into a dangerous situation to perform
some dangerous mission, all the while utilizing impressive gadgets. In this
case, Bond has been sent to Communist North Korea to kill a rogue Colonel bent
on uniting the separated Korea peninsula at all cost. The mission goes wrong
when Bond is betrayed, and as a result Bond is captured and tortured for 14
months. Yes, that's right. Bond is captured and tortured for 14
months!
Fast-forward to 14 months later, and Bond is released in a
prison exchange between the Americans and the North Koreans. The person Bond is
being exchanged for is Zao (Rick Yune), a confidant to the Colonel Bond was sent
to kill. But things back at home is not to Bond's liking, as he's isolated and
suspected of giving up sensitive information that got a fellow agent killed.
Determined to clear his name and avenge his 14 months of captivity, Bond sets
out to find the traitor, get Zao, and as a result a whole lotta stuff blows up.
What, you thought they wouldn't?
It goes without saying that "Die Another Day" is
replete with gadgets (including an invisible car), beautiful woman with kooky
names (Rosamund Pike and Halle Berry, as Frost and Jinx, respectively), and
dialogue that is brimming with sexual innuendos and bad puns. It also goes
without saying that the untouchable Bond, who despite being touched for 14
months of grueling torture, recovers from his wounds (mentally and
physically) without missing a beat. Hey, he's Bond!
Which brings me to this conclusion: The Bond films have
become rollercoaster rides instead of movies. The films are nothing more than
elaborate action set pieces connected by a flimsy plot. In-between the
explosions, super-duper weapons, and machinegun fire, there is gratuitous sex,
cartoonish villains with global domination schemes, and Bond, forever stoic and
untouchable. This is the Bond formula, in a nutshell, and I doubt anyone will
ever mess with it. And why should they? Each successive Bond movie has made more
money than the previous. As the saying goes, "If it ain't broke..."
Pierce Brosnan, as Bond, has stopped trying to act. That
doesn't mean he can't act, it just means that he's played the role for so long
that it's like a second skin. Brosnan is Bond, just as Connery was Bond
when Connery was playing the role. Brosnan wears the tuxedo like he was born to
it.
Halle Berry ("Monster's Ball") joins the action
as American superspy Jinx, Bond's equal in the ass-kicking department. Berry is
playing her first gun-toting role here, and she isn't completely comfortable in
the role. Berry sometimes looks uneasy, sometimes awkward, but the actress
manages to convince us just enough to be effective. As the love interest,
Rosamund Pike looks good in and out of dress. What else was she supposed to do?
Who cares. Besides doing the synth-poppy opening song, Madonna shows up in a
glorified cameo, but still manages to convince us that she has no acting talent
to speak off.
"Die Another Day" offers the viewer an excellent
twist about halfway through that I doubt anyone saw coming, even though all the
hints were there. Another twist, involving the identity of the traitor, was not
so successful. Yes, it makes sense, but the sudden shift in character
personality by the traitor seems unnatural.
All that said, this is a James Bond movie. And going in,
you should know what that means.
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