Die Another Day
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Categories: 2002 novels | 2002 films | British novels | James Bond books | Films shot anamorphically | Films shot in multiple formats | James Bond films | MGM films | English-language films | Pinewood films | Films set in Iceland
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For the theme song of the same movie, performed by Madonna, see Die Another Day (song).
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. It nevertheless became the highest grossing James Bond film of all time before being surpassed by Casino Royale in 2006.
PlotIn the pre-title sequence, James Bond and two allies infiltrate a military base belonging to Colonel Tan-Sun Moon, a North Korean army officer who is illegally selling 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. Posing as a weapons dealer, he meets with Colonel Moon and his assistant, Zao. After the diamonds are handed over, Zao discovers Bond's true identity and informs Moon, who orders his men to execute Bond. Fearing retribution from his father, General Moon, the Colonel then flees in a large hovercraft. Bond detonates the C4 in the suitcase, embedding a number of diamonds in Zao's face. He then steals another hovercraft and chases Colonel Moon, who tumbles off a ledge and into a waterfall. North Korean troops capture Bond under General Moon's orders and he is imprisoned and tortured. 14 months later, Bond is released in exchange for Zao, who was captured during the fourteen months. He is then sedated and taken to meet "M", who informs him that Zao is now free, and his status as a double-0 Agent is now suspended. Still bitter over Zao's release, Bond decides to complete his mission by evading MI6's security and travels to Cuba. He traces Zao to an island called Isla Los Organos, known for its gene therapy "Clinic" which allows patients to have their appearances changed. On the coast, he meets a NSA agent Giacinta 'Jinx' Johnson. With her help, Bond locates Zao's room inside the clinic and briefly tortures him. Zao flees in a helicopter but leaves behind a pendant. Bond opens it and finds a cache of diamonds identified as conflict diamonds from Africa, but bearing the crest of Gustav Graves' company. Image:Dad2002.jpg
Bond and Jinx meet in Cuba.
Bond traces Graves back to London and meets the self-made billionaire who makes a spectacular entrance 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 recruited by MI6, but she has failed to uncover Graves's connection to Zao. Bond takes Graves up on his earlier invitation, and arrives at his ice palace in Iceland and meets Jinx again. Then Graves begins a demonstration of his new orbital mirror satellite called "Icarus", which is able to focus solar energy on a small area and provide year-round sunshine for crop development. At midnight, Jinx attempts to infiltrate Graves' command center in the ice palace, but is captured by Zao and tortured. Bond meanwhile has figured out that Graves is actually Colonel Moon under a new identity. Before Bond can kill him, Moon turns the tables by revealing that Miranda Frost is a double agent. Bond narrowly escapes being shot by Frost, then escapes from Graves' facility in his car. Zao gives pursuit in his Jaguar XKR, and both cars drive inside the rapidly-melting ice palace. Bond kills Zao by luring him under a collapsing chandelier, and then rescues Jinx from drowning. 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 its solar beam to cut a swath through the minefield in the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Once the minefield is destroyed, North Korea will have a clear path to invade South Korea, Japan, and other countries. Icarus would also destabilize the western nations by destroying any WMD fired on North Korea. Graves wears a sophisticated armor with a built-in remote control, which operates the satellite. In an attempt to preserve peace, General Moon holds his son at gunpoint, but Graves disables and kills him with the armed suit. Bond advances to kill Graves, but is thrawted when one of his henchman causes Bond to shoot one of the windows, causing the plane to lose pressurization. Jinx manages to stabilise the plane, but is attacked by a sword-wielding Miranda Frost, who forces her to switch the plane to auto-pilot. Unbeknownst to them, it causes the plane to fly directly toward the Icarus beam. During the climatic sword fight, Jinx stabs Frost with a knife. Down below, Graves gains the upper hand and puts on a parachute. However, Bond opens it, pulling Graves out of the plane. Screaming, Graves falls into the engine. Bond finds Jinx and the two escape the plane in a stowed helicopter seconds before it explodes. Cast
ProductionFilmingImage:Die Another Dayintro.jpg
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 in December 2001. Professional surfers such as Laird Hamilton were hired to perform in the sequence. The surfing scene in the pre-title sequence was shot near Newquay, Cornwall and Cádiz, Spain. Scenes inside Graves' diamond mine were also filmed in Cornwall, at the Eden Project. The scenes involving the Cuban locations Havana and Isla Los Organos were filmed at La Caleta, Spain.[2] 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.[2] 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."[3] MusicThe soundtrack was composed by David Arnold and released on Warner Bros. Records.[4] 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,[5] 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.[6] References to other films
To acknowledge that Die Another Day marked the 40th anniversary of the James Bond film series and was the 20th entry in the official series, references to every one of the preceding nineteen films were incorporated.[7] 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, as is Gustav Graves' comment that "diamonds are for everyone". The fencing match in Moonraker wherein display cases and other valuable artifacts are destroyed, was also remade. The revocation of Bond's licence to kill and his loss of double-0 status traced its origin to Licence to Kill. There are several appearances of gadgets in MI6's laboratory, such as a shoe-blade and trick attache case as appeared in From Russia with Love, the jet-pack from Thunderball, the 'Snooper' device from A View to a Kill, 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. Jinx is strapped to a table and threatened with a laser in a reference to Goldfinger. The Union Jack parachute that Graves uses echoes Bond's parachute in The Spy Who Loved Me. Q's famous line from Goldfinger, "I never joke about my work," is also reprised. In addition to the film-specific references, Bond's new watch is described as "your twentieth" and the film also references the creation of the name "James Bond". When 007 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.[8] According to actress Rosamund Pike in her DVD commentary track for the film, her character Miranda Frost was originally named Gala Brand, which was the name of a character in the Moonraker novel, but this was changed before filming began.[9]Also Bond uses the pocket oxygen tank from Thunderball Release and receptionDie 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.[10] On the very first day, ticket sales reached £1.2 million.[11] 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,[1] surpassing Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets which grossed $42.4 million.[12] 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."[13] 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,[14] although USA Today reported that number to be as high as $100 million.[15] By choice, the number of companies involved in product placement was dwindled to only eight for the next Bond film Casino Royale in 2006.[15] Rotten Tomatoes listed Die Another Day with a 59% "rotten" rating.[16] Metacritic gave the film a 56 out of 100 rating, representing "Mixed or average reviews."[17] 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."[17] 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."[18] Entertainment Weekly magazine also gave a positive reaction, saying that Tamahori, "a true filmmaker", has reestablished the series' pop sensuality.[19] Dana Stevens of The New York Times called the film the best of the James Bond series since The Spy Who Loved Me.[17] 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."[20] 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."[21] NovelizationThe 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.[22] 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.[23] References
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