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Die Another Day
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Die Another Day (2002) is the twentieth spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth and last to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. In the pre-title sequence, Bond leads a mission to North Korea, during which he is found out and, after killing a rogue North Korean colonel, he is captured and imprisoned. More than a year later, Bond is released as part of a prisoner exchange, and he follows a trail of clues in an effort to earn redemption by finding his betrayer and learning the intentions of billionaire Gustav Graves, who turns out to be the same colonel he supposedly killed.
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Encyclopedia
Die Another Day (2002) is the twentieth spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth and last to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. In the pre-title sequence, Bond leads a mission to North Korea, during which he is found out and, after killing a rogue North Korean colonel, he is captured and imprisoned. More than a year later, Bond is released as part of a prisoner exchange, and he follows a trail of clues in an effort to earn redemption by finding his betrayer and learning the intentions of billionaire Gustav Graves, who turns out to be the same colonel he supposedly killed. Bond pursues the colonel to stop him from using a satellite to reignite the war between North and South Korea.
Die Another Day, produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and directed by Lee Tamahori, is the 20th film in the series and marks the franchise's 40th anniversary (begun in 1962 with Sean Connery starring in Dr. No). It includes references to each of the preceding films and also alludes to several Bond novels.
The film received mixed reviews—some critics praised Lee Tamahori's work on the film, while others pointed out the damage caused to the plot by the excessive use of CGI. In spite of its flaws, it became the highest grossing James Bond film to that date. It was distributed by MGM themselves in North America, and internationally through 20th Century Fox.
Plot
In the pre-title sequence, James Bond leads a team to infiltrate a North Korean military base belonging to Colonel Tan-Sun Moon, an army officer who is illegally selling weaponry in exchange for African conflict diamonds. Bond poses as a weapons dealer, rigging his briefcase of diamonds with C4. He meets Moon and his assistant, Zao, to whom he gives the diamonds for inspection, but during the exchange, Zao's PDA downloads Bond's true identity from an unknown source, and Zao informs Moon, who then demonstrates one of the weapons to Bond, using it to blow up the chopper on which Bond flew in undercover. Colonel Moon learns that his father, General Moon, is approaching, and orders the weapons hidden and Bond killed, taking flight in a large hovercraft. Bond detonates the C4, embedding several diamonds in Zao's face. He then steals another hovercraft and pursues Colonel Moon, who tumbles over a waterfall, still on his hovercraft, and Bond believes him to be dead. No sooner does Bond himself evade death than North Korean troops capture him under General Moon's orders, and he is imprisoned and tortured.
Fourteen months later, Bond is released in exchange for Zao, who was captured during that time. He is sedated and taken to a frigate off the coast of Hong Kong, where M informs him that his 00 status is suspended because the allied forces believe that he may have leaked information under duress. Determined to take Zao out and find out who betrayed him, Bond escapes the frigate and swims to shore. In Hong Kong, he learns that Zao is in Cuba. He travels to Cuba, and while on the beach, he meets NSA agent Giacinta 'Jinx' Johnson. After spending a romp-filled night with Jinx, Bond follows Zao to a gene therapy clinic—a private and pricey establishment that allows patients to have their appearances altered—on Isla Los Organos, where he again runs into Jinx, who's posing as a client to get within striking distance of Zao. Bond locates Zao's room at the clinic and fights him, but Zao escapes in a helicopter, leaving behind a pendant. Bond opens it and finds five diamonds, which Raoul identifies as conflict diamonds, each of which bears the laser signature (a unique identifier) of the company of British billionaire Gustav Graves.
Bond locates Graves at a fencing club in London, where he has arranged for a fencing lesson with Verity. While there, he meets Graves and his fencing partner/public relations representative, Miranda Frost, who is a world champion in Olympic fencing. Bond engages Graves in a semi-friendly duel, putting up one of the diamonds as a wager. Bond wins, and Graves—in a show of feigned sportsmanship—writes a check to Bond for the market value of the diamond and invites him to a ceremony that Graves is holding in Iceland, where he will be conducting a scientific demonstration.
In a derelict London Underground station, M restores Bond's 00 status and offers assistance in the investigation in exchange for the intel he has gathered on Graves. Frost, actually another MI6 agent, had been sent by MI6 to learn Graves' intentions, but she has failed to uncover anything. To further his inquest of Graves, Bond takes Graves up on his invitation at an ice palace Graves has prepared for the occasion, and there Bond meets Jinx again. That night, Graves demonstrates his new orbital mirror satellite (which he has dubbed "Icarus")—an apparatus that can harness solar energy and focus it to provide year-round sunshine for crop development.
At midnight, Jinx infiltrates Graves' palatial command center, where she finds Zao, who is trying again to use the Isla Los Organos technology to alter his appearance. Mr. Kil subdues her and straps her to a table, standing over her menacingly, intending to use a laser to kill her. She is briefly tortured. Fortunately for her, Bond arrives at that moment, and works together with Jinx to fry Kil's brain with the laser. It then occurs to Bond that the equipment Zao was using to change his appearance is already on the premises and being used by another North Korean: Colonel Tan Sun Moon, who survived his plummet over the waterfall and has changed his own identity to that of Gustav Graves.
When Bond confronts Graves, Frost shows up and points her gun at Bond; Graves, who admits to being Moon, reveals her as Bond's betrayer. Bond escapes from the pair and takes flight in his Aston Martin Vanquish, followed closely by Zao, who pursues him in a Jaguar XKR through the rapidly melting ice palace (which Graves has exited and is using Icarus to destroy). Bond kills Zao by luring him under a collapsing chandelier, and then rescues Jinx from drowning.
After the confrontation, Bond and Jinx are deployed at the border between North and South Korea, where they infiltrate North Korea using experimental stealth sleds called Switchblades and parachutes. They stow away on Graves' cargo plane, which is also carrying the arrested General Moon (who is unaware of his son's new identity), his lieutenants, and Frost. Graves reveals the true purpose behind his creation of Icarus—he uses its beam to cut a swath through the minefield in the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Once the minefield is destroyed, North Korean troops can invade South Korea, reuniting the two countries through force. Icarus would also stop any interference from the Western nations by destroying any WMDs fired on North Korea. Graves wears a sophisticated armor that not only gives him electrifying capabilities, but allows him to control the Icarus satellite remotely. In an attempt to preserve peace, General Moon draws a gun on his son, but Graves uses his armor to disarm the general and then shoots him.
Bond advances to kill Graves, but is thwarted when one of Graves' soldiers attacks him, causing him to shoot through a window and bringing about cabin depressurization. Jinx manages to stabilize the plane, but is accosted by a sword-wielding Frost, who forces her to set the plane's controls to autopilot. While doing so, Jinx alters the plane's heading so that it will fly directly into the beam cast by Icarus. During the climatic fight that follows, Jinx kills Frost with a knife to the chest. In the cabin, Graves gains the upper hand against Bond and puts on a parachute. Bond pulls Graves' ripcord, causing the parachute to open inside the cabin, and the slipstream pulls Graves out of the plane, sucking him into one of the engines, shutting down Icarus. Bond and Jinx escape the plane using a helicopter in the cargo hold, along with a large number of Graves's diamonds.
Cast
- Pierce Brosnan as James Bond 007: An MI6 agent who is betrayed during a mission and subsequently dismissed under accusations that he leaked information to North Korea. Once reinstated with MI6, he tracks down Zao and uncovers a plot to reunite North and South Korea using military force.
- Halle Berry as Giacinta 'Jinx' Johnson: An NSA agent who collaborates with Bond to track Zao and find his connection to the mysterious Gustav Graves. Berry described her character, Jinx, as "more modern" than her counterparts from previous films, "fashion-forward", and "the next step in the evolution of women in the Bond movies." According to an ITV news poll, Jinx was voted the fourth toughest on-screen girl of all time.
- Toby Stephens as Gustav Graves: A British entrepreneur, though North Korean by birth, who changes his appearance with the assistance of gene therapy technology and creates a satellite that uses diamonds to bring sunshine to the world at night. His real aim, however, is to assist North Korea's conquest of South Korea by destroying a mine field between the two countries and taking out nuclear warheads fired by North Korea's enemies.
- Rick Yune as Zao: A North Korean who helps Graves implement his plans and machinations. Yune described Zao as one of the most "extreme" looking Bond villains; Yune's makeup—which included the implantation of real diamonds—required three hours.
- Rosamund Pike as Miranda Frost: A double agent who initially poses as Bond's ally but later reveals herself to be an affiliate of Graves. Of filming her scenes with Brosnan, Pike said "We had pretty fantastic sex." But movie producers decided much of the footage was "too hot" and the sex scenes were trimmed.
- Judi Dench as M: The strict head of MI6 who revokes Bond's licence to kill when he is released from prison, but later re-enlists him to help foil Graves' scheme.
- Will Yun Lee as Colonel Moon: A rogue North Korean army colonel who, though Bond thinks him dead after their first encounter, is found to be alive, and has altered his appearance to take on the identity of British billionaire Gustav Graves.
- Kenneth Tsang as General Moon: Colonel Moon's father. He is a strong advocate of North Korea's peaceful reunion with South Korea. He opposes his son's plan for reunification and is killed by his son for what the ex-colonel perceives as a lack of vision.
- John Cleese as R: 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.
- Lawrence Makoare as Mr. Kil: One of Gustav Graves' henchmen.
- David Decio as Mr. Kil's PA: Mr. Kil's personal assistant.
- Emilio Echevarría as Raoul: The manager of a Havana cigar factory, and a British sleeper. He helps Bond find Zao in Cuba.
- Michael Madsen as Damian Falco: A high-ranking official in the NSA. In a 2002 interview Madsen remarked that "It's not a big role, but it's somewhat pivotal in that it introduces a new recurring character."
- Madonna as Verity, Bond's fencing instructor.
Production
Filming
The shooting of Die Another Day began on January 11, 2002 at Pinewood studios. The film was shot primarily in the United Kingdom, Iceland, and Cádiz, Spain. Other locations included Pinewood Studios' historic 007 Stage, and scenes shot in Maui, Hawaii, in December 2001. Laird Hamilton and other professional surfers were hired to perform in the pre-title surfing scene, which was shot near Cádiz and Newquay, Cornwall. Scenes inside Graves' diamond mine were also filmed in Cornwall, at the Eden Project. The scenes involving the Cuban locations Havana and the fictional Isla Los Organos were filmed at La Caleta, Spain.
The scenes featuring Berry in a bikini were shot in Cádiz; the location was reportedly cold and windy, and footage has been released of Berry wrapped in thick towels between takes to avoid catching a chill. Berry was injured during filming when debris from a smoke grenade flew into her eye. The debris was removed in a 30-minute operation.
In London, the Reform Club was used to shoot several places in the film, including the lobby at the Blades Club, MI6 Headquarters, Buckingham Palace, Green Park, and Westminster. Svalbard, Norway and Jökulsárlón, Iceland were used for the car chase on the ice with additional scenes filmed at Jostedalsbreen National Park, Norway and RAF Little Rissington, Gloucestershire.
The hangar interior of the "US Air Base in South Korea", shown crowded with Chinook helicopters, was filmed at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, UK, as were the helicopter interior shots during the Switchblade sequence although this took place entirely on the ground with the sky background being added post-shooting using blue screen techniques. Although in the plot the base is American, in reality all the aircraft and personnel in the shot are British. 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."
On the DVD release of the film, the audio commentary reveals that an early cut of Die Another Day featured a slightly longer sex scene between Bond and Jinx. The MPAA ordered that the scene be trimmed so that Die Another Day could get the expected PG-13 rating. The scene was cut as requested, earning the film a PG-13 rating for "action violence and sexuality."
Music
The soundtrack was composed by David Arnold and released on Warner Bros. Records. 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. This is the first Bond theme to directly depict the film's plot; all of the previous Bond titles are stand-alone set pieces. The concept of the title sequence is to represent Bond trying to survive 14 months of torture at the hands of the North Koreans. Critics' opinions of the song were sharply divided—it was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song and the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording, but also for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song of 2002. In a MORI poll for the Channel 4 programme "James Bond's Greatest Hits", the song was voted 9th out of 22, and also came in as an "overwhelming number one" favorite among those under the age of 24.
Marketing tie-ins
MGM and Eon Productions granted Mattel the license to sell a line of Barbie dolls based around the franchise. Mattel announced that the Bond Barbies will be at her "stylish best", clad in evening dress and red shawl. Lindy Hemming created the dress, which is slashed to the thigh to reveal a telephone strapped to Barbie's leg. The doll was sold in a gift set, with Barbie's boyfriend Ken posing as Bond in a tuxedo designed by the Italian fashion house Brioni.
Revlon also collaborated with the makers of Die Another Day to create a cosmetics line based round the character Jinx. The limited edition 007 Colour Collection was launched on November 7, 2002 to coincide with the film's release. The product names were loaded with puns and innuendo, with shades and textures ranging from the warm to cool and frosted.
Release and reception
Die Another Day was released on November 22, 2002 in London. The Queen and Prince Philip were guests of honour at the world premiere, which was the second to be attended by the Queen after You Only Live Twice. The Royal Albert Hall had a make-over for the screening and had been transformed into an ice palace. Proceeds from premiere, about £500,000, were donated to the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund of which the Queen is patron. On the first day, ticket sales reached £1.2 million. 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.
Die Another Day became a controversial subject in eastern Asia. The North Korean government 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."
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, although USA Today reported that number to be as high as $100 million. By choice, the number of companies involved in product placement dwindled to only eight for the next Bond film Casino Royale in 2006.
Rotten Tomatoes listed Die Another Day with a 59% "Rotten" rating. Metacritic gave the film a 56 out of 100 rating, representing "Mixed or average reviews." 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." 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." Entertainment Weekly magazine also gave a positive reaction, saying that Tamahori, "a true filmmaker", has reestablished the series' pop sensuality. Dana Stevens of The New York Times called the film the best of the James Bond series since The Spy Who Loved Me. According to a ITV news poll Jinx was voted the fourth toughest girl on screen of all time.
However, Die Another Day was strongly criticised for relying too much 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." Gary Brown of the Houston Community Newspapers also described the weak point 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." Roger Moore remarked, "I thought it just went too far — and that’s from me, the first Bond in space! Invisible cars and dodgy CGI footage? Please!"
Novelisation
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. Fan reaction to it was above average. 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.
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