When you go and see the latest Bond film, you know exactly what to expect. As you settle into the darkness on your cinema seat, you are already anticipating some sort of jaw-droppingly spectacular pre-credits sequence which builds up into the theme song by Madonna. You also have expectations of explosions, fights, pretty girls, gadgets and double entendres.
Although the usual Bond ingredients are here, there is a style which is unfamiliar. As the scene is set in North Korea, there is a sense of a Bond who is fallible: before the opening credits roll, Bond is captured and tortured. This unexpected turn of events and the shock of seeing Bond turn into a long haired, bearded beast of a man are very odd and seem out of place in a Bond story.
The general gist of Die Another Day' is that Bond was betrayed by the MI6 which was how he ended up being captured. Following Bond's release from imprisonment the story takes our hero to Cuba where he meets American agent Jinx (Halle Berry), and Iceland to investigate smarmy entrepreneur Gustav Graves who has created a deadly satellite. Thrown in are the usual seductions (Pierce Brosnan, gorgeous as he is, still achieves these ridiculously quickly!) and gadgets which include an invisible car! John Cleese is back to provide some comedy patter (I would have liked to have seen more of him).
I will remember this film for its action set-pieces which include a fencing duel between Bond and Graves that sees the two men crashing their way through a gentlemen's club (look out for Madonna in a cameo role) and a car chase across ice, and a villain with ice blue eyes and diamonds embedded in his white face.
I have to admit, when it comes to the story in Bond films, I'm terrible at keeping up with how it is progressing and find myself in a muddle. Ask me a question on the story of any Bond film and I find that I have great difficulty in matching the storyline with the title. However, while I am watching I am thoroughly entertained; Bond never fails to deliver what you go into the cinema expecting.
Although the usual Bond ingredients are here, there is a style which is unfamiliar. As the scene is set in North Korea, there is a sense of a Bond who is fallible: before the opening credits roll, Bond is captured and tortured. This unexpected turn of events and the shock of seeing Bond turn into a long haired, bearded beast of a man are very odd and seem out of place in a Bond story.
The general gist of Die Another Day' is that Bond was betrayed by the MI6 which was how he ended up being captured. Following Bond's release from imprisonment the story takes our hero to Cuba where he meets American agent Jinx (Halle Berry), and Iceland to investigate smarmy entrepreneur Gustav Graves who has created a deadly satellite. Thrown in are the usual seductions (Pierce Brosnan, gorgeous as he is, still achieves these ridiculously quickly!) and gadgets which include an invisible car! John Cleese is back to provide some comedy patter (I would have liked to have seen more of him).
I will remember this film for its action set-pieces which include a fencing duel between Bond and Graves that sees the two men crashing their way through a gentlemen's club (look out for Madonna in a cameo role) and a car chase across ice, and a villain with ice blue eyes and diamonds embedded in his white face.
I have to admit, when it comes to the story in Bond films, I'm terrible at keeping up with how it is progressing and find myself in a muddle. Ask me a question on the story of any Bond film and I find that I have great difficulty in matching the storyline with the title. However, while I am watching I am thoroughly entertained; Bond never fails to deliver what you go into the cinema expecting.