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DIE ANOTHER DAY
Blu-ray Edition
Film review by Gordon Justesen
Technical specs by Michael Jacobson
Stars: Pierce Brosnan,
Halle Berry, Toby Stephens, Rosamund Pike, Rick Yune, John Cleese, Judi Dench
Director: Lee Tamahori
Audio: DTS HD 5.1
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Features: See Review
Length: 132 Minutes
Release Date: October 21, 2008
“You
know, you’re cleverer than you look.”
“Still
better than looking cleverer than you are.”
Film ***
Ever since Pierce Brosnan stepped into the shoes of James
Bond, the franchise has never seen brighter days. With Die
Another Day, the twentieth film in the series, as well as Brosnan’s fourth
outing as 007, the series may never see a more high wire dose of action and
excitement than what is displayed here. It contains all the usual Bond fixes;
big action set pieces, beautiful women, exotic locations, and wonderful gadgets,
and all of them put to the extreme in this entry. As far as story elements, you
simply get what you expect in terms of what 007’s newest adversary plots to
do, but Die Another Day manages to delivers thrills a minute, and ranks with
the better Bond adventures.
The movie opens with Bond arriving at North Korea to take
down a notorious Korean general. His plan backfires when his cover is blown, and
is captured by the Korean army following a spectacular hovercraft chase, which
is the big action number that precedes the credits. Bond, held captive and
consistently tortured by the Koreans is eventually freed and traded for a
vicious renegade named Zao (Rick Yune), whose face has been riddled with
diamonds thanks to an explosion that Bond initiated.
007 is soon put back into action, and is determined to take
down the man he feels set him up on his assignment in North Korea. His trail of
stolen diamonds leads directly to millionaire adventurer Gustav Graves (Toby
Stephens), who seems to get as much media attention than any Royal figure in
England. But Bond is not alone in his pursuit, as a lovely female operative by
the name of Jinx (Halle Berry) seems to be on the same path of pursuit as 007.
The two met in Cuba earlier, where this time Bond got the feeling of being
ditched after bedding a woman.
Bond is then invited by Graves, himself, for a public
gathering he is having at a private location in Iceland. He plans to get close
to Graves by way of Miranda Frost (Rosamund Pike), Graves’ lovely assistant,
because of course, what woman would even resist James Bond? Graves is hatching a
secret plot to test a secret space mirror, capable of destroying terrain by way
of a laser beam, while telling everyone not to worry, but they will soon be
enlightened.
The action scenes in Die
Another Day are among the best in any James Bond movie to date. Alongside
the dynamic opening action scene, it features a jaw dropping car chase between
Bond and one of his foes right on Iceland terrain. I can’t remember the last
time I saw a car chase on ice, but this one hit the ball right out of the park
in terms of an adrenaline rush. The gadgets displayed by Q (John Cleese) include
Bond’s car, which is dubbed The Vanish for it’s ability to maneuver while
invisible. Other gadgets include a ring with the ability to cut glass, and a watch,
which makes for 007’s twentieth, since he seems to have lost every other
gadget given to him in the past.
Die Another Day is a superb treat for James Bond Fans everywhere. Loaded with action, wit, and endless energy, this is certain to become one of the more memorable films in the series.
BONUS TRIVIA: Madonna, who
sings the title song to the movie, makes a cameo as a fencing instructor.
Video ****
The whole Bond Blu-ray series has been impressive to date, and being the most modern apart from Casino Royale, Die Another Day might be the most shining example of how good these titles can look in high definition. The anamorphic transfer handles the images with amazing clarity and crispness in both lighter and darker scenes, and the 1080p capability makes sure the action comes through with vivid detail all the way through. Color schemes are natural and gorgeous.
Audio ****
The DTS HD track delivers superb dynamic range from the action to the terrific score, including the Madonna song. Dialogue is well-balanced against it all, but the subwoofer and rear channels are impressively used for an enveloping and crystal clear lossless listening experience.
Features ****
The Blu-ray disc includes two commentary tracks; one with director
Lee Tamahori and producer Michael G. Wilson, and one with stars Pierce Brosnan
and Rosamund Pike. Also included is a streaming feature titled MI6 DataStream,
which provides trivia facts along with video streaming.
There is also a script-to-screen feature, four detailed production featurettes, an interactive guide to the world of the movie, and an image database.
Summary:
Die Another Day is a high point not just for the James Bond series in general, but for the new James Bond Blu-ray series as well. Loaded to a tee, this is quite simply one of the must have titles of the year!
