DVD Review HTF REVIEW: "Die Another Day" Special Edition (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) (with screenshots) (1 Viewer)

[Joshua_Y]

Yeah...he was in Tuxedo too...and he's playing Capt. Hook in the new Peter Pan film...

 

[Dharmesh C]

Uh, Goldfinger, probably. Bond isn't a spy anymore, he's an action hero, by God.

Seen Living Daylights? Or For Your Eyes Only?

 

[Gary Smith]

I went with some friends to see Die Another Day about a week after it's initial UK release and the 2 screens showing this flick were still full to bursting. Undetered, we went to another (THX) cinema about 20 miles away at 11.00pm and while DAD may not be the best Bond film ever created (Goldfinger, obviously) it certainly entertains and more than holds it's own against the likes of xXx.

I've just moved house and de-commissioned all my HT equipment but the first disc to be spun once it's all up and running will be this one.

Congratulations on your refreshingly original review, Ron.

 

[BillyH]

I think PB is a great Bond but if he decides to call it quits what do you think the chances of getting Timothy Dalton back are? He was the ultimate Bond in my opinion, a tad darker in character then the others,as the real fellow would probably be. I hear he feels to be Bond was beneath his acting abilities(Remember, he turned down Daimonds Are Forever years ago before SC took $1,000,000 to come back as Bond), and so he got out, but I would be thrilled to see him as Bond just one more time! TD is a great actor. Remember him in Doctors And Devils? By the way, as far as actors who played Bond, why has no one mentioned David Niven in Casino Royale?

 

[Jeff Ashforth]

Did a blind buy on this one today. They had it at Best Buy for $14.99 with a free bond girls DVD. At that price, I caved.

I've heard that the movie and the DVD are a mixed bag, but I'm a fan of the series and Halle Berry :drool:, so I think it'll be a keeper.

 

[MikeAlletto]

I understand that Brosnan will shoot one more and then he will pass the baton to the new guy. What do you think of Hugh Jackman as James? Oh well, just a thought.

I think it should be Clive Owen. The guy who plays the driver in the BMW short films. I think he would make an awsome Bond.

 

[Bill Williams]

My thoughts:

...but to me Roger Moore IS James Bond.

I have to disagree here. Roger Moore may have been the James Bond for his time, but his formulaic playing of Bond degenerated into camp at times, with jokey one-liners and getting all of the girls in every movie. The only really good Bond film he did, in my opinion, was For Your Eyes Only, in which he played Bond straighter than he typically did.

Pierce Brosnan is a great Bond, without a doubt. He has that mixture of attitude and sensitivity. It really came across in GoldenEye, my favorite of the Brosnan 007 films.

But there will always be one person who IS and forever will BE Bond, and that's Sean Connery, hands down. He just has that little edge and that charisma about him that makes it work for all the right reasons. Even in his 70's now, Connery still has that charisma that made him popular back in the 60's. Let's face it, Sean Connery IS James Bond.

 

[Peter Franks]

Thank you for a wonderful review, Ron. I'm a life-long Bond fan (as if my user name didn't give THAT away) that enjoys Brosnans turn as OO7 tremendously. And I agree with Bill that there is and always will be only one true Bond...Sir Sean Connery. Not to nitpick, but to correct a mistake in your review...

It begins with the British actor talking about the film's North Korea locale...

Pierce Brosnan is very much an Irishman. Thanks, mate.

 

[JeremySt]

[q][q]My favorites are Live and Let Die and Never Say Never Again because they just milk all they can out of the sex appeal and humor of the characters. I just wish MGM would give us a great NSNA disc someday.

Doesn't WB currently own this movie, and not MGM?

Larry, I would like to put in my own 2 cents. NSNA is the bastard Bond film. Most Bond fans totally disregard this film for several reasons. 1. It was not a Broccoli production, and was made by a rival studio. 2. Its a ripoff /remake of Thunderball. 3. It disrupts the chronolgy of Bond.

To me, it would be like if some Joe Nobody came out of nowhere and remade The Empire Strikes Back, and he somehow got Harrison Ford to play the role of Han Solo. No one else reprises their roles and a rival studio would distribute the film, selling is as "the next chapter in the Star Wars Saga!"

Im not trying to take away from your opinion, just pointing out mine.

 

[Paul_Scott]

i'm a little baffled as to how people can generally cite Brosnan as one of their favorite Bonds, and exemplary in the role, when he seems to constantly be spewing some of the lamest, limpest double entendre in the whole series.
i realize he isn't to blame for the script, but when you disregard the spoken words, what are you left with?
a guy that looks cool posing in the suit?
I'm squarely in the minority, but Brosnan never clicked with me at all, and i was fully pumped for Goldeneye.
i was disappointed with him then, and ever single film since has an underwhelming experience.
looking back, i'm not a big fan of several of Connerys films, but he has enough charisma to make them all watchable.
i don't find that quality at all with Brosnan.

jmo, of course.
ymmv

 

[Dharmesh C]

i'm a little baffled as to how people can generally cite Brosnan as one of their favorite Bonds, and exemplary in the role, when he seems to constantly be spewing some of the lamest, limpest double entendre in the whole series.

I love his one-liners, but the scripts are pretty bad now. No Cubby to sort out the Bond mess :frowning: Goldeneye gets better and better for me, though, and it's the best Brosnan Bond film in my opinion. I do think, like you, Paul, that Brosnan poses too much post Goldeneye. Bring back Martin Campbell!!!

Dalton is still my favourite Bond

DAD DVD does show off the quality of the people working on the mechanical effects, Chris Corbould is great!

What did you think of that MTV hack editor, Wagner? He was spouting crap about editing

 

[ErichH]

I never try to make the Bond films anything more than a fun guilty pleasure.
That said, I think I missed half of the title sequence(one of my favorite parts of a 007 movie) because of the Stupid Madona song. I was so busy tossing my dinner, I missed the first half. Talk about mixing sour krout with ice creme.

Sorry Guys - I know it's been said, and I thought I was ready, but what a stinker! 3 minutes of guitar feedback would have been a better fit.

For me the fun moments of the film were Money Penny's fantasy and the new Astin Martin.

e

 

[Bryan Tuck]

I saw this at the theater, and enjoyed it, but I'd about decided against a purchase. Just didn't think I'd watch it that much. But, I rented this to check out the transfer and supplements.

Still on the fence about a purchase. This is one awesome DVD release. My only complaint is the player generated subtitles. For language translations, I don't mind so much, but when they get into multi-line location indicators, it starts to get distracting. Takes me out of the movie.

Speaking of the movie, I really did enjoy it, but there were some things that just had me going "why did they do that?"
--Madonna's theme was indeed horrible; maybe a good dance club tune, but not a Bond theme. Ditto her cameo; just a "Hey, it's Madonna!" Unnecessary.
--Also, several parts of the movie seemed to have a little bit too much of an MTV attitude. Bond used to set trends; DAD tends to follow them a little too much.
--Then the villain; a little one-note, but then most Bond villains are. Although most of them have a little more fun with their role.
--And then we have Halle Berry, a terrific actress who is just having a little too much fun here. Yeah, you're supposed to ham it up a little, but she just didn't have the balance right.

So I guess we'll see. Enjoyed the flick; like Brosnan; love John Cleese; DVD is state-of-the-art.

As a side note, Goldeneye is my favorite of the Brosnan Bonds; for a while I wasn't that impressed with it, but it has definitely grown on me. It's certainly the best directed of the recent Bonds. If the next one is to be Brosnan's last, it'd be great to bring back Martin Campbell to give him a proper send-off.

 

[Steve K.H.]

The DVD has a ton of extras. For the price, this is a steal of a deal (compare this to other Xtra Offerings at a much greater price with less entertainment i.e. Windtalkers).

The Matrix DTS is a great demo. From the opening scene (water pounding for a subtle sub demo) to the frenzied chase scenes throughout.

Yes Sean was the best, Roger wasn't, blah blah blah, they all get old (remember this is 40 years of Bond now) and what's more incredible to me is the continued following.

Moonraker was the worst. It went from being a spy flick to a totally non-credible comedy.

The best are (in their day) either Goldfinger or Live and Let Die.

 

[Joshua_Y]

I love all the actors who have played Bond and its extremely hard to have a fave...but I'd probably say Moore...I grew up on his...

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I think PB is a great Bond but if he decides to call it quits what do you think the chances of getting Timothy Dalton back are?

Zero, I'd guess. 1) He'd be almost 60 when the next Bond hits screens - that's old even for a Bond actor!

2) Many regard him as the guy who almost killed the franchise - you think they want to do that again?

No, I don't see the suits saying "Our new 007 should be the same one lots of people didn't like 15 years ago!"

 

[Kevin Nolan]

GEEEEZ.....Timothy Dalton was borish the most pathetic Bond EVER...it's the only Bond flick I have ALWAYS gotten bored with and felt like finding something else to watch. Brosnan has much more style and class (a main element for Bond)than Timmy.BUT the best Bond ever was Sean!!!!!
IMHO
Kevo

 

[Yee-Ming]

Doesn't WB currently own this movie, and not MGM?

Not anymore. As part of the settlement with Sony (who owned it at the time) of that messy lawsuit involving Kevin McClory and his Thunderball re-re-make Warhammer 2000, MGM acquired the rights even to the "bastard Bond". Having also acquired Casino Royale, this leaves MGM controlling anything and everything Bond related, even the non-Eon produced -- and therefore non-canon -- Bonds. Smart move, pre-emptively cuts off any future similar nonsense.

 

[Britton]

My personal favorite Bond is Sean Connery, but out of all the actors who have played the character, Timothy Dalton was the only Bond who came across as a very, very dangerous man.

 

[Paul_Scott]

my sentiments exactly.
i'll go farther and say that Tims films at this point are my favorites.

i finally checked this film out this morning.
after a promising start, somewhere it started to all go downhill and even before it was fully over i was contemplating what a mess Bond has become.
even though there have been moments here and there that were quite decent, the Brosnan films are now 0 for 4 on my scorecard (never got the appeal of Goldeneye).

haven't checked out the special features and probably won't now that i know how bad the movie is.
what's the point?
and people were right.
the EE here is bad. it lessens a little at the end, but longshots throughout the film look as bad as anything in SW:TPM or T2:UE.
i'm glad BB was giving out a freebie disc with this.
i should be able to recoup my full cost when i go to sell it.
that'll put me one step ahead of actually renting it or seeing it in the theater.



For a while there, i was surprised by Brosnan. he was really quite good in the first act, but then i started to see why i've never been able to fully warm up to him - he seems to make a production of every little thing.
look for how many times he squints, or grimaces, and tries to look steely and cool while he does the most innocuous thing- lighting a cigar, lacing up Madonnas bodice, swigging a drink, sitting down, standing up, shifting in his seat...
i think he is trying to channel some of Daltons gravitas, but to me he just looks like he is trying too hard, every little bit of business seems to demand he display how hard and genuine he is.
his souffle just seems overbaked to me.