Die Another Day

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Image:007DAD1.jpg
James Bond Pierce Brosnan
Written by Neal Purvis
Robert Wade
Screenplay by Neal Purvis
Robert Wade
Director Lee Tamahori
Music by David Arnold
Theme written by Madonna
Mirwais Ahmadzaï
Theme performed by Madonna
Distributor MGM
Release date 2002
Runtime 133 min.

Die Another Day is the twentieth James Bond film made by EON Productions and the fourth and final film to star Pierce Brosnan as Ian Fleming's James Bond. It was released in 2002 and produced by Bond veterans Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. It is the first film to not feature Desmond Llewelyn as Q since Live and Let Die (1973).

Die Another Day, being the twentieth Bond film and also being released the year of the Bond film's "40th Anniversary", pays homage in some sort of way to every previous official James Bond film [1]. It also additionally references several Fleming novels as well as novels by other official Bond authors.

Contents

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Overview

The movie departs from the usual Bond formula in several ways. Die Another Day begins with an action set-piece which, instead of a comic ending, ends with Bond captured by the North Korean army, after which he is tortured for fourteen months, depicted in a stylized manner through the title sequence. The movie also shows some attempts to improve the appeal of Bond to a younger audience, featuring two separate scenes of Bond surfing, a more contemporary soundtrack (by David Arnold), and extensive use of The Matrix-style slow-motion pans. Critical reaction to the film was mixed, even allowing for the typical disdain of action films (and of sequels) held by many reviewers. Many felt that it was merely a tired retread of old ideas, and the attempts to appeal to a younger audience were unsuccessful; supporters of the film counter that the so-called "retread of old ideas" was simply the film paying homage to earlier Bond films, adding that Bond's incarceration and torture at the start of the movie sufficiently broke the pattern of recent Bond films. Some also felt that the extensive use of CGI special effects detracted from one of the major appeals of the older films—that the stunts, however preposterous, were actually performed. The quality of the CGI effects in some scenes was also criticized; compare the action sequence at the beginning (Bond's near-escape in Northern Korea using hovercrafts) and the parachute-assisted surfing stunt at the end.

Marketing for the film was also criticized by some fans. In previous Bond films (with the exception of On Her Majesty's Secret Service) the actor to portray Bond is undoubtedly the top-billed star with all other actors in a supporting role; however with Die Another Day Bond girl Halle Berry had been elevated to co-star status with Pierce Brosnan; at least one of the film's posters gives Berry equal billing with Brosnan.

The film also elicited poor opinions across the Korean peninsula, with the North unhappy with its portrayal as a brutal, war-hungry state, whilst many South Koreans were offended by a romantic scene conducted in a Buddhist temple and a scene where an American officer issues orders to the South Korean army in the defense of their own homeland.

Regardless of these criticisms, Die Another Day is one of the most successful James Bond films to date and is the current title-holder for highest grossing James Bond film taking in roughly $432 million in ticket sales worldwide [2] (some sources claim as high as $456 million [3]). According to MGM/UA the film grossed $432 million worldwide not counting the Japanese gross, and $456 million worldwide counting the Japanese gross. Some sources that list the $432 million gross figure have simply not counted the gross from Japan.

Die Another Day was the first movie since Live and Let Die to not feature Desmond Llewelyn, who had died in 1999 just after the release of The World Is Not Enough. John Cleese, formerly of Monty Python's Flying Circus and Fawlty Towers takes over the role of Q; however, it is clear that he is playing a different character (who had been introduced as Q's assistant in The World Is Not Enough. Cleese's Q refers to his "his predecessor" in one scene).

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Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The plot, reminiscent of Moonraker, Diamonds Are Forever and GoldenEye, involves billionaire businessman Gustav Graves, who through Cuban genetic engineering, is actually a North Korean Colonel (Colonel Moon) who in the pre-title sequence was supposedly killed by Bond. The film's title, Die Another Day, refers to Colonel Moon surviving his first encounter with 007. Upon meeting later in the film Bond comments, "So you live to die another day."

Graves' scheme involves the construction of an orbital mirror system made of diamonds that will supposedly focus solar energy on a small area to light the Arctic nights, however, in truth the orbital mirror system is actually a superweapon designed to destroy the demilitarized zone that separates North Korea from South Korea.

Bond, with the aid of NSA agent Jinx (played by Halle Berry), defeats Gustav Graves, whose other major technotoy is an exoskeleton equipped with a high-voltage electric weapon, and prevents global catastrophe, along the way bedding both Jinx and Graves' assistant, the blond "ice queen" Miranda Frost. Frost, in a succession of twists, is first revealed to be working for MI6, then later as a double agent for Graves.

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Cast & characters

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Crew

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Soundtrack

Image:007DADsountrack.jpg The theme music to Die Another Day with the title of the same name was written and sung by Madonna. Madonna also had a small cameo in the movie as Verity, a leather-clad fencing instructor.

The soundtrack was composed by David Arnold; this is his third time composing for a James Bond movie. The soundtrack was released on Warner Bros. Records (Madonna's label).

Although the Bond films have a longstanding connection with the pop music world, the choice of Madonna's song, coupled with the use of The Clash's "London Calling", proved wildly controversial with some fans who felt the two pieces of music were somehow inappropriate for a Bond movie. "London Calling" was used briefly in the film as Bond returns to England via British Airways; at the time, the airline was using the song in American radio and television commercials.

Madonna's theme song was unusual in that it was presented in a credit sequence that actually moved the film's plot along (as opposed to all previous Bond film titles which are standalone set pieces - an exception being the third segment of the Dr. No titles). The concept of the song/title sequence was that it represented Bond trying to keep his sanity during 18 months of torture at the hands of the North Koreans. The divided opinion over the "Die Another Day" theme is evidenced in that it was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song as well as for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song (2002).

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Track listing

  1. "Die Another Day" - Madonna
  2. "Bond Vs. Oakenfold" - (Oakenfold mix)
  3. "Gun Barrel / On The Beach"
  4. "How Do You Intend To Kill Me Now, Mr. Bond?"
  5. "Hovercraft Chase"
  6. "Kiss Of Life"
  7. "Peaceful Fountains Of Desire"
  8. "Welcome To Cuba"
  9. "Jinx Jordan"
  10. "Wheelchair Access"
  11. "Jinx And James"
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Vehicles and gadgets

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  • Aston Martin Vanquish V12 - The car is equipped with all the usual refinements including front-firing rockets, hood mounted guns, and passenger ejector seat that was a homage to original Aston Martin DB5 that Bond drove in Goldfinger. The car was also equipped with an adaptive camouflage device, that allowed it to become invisible to the naked eye at the push of a button (although it could still be detected in infrared.)
  • Jaguar XKR - While not technically a Bond car, this car was driven by the criminal Zao. Like Bond's car, it came equipped with guns mounted on its hood, missiles, and it could launch mortar shells.
  • Ford Thunderbird - Although only in the movie for a short period of time, the vehicle was marketed as a Bond car. Jinx drives the 2002 Ford Thunderbird up to Graves ice palace. It's unknown what type of gadgets, if any, were installed.
  • 1957 Ford Fairlane convertible - When Bond departs Raoul's villa, he borrows his convertible when 007 requests a fast car.
  • Glass Shattering Ring - This ring, given to Bond by Q-Branch, emits a high pitch sound that shatters any glass it's near.
  • Rebreather - Seen only briefly (when Bond is swimming under the ice), the rebreather is along the same design as the one in Thunderball, allowing the user a short supply of oxygen.
  • Watch - Seen in the pre-title sequence, the watch included a concealed explosives detonator, activated by turning the bezel. Later in the movie he receives another watch, which is revealed to contain a laser powerful enough to cut a hole in the frozen surface of a lake.
  • Surfboard - Also seen in the pre-title sequence, Bond's surfboard includes a trick compartment which houses a Walther P99 (and silencer), 2 bricks of C4 explosive and a GPS equipped knife.
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Locations

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Film locations

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Shooting locations

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Novelisation

Image:DieAnotherDayBook.jpg The novelisation to Die Another Day was written by the then current official James Bond writer, Raymond Benson based on the screenplay by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. Like the movie, the novel also featured many references to past Bond movies and novels. A few months after its publication, it was announced that Benson was retiring as the official James Bond novelist, and Ian Fleming Publications (owners of the Bond literary franchise) announced that the series was going on hiatus. A new series of Bond novels was launched in 2005, however these books focus on Bond's adventures as a teenager (Young Bond). As result, Die Another Day, the novel, is for the time being the final literary adventure featuring Bond as originally conceived by Ian Fleming.


Author: Publisher: Hardback: Paperback: Alternate titles:
Raymond Benson Ian Fleming Publications (UK) 2002 | (U.S.) None (UK) 2002 | (U.S.) 2002
Preceded by: The Man with the Red Tattoo
Followed by: SilverFin (first book of Young James Bond series)
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Jinx spinoff

Berry's performance was heavily criticized by many reviewers and fans, though ironically she won an Academy Award for Best Actress (for Monster's Ball) in the midst of filming, making her only the second actor after Christopher Walken to be an Oscar-winner at the time of their appearance in an official Bond film (Judi Dench also won an Oscar in 1999, but this was after her debut in the series). Regardless of these criticisms, the character of Jinx was nonetheless popular enough that MGM announced plans for the first-ever James Bond spin-off movie based upon the character and starring Halle Berry. Stephen Frears was attached to direct. MGM abruptly cancelled production in late 2003 to focus on the next James Bond film, Casino Royale. Some film critics have speculated that the cancellation may have been connected to the box office underperformance of several female-led action films in 2003, most notably Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life.

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Trivia

  • A number of items inside Q's lab appeared in previous James Bond films, including such memorable gadgets as the rocket belt, shoe with poison-tipped blade, Acrostar minijet, and the alligator boat among many others.
  • It has been suggested that Richard Branson was the inspiration for the Graves character.
  • The character Wai Lin, played by Michelle Yeoh in Tomorrow Never Dies was originally supposed to make her return, aiding Bond in Hong Kong, but no arrangement could be worked out with the actress and she was replaced by Chinese Intelligence agent (and hotelier) Chang. Wai Lin's presence is confirmed by an extra on the DVD release concerning the writing of the script: Barbara Broccoli is shown leafing through an early script, and it clearly contains lines for Wai Lin.
  • The magazine with the picture of Gustav Graves that Bond reads on his flight to London is actually the real November 2002 in-flight magazine for British Airways. The magazine does in fact have an interview with Toby Stephens about playing the role of Graves.
  • The book A Field Guide to the Birds of the West Indies by James Bond, the ornithologist whose name inspired Ian Fleming, is picked up by Bond with a pair of binoculars in a scene that takes place in Havana. Bond also calls himself an ornithologist when Jinx asks him what he does.
  • Although the basic plot and the title do not derive from any James Bond novel, this is the first film since 1989's Licence to Kill to include notable elements from the Bond books, In particular, the Korean villain, Colonel Tan-Sun Moon, has a similar name to that of Colonel Sun, the villain in Kingsley Amis's Bond novel of the same name. Plus, a number of elements from Fleming's original novel Moonraker are included. In that novel, a Nazi adopts a new identity and becomes a popular British multi-millionaire. That villain donates millions to create a "Moonraker" missile which is supposed to be for Britain's protection but is actually meant to destroy London. The parallels between that plot and Die Another Day's plot are apparent. In addition, the club called Blades, a fencing club in this film, was featured as a card club in Moonraker. The character of Miranda Frost was originally named Gala Brand, the same name as the Bond girl in the original Moonraker novel.
  • A few weeks before the film was released, TV news reports broke the story that Sean Connery had filmed a cameo appearance in this movie, possibly as Bond's father. The producers of the film strongly deny any such appearance had been considered, let alone filmed, so the origin of this news report remains a mystery.
  • The title is taken from a poem by A. E. Housman: "But since the man that runs away/Lives to die another day...".
  • According to a report printed in the Daily Mirror newspaper on January 6, 2001, actor Edward Woodward (best known for his TV series Callan and The Equalizer) was being "lined up" to take over the role of M in Die Another Day (which, at the time the article was printed, had the working title Beyond the Ice). According to the Mirror article, a subplot was planned for the film which would have seen Judi Dench's M retiring.[4]
  • During many parts of the movie (most notably the action sequences; i.e. the fight scene at the Cuban clinic) some of the bars of John Barry's song On Her Majesty's Secret Service (from the movie of the same name) can be heard repeatedly intertwined with the other background music.
  • This is the first occasion in which the lead villain is played by two different actors within the same film.
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External links

The James Bond films
Official films
Dr. No | From Russia with Love | Goldfinger | Thunderball | You Only Live Twice | On Her Majesty's Secret Service | Diamonds Are Forever | Live and Let Die | The Man with the Golden Gun | The Spy Who Loved Me | Moonraker | For Your Eyes Only | Octopussy | A View to a Kill | The Living Daylights | Licence to Kill | GoldenEye | Tomorrow Never Dies | The World Is Not Enough | Die Another Day | Casino Royale
Unofficial films
Casino Royale (1954 TV) | Casino Royale (1967 spoof) | Never Say Never Again
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de:Stirb an einem anderen Tag es:Muere otro día fr:Meurs un autre jour ja:007 ダイ・アナザー・デイ nl:Die Another Day no:Die Another Day sv:Die Another Day

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