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

[Dan Brecher]

Just say it, Morgan, she's tits on legs and little else in this movie. I find Rosamund Pike far more the interesting lady.
Dan

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Yeah, the british female agent came off like a REAL secret agent. Its kinda sad, seeing as how Halle is getting her own movie now.

Oh well, we can only hope for something good.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

Dan Brecher said:

I find Rosamund Pike far more the interesting lady.

Very true. She takes the crown for being the most attractive woman in the film.
I'm curious, but why in the hell was it leaked that there's a possibility of Jinx having her own movie series? That killed any hope of suspense in the movie. I was thinking during the laser sequence, "Well, Jinx isn't going to die because they're going to make more movies of her."
Bond needs to go back to super spy mode, not generic action hero.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I'm curious, but why in the hell was it leaked that there's a possibility of Jinx having her own movie series? That killed any hope of suspense in the movie. I was thinking during the laser sequence, "Well, Jinx isn't going to die because they're going to make more movies of her."

Well it's kinda dumb for them to kill of the Bond girl, first of all. And second, you just kinda know she'll make it out, just like you know Bond will make it out and everything will be fine.

Did you really think there was a possibility that they would cut Halle Berry in half with a laser gun?

 

[Jason Hughes]

Did anybody notice if Michael G. Wilson had a cameo in this one? He almost always has one. A friend and I saw it three times and could not spot one, usually they are fairly obvious.

 

[TheLongshot]

Just got back from watching DAD tonight:

Yes, Madonna's theme song sucked.
Madonna was ok, it was the scene that was badly written.
(Other than maybe Bond was a regular at that club...)
No one has mentioned this, but Rick Yune was terribly
underused. Other than looking cool, he doesn't really do
anything...
I liked the unconventional use of equipment. It was a nice
change of pace.
James Bond stunts should not involve heavy use of CGI. It
just ruins all the fun.
Halle Berry looks good, and is physically able, but damn if
she's stiff as all hell in this film. She makes Vin
Diesil look like a Shakespearian actor.
Michelle Yeoh deserves a spinoff more than Halle Berry does
I could have done with more of what Rosemund Pike was
wearing at the end. :b
You know, more than one missile could take that satelite.
Wow, the satelite automatically turns off when the bad guy
dies? How convienent.

Overall, I did enjoy the film and some elements of the film probably would rank it very highly. Unfortunatly, like other Brosnan films, there are some elements that just bring this film down. I still think this is the best Brosnan effort, but that isn't saying much.

Jason

 

[Edwin-S]

nothing can top Goldeneye...
------------------------------------------------------------

I cannot see what the difference is between Goldeneye and this movie. Goldeneye was just as lame in areas as DAD was. I couldn't stop laughing when I saw that ridiculous receiving dish sequence in Goldeneye. A guy falls for what looks like twenty-five stories, lands on his back on solid concrete, and still has enough left in him to scream when the receiving array falls on him?!?! It was hilarious! And then there was the completely farcical helicopter sequence. Every one of the Brosnan films seems to start out promising and then.....whoops.....it's all down hill after the opening credits.

A lot of people are mentioning the space based weapon as being lame or too sci-fi. I won't call it a laser because it clearly wasn't. I don't see why, since this is not the first Bond movie to use such a device. Diamonds are Forever had the same kind of device as part of the storyline. In fact, in a way, DAD was somewhat of a homage to that film. Didn't anyone notice the newspaper article heading starting out with the words Diamonds are forever...blah,blah.

The problem with this flick is that James Bond is supposed to be the lead character, but now he seems to always have to share the spotlight with some kind of "partner", preferably a female one. James Bond was always portrayed as a skilled, debonair secret agent. He was basically a superhero. Bond would get into a hand to hand fight, come out of it with just about every hair in place, his suit hardly mussed and still have enough energy to get the girl in the end. In these Brosnan things he is constantly having the crap beat out of him and then ends up being psychologically beat up up by the women he comes across. All the qualities that made the Bond character larger than life have been stripped. Bond's magnetism no longer has anything to do with him getting the girl. Sure....he still gets the girl but only because the girl wants him to.

Ever since Broccoli's daughter took over as producer, Bond has just been made to look more and more like a barely competent buffoon. IMO anyway.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

James Bond stunts should not involve heavy use of CGI. It just ruins all the fun

They used green/blue screen stuff in some of the older Bond movies. And it was pretty obvious in them, too.

 

[TheLongshot]

They used green/blue screen stuff in some of the older Bond movies. And it was pretty obvious in them, too.

Yes, but that was usually just for the closeups of the actor. The stunts were still done by real stuntmen. That's part of the attraction of the Bond series for me, the sometimes outrageous stunts being pulled. No CGI beats skiing off a mountain with a parachute, jumping boats over roads, and fliping cars. I feel like the bond series is getting further away from that, which is sad.

Jason

 

[Dome Vongvises]

Morgan Jolley said:

Well it's kinda dumb for them to kill of the Bond girl, first of all. And second, you just kinda know she'll make it out, just like you know Bond will make it out and everything will be fine.
Did you really think there was a possibility that they would cut Halle Berry in half with a laser gun?

I said any hope of suspense.
Regardless of whether or not you know the outcome of a series of events, a good filmmaker would still know how to create suspense get the audience to hold their breath. What's sad is that Alfred Hitchcock has blatantly laid out the blueprints for how it's done, but nobody has been able to match his style for suspsense yet.
The whole laser sequence with Jinx was so blah.
As a matter of fact, I don't think it'd be dumb to kill off the good, active Bond girl, active defined as the ones James Bond sleeps with and gets help from in more than just advice (eg. Paris Carver from Tommorow Never Dies doesn't fit the definition of an active Bond girl, but Natalya Simonova from Golden Eye does). Besides, the Pierce Brosnan Bonds needs something to change it up every now and then.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

What's sad is that Alfred Hitchcock has blatantly laid out the blueprints for how it's done, but nobody has been able to match his style for suspsense yet

The only way to do it like he did is to either use no-name actors (like in Cube) or create a steady history of not being afraid to kill of famous people (like in 15 Minutes).

 

[Lewis Besze]

Ever since Broccoli's daughter took over as producer, Bond has just been made to look more and more like a barely competent buffoon. IMO anyway.

I wonder if you hint at that he's being a bit feminized?
I would certainly agree with that.

 

[DaveBB]

When Bond first meets Jinx in Cuba he's drinking a clear liquid on ice with a bunch of what looked like mint leafs in a tall glass. What is that called?
Kind of reminded me of the Brazilian drink Capirianra

 

[Ning Wong]

isn't hte drink a MOHITO?

 

[Chuck Mayer]

Just checked out David Poland's piece for the week where he defends this film, which is his right. And I like his column. BUT he calls Jinx the first butt-kicking actress in a Bond film. It's been ONLY FIVE YEARS since Michelle Yeoh headlined TND with Brosnan, and while the film might have been lackluster, she most certainly was not. While she may not win Oscars like Halle (thought she might have deserved them), she did give a far stronger performance than Berry, and I could actually believe Michelle was an ass-kicking secret agent.

I bring this up because this is not the first time people have conveniently forgotten Michelle's character (also touted for her own movie "at the time", I might add) from two movies ago.

She was far more capable than Halle, in every department but breasts.

Take care,
Chuck

 

[Dome Vongvises]

I could've sworn he drank a mint julep. Hell, I'm from Kentucky, you ought to be able to see those things from miles away.
Chuck Mayer said:

Just checked out David Poland's piece for the week where he defends this film, which is his right. And I like his column. BUT he calls Jinx the first butt-kicking actress in a Bond film. It's been ONLY FIVE YEARS since Michelle Yeoh headlined TND with Brosnan, and while the film might have been lackluster, she most certainly was not. While she may not win Oscars like Halle (thought she might have deserved them), she did give a far stronger performance than Berry, and I could actually believe Michelle was an ass-kicking secret agent.

I haven't thought of it that way. Halle Berry's stock in ths film for me just keeps going down and down and down.....

 

[Bill Street]

I saw DAD a week ago and found it entertaining. I agree with many that the first part of the film was much more dark and interesting than the end, (I remember cackling out loud at the "Ice Palace".)

To me, I enjoy the (really pretty small)amount of humanity that Brosnan is allowed to bring to the role. The get in a horrible fight, win without a hair out of place, make a quip and get the girl strikes me as very Roger Moore. (Allright... I just rewatched Goldfinger and I admit Sean Connery did just the above at the beginning of the movie. Not even the wetsuit he wore when he came out of water could wrinkle his tuxedo. But at least Connery looks like he could bruise his way out of a fight!)

I don't think sticking with formula is entirely Barbara Broccoli's fault. The one time in the last 15 years they tried to deviate from the Bond formula was Licence to Kill, and audiences punished the Broccoli's by staying away from the film in droves. Amazingly, it seems like these are the same audiences who now complain of "Bond by the numbers".

Two of my favorite Bond movies are On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Licence to Kill. Both departed from standard Bond formula, but both featured less charasmatic actors in the title role and both seemed to suffer at the box office.

Bill S.

 

[Chris Atkins]

Two of my favorite Bond movies are On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Licence to Kill.

Here, here!!!! Those are two of my favorites too, and my two least favorite Brosnan movies (Goldenye and DAD) are least like these movies, in my opinion.

 

[David Rogers]

I liked Die Another Day.

I'm not a long time Bond fan, but I like my share of the Bond films. Hard to allow for 60s era filmmaking, but I wasn't around the first time it came through so I'm really lacking any of the nostalgia that makes it fond for some of you.

The list of what I thought worked in DAD:

* Brosnan as Bond. I've been thrilled since I first heard he was doing a Bond movie, and have been happy ever since. I feel he's an excellent Bond, and is my favorite. I like the edge he brings to the character; Connery always seemed bemused as Bond, while Brosnan has a clear sense of being a predator who's evaluating when he glances around. That's what I've always taken from Bond, and Brosnan gives it to me. His walk through the HK Hotel is perfect; he's shaggy and unkempt from prison, in hospital pjs, barefoot, wet, yet he strolls through the lobby like he belongs, like a man with purpose and station. Walks right up to the desk without a care, ignores the slight from the deskclerk, and then in short order has properly fed and attired himself. Bond is back, is what that scene says with him shaving in the mirror when we pan into the room. Notice he was shaving into the watching eyes of Chinese Intelligence; confidence and total control. Brosnan pulls Bond off perfectly in my book.

* Rosamund Pike as Miranda Frost. Yes, this woman is extremely attractive. But she was excellent as well! I liked her scenes and especially the presence she establishes. Her scene with M, and then initially at the Ice Palace party with Bond and Jinx; those were rather well done and I enjoyed what she brought to them. It only got better as the movie progressed, and I was quite sad to see her go down at the end … even though bad guys deserve it. She's the actor from this flick I really want to see more work from, though I'd settle for more Brosnan than we've gotten in the last three years or so if it came down to it.

* Toys. Bond is in part about toys, and DAD had its share for sure. The watches (beginning to detonate the bomb, later to laser the ice), the break ring, the car (of course), his gun, the little air skiffs they skysailed in on towards the end, love the toys. The toys in DAD were if anything almost understated … they weren't very fantastic this time except for the car (of course). By fantastic I mean they weren't over-the-top, which is good. It's okay for Bond to tiptoe along the camp line, but to actually go into camp isn't good. A few more gadgets here and there would have been nice.

* Bad Guys. Graves and Zao I liked as bad guys. Good looks (the diamonds were silly - why not remove them unless to have them serve as a reminder of Bond for vengeance or something character-oriented like that - but despite this I *liked* the diamonds in the face and really enjoyed the look they created for Rick Yune), and some good scenes. Their chemistry as brothers/comrades was good, I especially liked Graves' accent, and overall they both were very enjoyable.

* Settings. London settings were nice. Cuba was good too. I liked most of the North Korean setting, though it vaguely reminded me of Russia (but I'm bad at geography so I dunno what it should look like in NK is all I'm really saying). Q's workshop was set dressed excellently, as was the Cuban sleeper agent's office.

* Writing. Considerably better than previous Brosnan Bonds I felt. Most of the innuendo lines worked, I thought, and I didn't even wince at the "Thrust of it" line. Pike saved that line, honestly; her reaction (with the raised eyebrows on her silky face) was what made it work without pain.

* Sword fight. Pretty damn good sword fight, and I'm really picky about choreography in movies. Helped develop both characters, was fun to watch, spirited, ranged across the entire club, and ended so very well. I loved it.

* Miranda Frost. Just had to mention her again. The actress is so incredibly alluring and sexy.

What I didn't like:

- Ice Palace was neat but very camp. Downcheck. Just too fabricated and artificial. Story explained it as a construction of Graves, but it mostly took me out of the story.

- Surfing the glacier. S-T-U-P-I-D. Have him swim out, or climb up the side of the glacier, anything but the surfing. It looked horrible, and was silly even if you rationalized it in context.

- Female Sidekick. Bond is about Bond. Not about his sidekicks. Not to be chauvinistic, but Bond is a guy's movie, really. Bond should be front and center as often as possible; I'd even dial the villains back to facilitate this (though not out, Bond villains are part of the formula too). Having Bond work with folks, including female agents, is cool; but I'd prefer to see Bond as the dominant and leading character at all times, and the story should advance through Bond or his primary villains, not through sidekicks. Jinx was front and center for two major sequences before she was captured and used as a plot device for the third quarter, and that was way too much time away from Bond once the villains' perspectives were covered.

- Halle Berry. I hate her. A lot. Most folks like her though, so I guess I'm outvoted. She wasn't so bad, once I got past the cringe reflex.

But overall, this was a fun Bond movie I thought. Major geopolitical results in the plot, good characterization for the Bond character and good slices of Q, M, and Moneypenny. Even Charles got some good screen time in this one, go Charles! I think he's a neat little piece of 007's world, and if they were going to spin a movie off I'd pick his character personally. The dialogue was pretty good throughout I thought, not nearly as bad as TND (especially), or TWINE (less so).

Looking forward to the 21st Bond, and Brosnan's fifth.

Here's a name to replace Brosnan 3-5 years down the road if he doesn't renew past 21. Colin Farrell. He's 26 now, would be right about 30 after Bond21 is done, and I think he's the best of the current acting crop to step into Bond's shoes. He has the look and is certainly a good actor. And is a UK actor to boot, which I think is preferred for Bond.

 

[Ning Wong]

David

I just wanted to say that your post is EXCELLENT.

Very insightful!!!