Die Another Day (2002)
After starting with a franchise-high in GoldenEye and quickly falling to the bottom of the barrel, Die Another Day finally brings an end to Pierce Brosnan's tenure as James Bond. After being captured and tortured for over a year in North Korea, Bond must get revenge and stop the evil terrorist Tang Ling Zao (Rick Yune) and overcome Zao's access to revolutionary gene technology which allows him to basically change his identity. As mentioned this was the final outing for Brosnan as the Bond and despite being hurt mutliple times by his recent films as the character I held on to a sliver of hope that Die Another Day could end his reign on a high note. Even if it was able to be half of what GoldenEye was I would have been happy. Sadly despite a change behind the camera with Lee Tamahori taking over the role of director this film continues this streak of just horrible films sadly becoming probably the worst of the Brosnan era.
The first thing to jump out to me was the actual style and tone of the film which felt completely off. In an attempt to appear more cinematic and serious the film takes on a bland void of color trying to embrace a more grim and intense look that really fails to do the film any favors. Instead of adding a level of grit or depth it just makes the film look unnatural and visually boring. The opening action scene isn't horrible but it carries no weight or intrigue in it due to just how boring it looks. The film overall tries to carry itself like a serious film but instead of actually being something of substance, it instead has a plot filled with camp and ideas that feel more out of the 60s than the early 2000s. This mismatch of tone and plot creates multiple moments that are honestly laughable which clearly is not the goal of this film.
The acting is also just not good here, where Brosnan has been one of the few constant highlights in the previous few films there is something about his performance here that feels off. It isn't that he is phoning in his performance but rather that the charisma and energy within him had been sucked out and lost. Halle Berry is far from terrible but also lacks really anything memorable or charismatic within her. There really is no actor in the film that gives a performance past "ok". The visual effects also just are bad, the use of CGI in this film more than any other previous Bond film stands out like a sore thumb and never is able to work properly.
Die Another Day sucks, there is honestly not much else you can say about the film. The plot and tone are a complete mismatch and there is no side element that stands out enough to be memorable. In past Bond films at least there has been one character or one action scene that truly stands out as something of quality, not here. There is not a single aspect of Die Another Day that truly works and overall this has to go down as one of my least favorite films of the entire franchise. The only thing that got be through this film was knowing that next, I would be watching one of the best of the franchise in 2006's Casino Royale.
Die Another Day sucks, there is honestly not much else you can say about the film. The plot and tone are a complete mismatch and there is no side element that stands out enough to be memorable. In past Bond films at least there has been one character or one action scene that truly stands out as something of quality, not here. There is not a single aspect of Die Another Day that truly works and overall this has to go down as one of my least favorite films of the entire franchise. The only thing that got be through this film was knowing that next, I would be watching one of the best of the franchise in 2006's Casino Royale.