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Die Another Day

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For the theme song of the same movie, performed by Madonna, see Die Another Day (song).

Template:Infobox Film Bond

Die Another Day, released in 2002, is the twentieth film in the James Bond series and the fourth and final to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional British Secret Service agent Commander James Bond. In the film, Bond is betrayed after killing a rogue North Korean Colonel and captured. Once released in a prisoner exchange, he must follow a trail of clues in an effort to reveal the MI6 leak and soon learns that the villain he is pursuing is the same North Korean Colonel he supposedly killed. James then must prevent a satellite from igniting a war between North and South Korea.

Die Another Day was produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and directed by Lee Tamahori. Being the twentieth James Bond film and also being released in the year of the film franchise's fortieth Anniversary, it includes references to each of the preceding films and additionally alludes to several Bond novels.

The film received mixed reviews, with some critics praising Lee Tamahori's work and others pointing out the damage caused by excessive CGI effects to the plot. Still, it became the highest grossing James Bond film of all time before being surpassed by Casino Royale in 2006.

Plot

In the pre-title sequence, James Bond and two of his South Korean allies infiltrate an organization of Colonel Tan-Sun Moon, a North Korean army officer who is illegally selling military weaponry in exchange for African conflict diamonds. Bond plants two blocks of C4 in the briefcase of diamonds and inserts the detonator from his wristwatch. He meets Colonel Moon and his assistant, Zao. After the diamonds are handed over, Zao discovers Bond's true identity and informs Moon, who immediately destroys the helicopter in which Bond arrived and prevents the agent's escape. The colonel orders his men to kill Bond and boards a large hovercraft. Bond detonates the C4, embedding a number of diamonds in Zao's face. He then steals another hovercraft and chases Colonel Moon who falls down a waterfall. Suddenly, many North Korean troops arrive and capture Bond. He is remanded to prison and tortured for fourteen months.

Bond is released in exchange for Zao who was captured during the fourteen months, and his status as a double-0 Agent is suspended by M. But Bond decides to complete his mission and evades MI6's security. At a hotel in Hong Kong, he meets a Chinese spy, Mr. Chang, who is also tracking down Zao. The elusive convict is located on a Cuban island called Isla Los Organos, well-known for its Gene Therapy Clinic where patients get their appearance and identity changed. On the coast, Bond meets a NSA agent Giacinta 'Jinx' Johnson. Some time later, Jinx locates Zao's room in the clinic. However, Bond has already entered it and briefly tortures Zao. A fight breaks out and Bond seizes a bullet-shaped pendant hanging around Zao's neck. Zao escapes and is rescued by a helicopter. Bond opens the pendant and finds a cache of diamonds identified as conflict diamonds from Africa, but bearing the crest of Gustav Graves' company.

File:Dad2002.jpg
Bond and Jinx meet in Cuba.

Bond tracks Graves back to London, where the billionaire businessman, arrives outside Buckingham Palace. Bond seeks out Graves at a fencing club in London. The two men engage in a fierce duel of swords. At the conclusion, Graves invites Bond to a party he is holding in Iceland for a scientific demonstration. Bond also meets Graves' fencing partner, Miranda Frost.

In an underground train station, M restores Bond's Double-0 status and offers assistance in the investigation. Bond learns that Frost has been sent by MI6, but she has failed to look into Graves's plans. He sets out to Iceland where the party is being held in an Ice Palace and meets Jinx again. Then, Graves begins a demonstration of his satellite that reflects the sun's rays onto the Ice Palace, turning night to day. His scheme involves an orbital mirror system made of diamonds that would focus solar energy on a small area to light the Arctic nights and provide year-round sunshine for crop development. Bond deduces Graves' true identity as Colonel Moon who altered his face using gene therapy.

At midnight, Jinx attempts to infiltrate Graves' command center in the ice palace but is waylaid by Zao. After being rescued by Bond, she sets off for backup, but instead is trapped in an ice cave. Bond continues exploring the facility and confronts Graves, only to learn that Frost is a double agent affiliated to the latter. Bond escapes from Graves' palace and also survives the Icarus's beam which chases his car. He returns to the ice palace as Graves and Frost leave; however, Zao pursues Bond using his Jaguar XKR. Amidst the onslaught of missiles, battering rams and mortar shells, Bond kills Zao by luring him to fall into the collapsing Ice palace and then rescues Jinx from drowning nearby.

File:Diefencing.jpg
From left: Gustav Graves, Miranda Frost, Verity, James Bond

Deployed at the South Korean border, Bond and Jinx perform a HALO jump and land on North Korean soil. After missing a chance to snipe Graves, they follow him into his airplane carrying General Moon(unaware of his son's new identity), his lieutenants and Frost. Graves reveals the true purpose of Icarus by using a remote control arm band to control Icarus as its beam clears a path through the minefield in the Korean Demilitarized Zone. After the minefield is destroyed North Korea would invade South Korea, Japan, and other surrounding nations. Icarus would also defend North Korea, by destroying any WMD fired on the country or their troops. The general, disgusted by his son's plans, is shot.

Soon, Bond advances to kill Graves but is intercepted by a bodyguard. A resulting gunfire causes the plane to decompressurise. Jinx manages to stabilise the plane, but is confronted by Frost with a sword, and forces her to put the plane onto auto-pilot mode before escorting her out of the cockpit. Unbeknownst to them, the auto-pilot flies the plane directly towards Icarus beam. Bond battles Graves in the plane's command center while Jinx battles Miranda near the cockpit. In the process, the plane flies into the solar beam and is severely damaged. Bond and Jinx kill their opponents and leave the plane using a stowed helicopter.

Cast

  • Pierce Brosnan as James Bond: An MI6 agent who is dismissed after failing to complete a mission. He rejoins his organization and tracks down his enemy Zao who had survived the mission.
  • Halle Berry as Giacinta 'Jinx' Johnson: An NSA agent who joins hands with Bond for spying on Zao and looking into his ties with Gustav Graves.
  • Toby Stephens - Gustav Graves: An British entrepreneur, North Korean by birth, who creates a satellite from diamonds that would bring sunshine at night. His real aim, however, is to assist North Korea's conquest of South Korea and Japan by destroying mines and nuclear warheads.
  • Rick Yune as Zao: A North Korean diamond smuggler who assists Graves throughout their mission.
  • Rosamund Pike as Miranda Frost: A double agent who initially poses as Bond's ally but later reveals herself as an affiliate of Graves.
  • Will Yun Lee as Colonel Moon:A North Korean army colonel. He fakes his death and returns after fourteen months with the identity of Graves.
  • Kenneth Tsang as General Moon: Colonel Moon's father and a strong advocate of North Korea's peaceful reunion with South Korea. He opposes his son's plans till death.
  • Judi Dench as M: The strict head of MI6 who revokes Bond's licence to kill when he is released from prison, but later enlists him for foiling Graves' scheme.
  • John Cleese as Q: MI6's "quartermaster" who supplies Bond with multi-purpose vehicles and gadgets which prove useful in the latter's mission.
  • Samantha Bond as Miss Moneypenny: M's secretary.
  • Emilio Echevarría as Raoul: The manager of a Havana cigar factory, and a British sleeper who helps Bond track down Zao in Cuba.
  • Michael Madsen as Damian Falco: A high-ranking official in the NSA.
See also: List of James Bond henchmen in Die Another Day and List of James Bond allies in Die Another Day

Production

Filming

The opening big wave surfing sequence shot at the Banzai Pipeline on the north shore of Oahu in December 2001.

The shooting of Die Another Day began on January 7, 2002 at the Pinewood studios. The film was shot primarily in the United Kingdom, Cadiz (Spain) and Iceland. Other locations included Pinewood Studios and its historic 007 Stage, as well as Maui in Hawaii. The surfing scene in the pre-title sequence was shot near Newquay, Cornwall and Cádiz, Spain. The scenes involving the Cuban locations Havana and Isla Los Organos were filmed at La Caleta, Spain.[1]

In London, the Reform Club was used, with interior of the lobby at the Blades club and the MI6 Headquarters, Buckingham Palace, Green Park and Westminster. Svalbard in Norway and Jökulsárlón in Iceland were used for the car chase on ice with additional scenes at Jostedal National Park, Norway and RAF Little Rissington, Gloucestershire.[1]

In the film, a switchblade (one-man glider shaped like a fighter jet) is used by Bond and Jinx to enter North Korea undetected. The switchblade was based on a workable model called "PHASST" (Programmable High Altitude Single Soldier Transport). Kinetic Aerospace Inc.'s lead designer, Jack McCornack was impressed by director Lee Tamahori's way of conducting the Switchblade scene and said, "It's brief, but realistic. The good guys get in unobserved, thanks to a fast cruise, good glide performance, and minimal radar signature. It's a wonderful promotion for the PHASST."[2]

Music

Main article: Die Another Day (soundtrack)

The soundtrack was composed by David Arnold and released on Warner Bros. Records.[3] He again made use of electronic rhythm elements in his score, and included two of the new themes created for The World is not Enough. The first, originally used as Renard's theme, is heard during the mammoth "Antonov" cue on the recording, and is written for piano. The second new theme, used in the "Christmas in Turkey" track of The World Is not Enough, is reused in the "Going Down Together" track.


The title song for Die Another Day was written and sung by Madonna, who also had a cameo in the film as a fencing instructor. Featured in the credit sequence, it directly depicts the film's plot as opposed to all the previous Bond film titles which are stand-alone set pieces. The concept of the song/title sequence was that it represented Bond trying to keep his sanity during 14 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 not only for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song and the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording,[4] but also for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song (2002). However in a MORI poll for the Channel 4 programme "James Bond's Greatest Hits" it was voted 9th out of 22 and was voted an "overwhelming number one" by under-24 year olds.[5]

References to other films

To acknowledge that Die Another Day marked the 40th anniversary of the James Bond film series, several references to every one of the preceding nineteen films were incorporated.[6] The smuggling of diamonds and the use of a satellite with a powerful laser, and the villain surviving the pre-title sequence and returning with a new identity were the themes lifted from Diamonds Are Forever. The fencing match in Moonraker wherein display cases and other valuable artifacts are destroyed, was also remade. The revocation of Bond's license to kill and his loss of double-O status traced its origin to Licence To Kill. There are several appearances of gadgets in MI6's laboratory, such as the shoe-blade which appeared in From Russia with Love, the jet-pack in Thunderball, and the jet and alligator submarine from Octopussy. Like Honey Rider in Dr. No, Jinx is first seen rising out of the sea, wearing a bikini, knife, and belt. The Union Jack parachute that Graves uses echoes Bond's parachute in The Spy Who Loved Me.

In addition to the film-specific references, the film also references the creation of the name "James Bond". When he picks up the book Birds Of The West Indies, it is a nod to the author of the book, James Bond, whose name Ian Fleming used. Die Another Day is the first film since 1989's Licence to Kill to include notable elements from the James Bond novels. In particular, the name of the North Korean villain Colonel Tan-Sun Moon, traces its origins to that of Kingsley Amis' novel Colonel Sun. A number of elements from Fleming's original novel Moonraker are also included; in both of these, a villain adopts a new identity of a British millionaire and creates a desirable space-device but actually intends to use it for destructive purposes. In addition, the club called Blades, a fencing club in the film, was featured as a card club in Moonraker.[7]

Release and reception

Die Another Day was released on November 22, 2002 in London. The premiere was the second to be attended by Queen Elizabeth II after You Only Live Twice.[8] On the very first day, ticket sales reached £1.2 million.[9] Die Another Day was the highest grossing James Bond film until the release of Casino Royale. It earned $432 million worldwide, becoming the sixth highest grossing film of 2002. It also grossed $160 million in the United States, where its opening weekend collections were about $47 million,[10] surpassing Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets which grossed $42.4 million.[11]

Die Another Day became a controversial subject in eastern Asia. North Koreans disliked the portrayal of their state as brutal and war-hungry. The South Koreans boycotted 145 theaters where it was released on December 31, 2002, as they were offended by a scene where an American officer issues orders to the South Korean army in the defense of their homeland, and by a lovemaking scene near a statue of the Buddha. The "Jogye" Buddhist Order issued a statement that the film was "disrespectful to our religion and does not reflect our values and ethics." The Washington Post reported growing resentment in the nation towards the United States. An official of the South Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism said that Die Another Day was "the wrong film at the wrong time." [12]

The amount of product placement in the film was a point of speculation, specifically from various news outlets such as the BBC, Time and Reuters who all used the pun "Buy Another Day". Reportedly 20 companies paying $70 million had their products featured in the film, a record at the time,[13] although USA Today reported that number to be as high as $100 million.[14] By choice, the number of companies involved in product placement was dwindled to only eight for the next Bond film Casino Royale in 2006.[14]

Rotten Tomatoes listed Die Another Day with a 59% "freshness" rating.[15] Metacritic gave the film a 56 out of 100 rating, representing "Mixed or average reviews."[16] Michael Dequina of Film Threat praised the film as the best of the series to star Pierce Brosnan and "the most satisfying installment of the franchise in recent memory."[16] Larry Carroll of CountingDown.com praised Lee Tamahori for having "magnificently balanced the film so that it keeps true to the Bond legend, makes reference to the classic films that preceded it, but also injects a new zest to it all."[17] Entertainment Weekly magazine also gave a positive reaction, saying that Tamahori, "a true filmmaker", has reestablished the series' pop sensuality.[18] Dana Stevens of The New York Times called the film the best of the James Bond series since The Spy Who Loved Me.[16]

However, Die Another Day was strongly criticised for throwing too much light on gadgets and special effects, with the plot being neglected. James Berardinelli of Reelviews.net said, " This is a train wreck of an action film — a stupefying attempt by the filmmakers to force-feed James Bond into the mindless XXX mold and throw 40 years of cinematic history down the toilet in favor of bright flashes and loud bangs."[19] Gary Brown of the Houston Community Newspapers also described the loophole of the film as "the seemingly non-stop action sequences and loud explosions that appear to take center stage while the Bond character is almost relegated to second string." [20]

Novelization

The novelization 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. Fan reaction to it was above average.[21] Months after its publication, Benson retired as the official James Bond novelist. A new series featuring the secret agent's adventures as a teenager, by Charlie Higson was launched in 2005. As a result, the novel Die Another Day was the final literary work featuring Bond as originally conceived by Ian Fleming until the announcement of another novel scheduled for publication in 2008 to mark the 100th anniversary of Fleming's birth, Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks.[22]

References

  1. ^ a b "Die Another Day filming locations". Retrieved 2007-09-20.
  2. ^ "Bond Flies PHASST". Kinetic Aerospace Inc. (news release). Retrieved 2006-11-18.
  3. ^ "Die Another Day at Soundtracknet". {{cite web}}: Text "accessdate-2007-09-20" ignored (help)
  4. ^ "Die Another Day at CD Universe". {{cite web}}: Text "accessdate-2007-09-20" ignored (help)
  5. ^ Geoffrey Palmer (Narrator) (2006). James Bond's Greatest Hits (Television). UK: North One Television.
  6. ^ "Episode No. 4". Main Hoon Bond. Season 1. Episode 4. 25 minutes in. Star Gold. {{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |city=, |began=, |episodelink=, |ended=, |writers=, and |serieslink= (help)
  7. ^ "Episode No. 1". Main Hoon Bond. Season 1. Episode 1. 25 minutes in. Star Gold. {{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |city=, |began=, |episodelink=, |ended=, |writers=, and |serieslink= (help)
  8. ^ "Daniel Craig makes his 007 debut at premiere of Casino Royale". Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  9. ^ "Die Another Day explodes at the box office". BBC News. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference bom was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "Bond beats Potter at the box office". Retrieved 2007-09-20.
  12. ^ "Both sides of the DMZ irked by James Bond". Northwest Asian Weekly. Retrieved 2006-11-18.
  13. ^ "New Bond film 'a giant advert'". BBC News. Retrieved 2006-03-23.
  14. ^ a b "Bond reunites with Smirnoff". USA Today. Retrieved 2006-07-24.
  15. ^ "Die Another Day at Rotten Tomatoes". Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  16. ^ a b c "Die Another Day at Metacritic". Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  17. ^ "Review: Die Another Day". Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  18. ^ "Die another Day at EW.com". Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  19. ^ "Review: Die Another Day". Retrieved 2007-09-21.
  20. ^ "Not a good 'Day' at the office for James Bond". Retrieved 2007-09-21.
  21. ^ "Novelized 'Die Another Day'". Commanderbond.net. 2002-11-11. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
  22. ^ "Faulks pens new James Bond novel". BBC News. 2007-07-11. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
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