*** Official "DIE ANOTHER DAY" Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Dan Brecher]

Also it seems that US is going to get the censored version.

I believe that was a false rumour, as quite rightly as you say, the international version has nothing really heavy in the way of it's sex scenes, even if the Bond/Jinx one is the most (how should I say, intimate?) of the recent 007 movies.

Dan

 

[oscar_merkx]

I also watch this yesterday and went in without expectations, and had a great time. Some SFX were indeed terrible then again we are spoiled when comparing to DVDS like AOTC & Lord of the Rings Ex Ed.
I thought the scene near the end with MoneyPenny & James Bond was hilarious

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

This is the first Bond film that I can remember that uses a lot of blue screen to film its action sequences and the results are ridiculous. Besides that laughable surfing sequence on the Iceland waters, one can clearly see Brosnan acting out his action fights in front of a blue screen during the hovercraft chase sequence in North Korea.
This is just unbelievable. The rest of my comments can be found here.
~Edwin

 

[Quentin]

Ya know...when did Bond get this silly-stupid? Connery was a badass with a wink and a smile. Moore was suave and campy, but fun. Lazenby was the same (and kind of tough, too). Dalton tried to go back to being tough...but he lacked charisma. And now Pierce.

The last Bond film I saw was also "Goldeneye". Didn't like it. BORING! But this one? Opening - ok, and then into some cool rogue agent toughness. Cuba was nice and Berry was passable. But once Bond came back to London, things started going downhill.

What is with lame villain plans lately? First, the Green Goblin has the wonderful plan for Spidey to "join him"! Goooood.

Now, this dude comes up with a plan to take his gazillion bajillion dollars (how did he come up with so much cash without crashing the diamond market?), build an ice palace (why?), make himself famous and white (don't know how this aided his plan at all...), and builds a gigantoid satellite (sure...I buy that he launched it without getting it shot down and it is immune to missile fire...if we shoot at it one at a time!)...

All this for his master plan to....blow up the land mines in the Korean DMZ???? Are you freaking kidding me?! How about burning S. Korea off the map? Heck, save the trouble and launch one of your nice, new nukes! Why do we need the ineffective sunbeam? It can't even destroy things (the plane flies right through it). It can melt ice and blow up explosives! Niiiiiice.

Lamest Bond ever.

 

[Chris Harvey]

I largely agree with Quentin (surprise! ) -- it started nicely and went downhill from there.
Having also missed the last few Bonds, I'm wondering -- when did the series get so filled with puns? I know it's a Bond trademark and all, but it seemed that whole chunks of the script were nothing but baaaad double entrendres. In fact, that's representative of the movie as a whole: it goes so over-the-top in trying to deliver Bondian moments that it ends up playing like a farce of far better Bond films from the past.
***SOME SPOILERS***
By far the best bits were at the beginning, when Bond was actually human enough (!) to feel pain, resentment, and even got dirty. There was some nice interplay between him and M after he got pulled out of North Korea. The series desperately needs more of this -- Connery may have been suave and debonair (setting the tone for the series as a whole), but when he got in fights and in danger you FELT he was in danger. Brosnan typically looks so bored he's about to fall asleep -- about the most he does in the later scenes is squint a bit, then hit the latest Bond gadget to save his ass.
Nice swordfight at the middle, and too bad Ms. Frost didn't take out Jinx at the end (Halle Berry's performance ended after she got out of the water in the Ursula Andress bikini>)

 

[Seth Paxton]

If you haven't seen it yet and are considering it, let's put that 2nd surfing sequence in perspective here.
Remember the surfing scene in Escape from LA, the one where Snake leaps off the surfboard to the car? Well, now it's back in DAD. Really, it's that bad.
I didn't mention the swordfight in my review, but I agree that such a moment was outstanding. That's what really sucks about DAD. In many ways it was the best Bond stuff we've seen in a long time, maybe ever. But then other moments were just as horrible as could be.
Put me in the "Like Madonna song" camp, though I will not disagree that it generally does not feel very Bond-like.
You know, they used the invisible car but really it was barely necessary even within the story. Several sequences could have been done without the invisibility angle.
I just didn't think Berry was very good much of the time. Flat and unbelievable in delivery. I will say I thought she was strong in the "rescued" scene toward the end, so she had it in her. But then Madsen is a good actor (especially for the type of role he has here) but was rather awkward in all his deliveries as well.
Cleese was spot on with dignity yet with fun also. More of that type of work is very welcomed.
CGI plane stuff, surfing, invisible car...all that crap should have been dispatched from the film. CGI for touching up stuff is fine for Bond, but those uses just made it cartoony.
Rosamund Pike had me looking past Berry, and that's no small thing. She is super hot. DAD did have 2 really hot Bond girls, there is no denying that.
Oh, the MTV stylish direction was the worst thing in the film outside those CGI sequences. Goofy zooms and quick pans were EXTREMELY out of place whenever they showed up.
Bernie Mac got big laughs in the Charlie's Angels trailer sitting in front of Bond. Love Bernie Mac.

 

[Chris Atkins]

Gosh the more I think about this film the more I dislike it. Ditto Seth's comments on the MTV style directing....yuck!

I guess for me the wasted potential is the most frustrating thing. The opening reels set up DAD to take Bond character development to a new level...instead we just get another formulaic ending.

Can't they ever at least kill off the "good guy" Bond chicks?

My wife and I also discussed the use of CGI...and we are of the opinion that computer graphics work much better in fantasy/scifi (such as Lord of the Rings and Star Wars) because those movies have fantastical settings...we are not USED to seeing Moria, or Kamino.

But when you use it to replicate settings on planet earth, it just doesn't work most of the time.

 

[Quentin]

My wife just asked me what I thought was the best Brosnan Bond film of them all...
I told her, "The Thomas Crown Affair."

 

[Chris Atkins]

My wife just asked me what I thought was the best Brosnan Bond film of them all...

In all honesty, I think TND is a top tier entry, and the rest are middle tier at best.

 

[Danny_Tam]

As a huge Bond and Brosnan fan, I had pretty high expectations for the movie. I didn't leave the theater with the same excitement I had after seeing TWINE, but its still a fun movie.

As stated earlier, the wasted potential is what really frustrated me the most. With the plot they had, it didn't NEED to be so over-the-top. Again, the Brosnan era films can't break away from the mold of having a great start but unable to fold everything together into a climactic and interesting finish.

As for TND being an upper-tier Bond film... not in my opinion. I fell in love with the first half of the film- the style, the action, the dialogue, the music... but once the BMW-chase sequence ends, the rest of the movie turns so juvenile its not even worth watching.

Goldeneye actually does have an interesting ending (great fight between Sean Bean and Pierce Brosnan), but the movie is so disjointed that the momentum doesn't build up throughout the movie and individual sequences wind up being more engrossing than the plot of the movie as a whole.

TWINE was great in that throughout the movie, there were reminders that "Bond is BACK", but after Bond kills Elektra, no one really cares anymore about the fate of Renard, yet the audience is forced to sit through another 15-20 minutes of action. And then there's a not so small matter of Denise Richards very existence in the movie. =]

Oh well. Here's hoping Brosnan's 5th outing becomes a classic!

Dan

 

[Alex Spindler]

Hmmm, worst Bond song ever.

I thought this was fairly good entertainment, but I feel like it was the weakest of the Brosnan era. The quick pans and editing were very out of place (felt like they were ripped from Charlie's Angels, as was the very techno theme song and score).

There were some things I was disappointed in, but it did offer some very good sequences. The sword fight was very good, and Halle Berry did well for the most part. Moneypenny, Q, and M were all excellent.

I wish they would have used that excellent grin that Bond has after flipping the car in the trailer. Seemed perfect for the scene.

 

[Patrick Sun]

"The Tailor From Panama" is actually a nice sounding board for Brosnan's Bond in his twilight years.

I still can't believe how quickly Bond acclimated himself back into the world after been gone for over a year. You'd think he'd need some more time to decompress, but it's like BOOM! he's out, and just slips right back into revenge-spy mode and the movie just goes merrily along with him.

 

[JohnS]

I was slightly disappointed, but now I think about it more and read other people's comments, I dislike it even more.
I thought it actually took awhile for Bond to get in "James Bond mode"
I thought the story was dull and boring and sometimes laughable.
I still think Madonna's song is still out of place and I thought the opening title sequence was just..okay.
The only best scenes are with Bronson and Cleese
then the final scene with Bond and Moneypenny(priceless)

 

[Quentin]

Ahhh, yes. That final Moneypenny scene WAS brilliant!

Everyone's complaining about Madonna's song (no surprise), but what about her cameo? Pretty poor...

 

[Patrick Sun]

For those complaining about the bad CGI in the "skiing scenes", I think if you looked at them as homages to the same kind of shots from the Bond films of 60's and 70's, you might be less harsh on them. For a film with a $120 million budget, I did allow myself the nod to the homages, and didn't get all bent out of shape from them.
I have read the Entertainment Weekly's article on the film, and here's some other homages (some I picked up on, some I did not):
The book in Cuba that Bond was looking at was called "The Birds of the West Indies" which was written by James Bond, and that's where Ian Fleming came up with the name for his spy hero for his novels.
The shot of Jinx tied up with a laser being directed her way is a nod to, of course, Goldfinger.
The shot of Jinx, bikini-clad, coming out of the water is a nod to Ursula Andress from Dr. No.
The jetpack that Bond "accidentally" activates in Q's lab is from Thunderball.
---
Tobey Stephens (Gustave Graves) is the son of Maggie Smith.
If you listen carefully to when it was announced that Halle Berry won her Oscar, there's a big scream at the start of the applause, that was from a MGM VP/COO, Chris McGurk, who felt like he won the jackpot because Halle had been signed to the film before her Oscar win. I'd have to say that MGM basically got Halle for less than what they'd have to pay her had she had the Oscar on her resume before contract negotiations. Plus MGM got to milk her Oscar in the marketing campaign as well (lending some legitimacy to the choice of Bond babe for the film).

 

[Randy Tennison]

Just got back tonight. I liked it. Didn't love it, but I liked it. I guess I had a problem with the entire opening premise. Bond would never have spent 14 months captured. Bond would seduce the female torturer, and escape, killing guards and destroying the prison. Maybe I'm an idealist, but that just seemed kinda wrong.

Halle Berry was enjoyable. She seemed up to the task. Rosamund Pike was just the kind of villian I've wanted to see for a while. A deceptively cute woman, who turns out to be ruthless. The main villians were good. The plot . . . a little bit problematic.

Plus, Add me to the "hated the Madonna song" group, as well.

I agree with what everyone has said about the CGI, etc.

All in all, an enjoyable film, one I'll definately own on DVD, but not earth shattering!

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

For those complaining about the bad CGI in the "skiing scenes", I think if you looked at them as homages to the same kind of shots from the Bond films of 60's and 70's, you might be less harsh on them. For a film with a $120 million budget, I did allow myself the nod to the homages, and didn't get all bent out of shape from them.

I can certainly buy it if it had only been used once throughout the entire film. But when the same blue screen technology is used very badly and prevalent throughout the entire film then it is no longer an homage. The film is reduced to taking short cuts and tricking the audience hoping, somehow, that they won't recognize it. Well, the joke is on them.

~Edwin

 

[DAN NEIR]

I haven't seen it yet but I read somewhere that there are references to the previous 19 movies, either spoken or seen, can some one mention what they are? I know one already is Halle Berry in the Honey Rider bikini from Dr.No.

 

[Mark Kalzer]

I myself liked it. True, it was a bit too over the top, but I found I was able to suspend dis-belief long enough to accept it.

The only real bad point was of course those god-awful songs. What IS this obsession with new music to computer mix to the point where it can't even be played live by real instruments? It's so disjointed and horrid I really wished it would stop. What were they thinking?!

On another note...the homages were pretty cool. One that hasn't been mentioned is that during the Q scene, "little nellie" from You Only Live Twice can be seen hanging from the ceiling. Also, during the Q scene, Q hands him his 20th watch. That's one for every Bond movie! I didn't know he lost them that frequently though!

Another note, I'm surprised no one picked up the Monty Python quote! Right after the virtual reality simular where Bond shoots the terrorist with a gun to M's face, Q chastises Bond for shooting at M. Bond shrugs "The man's dead. With her, it's just a flesh wound!" Did anyone not catch it as a quote from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, said by John Cleese himself! On that note, Cleese certainly has contributed his sense of humour. I am positive that whole MonneyPenny gag at the end was a John Cleese idea. It was just so Monty Pythonish, not to mention that it had nothing to do with the plot. It's good for Samantha Bond at least, to have a, memorable scene! I have a feeling Cleese is going to contribute plenty to the franchise!

 

[Seth Paxton]

but what about her cameo? Pretty poor...

That's being kind. And her scene itself was not well written (perhaps editing did this).
"Hi, you don't know me at all"
"Hello, would you like me to introduce you now to this rich and famous guy Mr.....er...gee, I don't even know your name or why I'm introducing a total stranger to this guy for no reason."
Very awkward scene (saved by the action that followed, which had plenty of the right attitude).
Yes, I noted the Flesh Wound joke as well. It just got lost in the shuffle of my frustration.
References, the Jet Pack and the Berry bikini were the 2 that stood out, oh and the laser tribute to Logan's Run, er, Goldfinger.
Wasn't sure if the magnetic gimmick was supposed to be a nod to Live and Let Die or not.
And I loved the CGI plane tribute to Air Force One. Do I need to mention the tribute to Escape from LA again. (i can't let it go :p) )