Die Another Day (2002)

!! SPOILER WARNING !!

The twentieth James Bond film - released in the franchise's fortieth anniversary - was always going to be an event and Eon Productions clearly had much riding on it, though the film was produced during a difficult period of historical upheaval that must have given the producers cause for some jitters. Since the last Bond adventure, The World Is Not Enough (1999), the world had changed beyond all recognition. Politically, the real world was a darker, nastier place and in the movie world, young upstarts like XXX (2002) were snapping at Bond's perfectly turned but ageing heels. Would the franchise be able to fend off the challenge of the newer breed of screen heroes? Would it even have a place in a post September 11 world?

Initially, the signs weren't great. That title for a start - meaningless and nowhere near as evocative as some of the others that were bandied about during pre-production (Cold Fusion, Black Sun, Beyond the Ice). In addition, Eon's pre-release publicity was less than impressive - the film's poster lacked the originality and dynamism that we'd come to expect from a Bond poster, though the teaser's emphasis on ice was a nice counterpoint to the fire motif used in the teaser for The World Is Not Enough. And the theme song, given heavy radio rotation in the weeks leading up to the film's release, was barely adequate as a Madonna song and certainly fell a long way short of being a great Bond theme. Together, they weren't good omens.

Perhaps in response to the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington (although the producers always denied ever being influenced by real world events), Die Another Day is a very different film to the rest of the Brosnan Bonds. Gone are the misguided attempts to get under the skin of Bond, the unwanted and unneeded attempts to psychoanalyse the character that had appeared in Brosnan's previous three outings. Gone too are the related introspective longeurs that particularly blighted The World Is Not Enough and in comes a more playful and hectic style that - as befits the 40th anniversary - harks back to former glories.

For the first time in Brosnan's reign, here's a Bond film that has a genuine sense of epic scale. The massive sets, larger than life villains and outlandish science fiction gadgets of the 60s and 70s were dusted down and allowed a long overdue return to the series. It never quite gets swamped by the spectacle, as did Moonraker (1979), but it certainly has a more grandiose feel to it than any of the 90s Bonds. A massive and highly implausible hideout for the villain, a powerful super weapon, insane plans hatched in the pursuit of power, cars rammed to the gills with gadgets... All the stuff that made the 60s Bonds so memorable are all back where they belong.

Die Another Day is a treasure trove for the sharp-eyed Bond fan, deliberately quoting from previous successes and full of clever in-jokes for those in the know. In Cuba, Bond picks up a copy of A Field Guide to Birds of the West Indies, whose author's name was 'borrowed' by Ian Fleming for his hero; Q's laboratory is crammed full of gadgets from earlier films (the Acrostar and the crocodile disguise from Octopussy (1983); the jetpack from Thunderball (1965); the briefcase and Rosa Klebb's shoe from From Russia With Love (1963) etc); Jinx's first appearance, reminiscent of Honey Ryder's in Dr. No (1962); Gustav Graves parachute; dialogue references to Goldfinger (1964) ("I never joke about my work!") and Diamonds Are Forever (1971) ("Diamonds are for everyone"); and at one point, one almost expects an imperilled Jinx to demand "You expect me to talk?" and for the villainous Mr Kil to quip "No, Ms Jinx, I expect you to die!" It's all great fun, perfectly in keeping with the anniversary mood and perfectly derails the usual criticisms of the series, that we've seen it all before - in this case, that's exactly what the production team seemed to aiming for.

Brosnan again makes the role his own, perfecting his uncanny blend of the best qualities of all of his predecessors, though the moments of almost callous brutality that had appeared in his other films are notable by their absence. He manages to make the worst double entendres and bad puns seem palatable and the extraordinary sight of a bearded, straggly haired Bond recovering from the trauma if his 14 months of torture is a real shock. Perhaps only Brosnan could have carried off the marvellous pay-off shot, as he calmly saunters into the lobby of a Hong Kong hotel, straggly of hair, hairy of face, dressed only in a far from fetching pair of hospital pyjamas to demand the receptionist gives him his "usual suite!"

This time out, Judi Dench's M is given less to do and the camaraderie that had developed between her and Bond in The World Is Not Enough is here replaced by the character's earlier distrust of her leading agent, and a cold-hearted willingness to let him suffer and even die in the name of national security. Colin Salmon is on hand again as the ever-dependable Robinson and, although Desmond Llewelyn is still sorely missed, John Cleese's turn as the new Q is far better than the silly comic turn he was forced to give in The World Is Not Enough. His marvellous, half muttered and deeply half-felt "I wish I could make you vanish" has the ring of Basil Fawlty at his most frustrated and angry and it seems impossible now to imagine the series without him. Q would, no doubt, be very proud of how his replacement is shaping up.

Samantha Bond again returns as Moneypenny and gets the biggest laugh in the film, with an outstanding and hilarious scene at the climax of the film in which the ever devoted Moneypenny finally appears to get her man... Though all is not quite as it seems. Madonna's much-publicised cameo is just that, an inconsequential, blink-and-you'll-miss-it stunt that may lure in one or two of her fans but which neither adds to nor detracts from the overall proceedings.

Halle Berry - the first Bond girl to have a Best Actress Oscar under her belt - is great as feisty NSA agent Jinx, and the chemistry between her and Brosnan is fabulous. She seems to genuinely be enjoying herself throughout and one hopes that the producers see fit to bring Jinx back at some point and that Oscar success won't prevent Berry from accepting the job if it's offered. Rosamund Pike fares less well as MI5 agent Miranda Frost, though in fairness to her she certainly looks the part and is really only called upon to re-enact Sophie Marceau's treacherous Elektra King role from The World Is Not Enough. That said, the vicious cat fight between Frost and Jinx at the end is a definite highlight, cleverly cross-cutting with Bond's own titanic tussle with Graves.

Toby Stephens does a fine Hugh Grant impression as oily diamond miner turned philanthropist Gustav Graves whose true identity is a genuine surprise. Little is made of his strange quirk (he apparently doesn't sleep) but Graves is certainly a more interesting villain than any other that Brosnan Bond has encountered - at least he seems to have some genuinely outlandish schemes and displays characteristics of most of the earlier, most memorable Bond villains. Even better though is Rick Yune as the grotesque and terrifying Zao, an albino Korean assassin with diamonds embedded in his face after a near fatal encounter with Bond in the teaser. His physical prowess and startling appearance give rise to many memorable encounters with his arch-nemesis and he's by far and away the best henchman we've seen in many a long decade.

Sadly, Michael Madsen is completely wasted in a thankless and really rather pointless role that's little more than a cameo. As the mysterious American agent Falco, he gets to utter a line that has particular resonance in the wake of the US raids on Afghanistan (warning M that the States won't tolerate a loose cannon like Bond, he tells her "if you can't put your house in order, we will") but otherwise has absolutely nothing to do. One suspects that an earlier draft featured Jack Wade from Goldeneye (1995) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) as the American agent but that somewhere along the line Joe Don Baker was unavailable and the part was hastily rewritten.

As ever, it's the action unit, again headed by the redoubtable Vic Armstrong (when will Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli see sense and give this man the main unit to play with?) that steal the show. The action set pieces are numerous and hugely satisfying - the opening hovercraft chase is little more than a reworking of the boat chase from The World Is Not Enough, but the unusual nature of the vehicles give it an interesting spin. The impressive devastation wreaked by the Icarus weapon allows for the biggest explosion ever seen in a Bond film. But the film's stunt highlight is a magnificent car chase across a frozen Icelandic lake that features a wonderful gag where Bond makes unorthodox use of the ejector seat in his new Aston Martin Vanquish. The car itself is another beauty, the only real rival to Aston Martin's own DB5, though the vehicle's somewhat contrived main gadget - the "adaptive camouflage" - is allowed to rather conveniently breakdown when the plot requires it and start working again just in time for Bond to make his escape. Still, the sight of the Aston Martin and Zao's pursuing Jaguar pirouetting across the ice is a memorable one and it will surely rank as one of the best of the Bond action sequences.

On the downside, Die Another Day featured the first extensive use in a Bond film of digital effects and although some of them work - the Icarus weapon, the disintegrating transport aircraft - there are moments that are less effective. In particular, the scene where Bond attempts to escape a collapsing ice wall using a parachute is truly cringe worthy, one of the worst effects sequences ever captured on film and likely to be a horrible blight on the one's memory of the film. What possessed them to keep this frankly shoddy and unconvincing mess in the film is a mystery - reshooting might have been expensive but surely it would have been worth it?

Die Another Day is still a long way from Bond at his 60s best but its definitely a step in the right direction from The World Is Not Enough. It's Bond, it does exactly what it says on the tin and it does it with one steady eye very firmly on the past. It has something for everyone, except perhaps the most die-hard of Bond sceptics and fans who are, perhaps, a little too over-critical of the more recent outings. It won't change the film-making world and it's a long way from being great art, but it's huge fun and has just about everything you could want from a Bond film - fast cars, sexy women, tons of gadgets and a knowing sense of its own ridiculousness. Earlier Brosnan Bonds had seemed rather pompous at times, taking themselves a little too seriously. And that's one that's one thing that, thankfully, Die Another Day could never be accused of.
KEVIN LYONS