Die Another Day (2002)

After a mission In North Korea ends in disaster, Bond is captured and held by the Koreans for fourteen months. He is eventually freed in a prisoner exchange but is suspected of compromising American agents. He must prove his innocence.

The bullet coming down the gun barrel at the very start of the film heralds that this will be something different. Too true. This has to be one of the worst Bond movies, if not the worst. More than that, it’s one of the worst movies ever made.

It’s difficult to know where to start. There is no one real source for why this is such an unmitigated disaster. You have a facile, flat and uninteresting script by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. Lee Tamahori’s direction is all over the place with occasional visual flourishes that add nothing. Danny Kleinman’s opening sequence includes scenes of Bond being tortured- with the garish graphics and Madonna’s dreadful theme, I can sympathise.

Of the main performances, it’s only really Pierce Brosnan and Judi Dench who come out of it looking good. Halle Berry does the best with what she has but the character- despite being an NSA agent- is bland. Toby Stephens is slimy and obnoxious as billionaire Gustav Graves, an irritating posh boy who you just want to slap. The fencing scene between Bond and Graves comes off as a macho pissing contest which is incredibly tedious. Rosamund Pike is fairly dull as double-agent Miranda Frost and I’ve seen better chemistry between garden gnomes than between her and Bond.

So many visual effects fall flat, especially the Aston Martin Vanquish (a.k.a. the invisible car). The scene where Bond rescues Jinx from the lasers is just completely ludicrous and the whole sorry affair reaches its nadir with the CGI wave-surfing

As this was released in the fortieth anniversary year, there are a lot of nods to previous Bond adventures. Some are subtle (such as the birdwatchers guide which Ian Fleming took the name of his secret agent from) and others not (Halle Berry coming out of the sea in an orange bikini, an obvious homage to Ursula Andress). There is some entertainment value had in noticing all these but it’s scant consolation for a film that makes even Thunderball look good.

Rating: 1 out of 5

Tez

Girls, Girls, Girls!

 

There's one essential part of a Bond film we haven't discussed yet. The Bond Girl. Ever since Ursula Andress came out of the sea in that iconic white bikini in Dr. No, there has always been at least one female love interest in the Bond films. These range from traditional 'damsels-in-distress' to more independent women who cross Bond's path. In Skyfall, there are two: field agent Eve (Naomie Harris) and the mysterious Severine (Berenice Marlohe).

We wouldn't be so crass or tacky as to try and rank our favourites to come up with a Top 10. Instead, we've both picked five of our favourite Bond girls, combined them and have listed them in chronological order.


MISS MONEYPENNY
(played by Lois Maxwell, Caroline Bliss and Samantha Bond from Dr. No to Die Another Day)

Moneypenny is M's personal secretary and a loyal, trusted and loving friend to our agent. She's witty, charming and not above having a flirt with Bond. Maxwell played Moneypenny from Dr. No to A View From A Kill, with Bliss taking over the role for the Dalton era and Bond in Brosnan's.



PUSSY GALORE
(played by Honor Blackman in Goldfinger)

Ms Galore is Goldfinger's personal pilot. She is also Bond's equal. Cunning, strong and doesn't get pushed around and she has a name that launched a thousand puns. Pussy is arguably the most famous of all the Bond girls. 

TRACY
(played by Diana Rigg in On Her Majesty's Secret Service)

Possibly the most important woman in Bond's life, Contessa Teresa di Vincenzo becomes Mrs. Tracy Bond at the end of the adventure- only to be ruthlessly gunned down by Blofeld and Irma Bunt minutes later. Rigg gives a strong performance as the fragile but determined Tracy.



SOLITAIRE
(played by Jane Seymour in Live And Let Die)

Mr Big's tarot card reader, whose abilities are linked with her (ahem) 'purity'. Once seduced by Bond, she is unable to read the cards. It's a luminous performance by Seymour in one of her earliest film roles.

MAJOR ANYA AMASOVA
(played by Barbara Bach in The Spy Who Loved Me)

Anya (also known by her Russian codename Agent XXX) teams up with Bond against Stromberg's plans. As a Russian agent, she is assured and quick-witted, out-thinking Bond more than once. 

DR. HOLLY GOODHEAD
(played by Lois Chiles in Moonraker)

Despite the fact that the character is an intelligent NASA-trained astrophysicist working for the CIA, she makes the list for one reason- her name. Frankly, it wouldn't go amiss in a Carry On film.





MELINA HAVELOCK
(played by Carole Bouquet in For Your Eyes Only)

A dab hand with a crossbow, Melina is on a quest to revenge the deaths of her parents (who are killed during Kristatos' search for the ATAC machine). Determined and assured, she saves Bond's life at one point. 







NATALYA SIMONOVA
(played by Izabella Scorupco in Goldeneye)

One of the survivors of the Severnaya attack, Natalya is a computer programmer who aids Bond in thwarting Trevelyan's plans. Forthright and brave, she describes Bond and Mishkin's squabbling as 'boys with toys' and even calls Bond on his emotional barriers.

WAI LIN 
(played by Michelle Yeoh in Tomorrow Never Dies)

A Chinese agent who is also investigating Elliot Carver, she and Bond team up against the cunning media mogul. She knows martial arts and has a nice collection of gadgets. A great character played by a great actress.






GIACINTA 'JINX' JOHNSON
(played by Halle Berry in Die Another Day)

Despite being in the irredeemable mess that is Die Another Day, Jinx manages to be one of the best Bond girls. She matches 007 on every level. There were even rumours of a spin-off movie featuring her for some time.






There have been dozens of Bond girls throughout the franchise? Who are some of your favourites? Let us know in the comments below.

This is also the final article to go up on the blog before the Bondathon weekend- in less than three days, we'll be taking on this marathon to raise money for Cancer Research Wales. Please consider sponsoring us either through JustGiving or via text: text BOND62 and your amount (eg. BOND62 £5) to 70070

Keep reading over the weekend as we chart 50 years of Bond in The Watchers Charity Bondathon 2012!

Bond At The Oscars: Part One - The Actors

Skyfall's main antagonist, Raoul Silva, is played by Spanish actor Javier Bardem. Bardem won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance in No Country For Old Men (and has also been nominated for his performances in Before Night Falls and Biutiful). 

However, Bardem is not the first Oscar-winning actor to appear in a Bond film.

Sean Connery

OK, so his Best Supporting Actor Oscar for The Untouchables was years after he hung up the tux (even if you include Never Say Never Again), but the fact still remains that- to date- Connery is the only actor to play Bond to have been nominated or has won a competitive acting Oscar.

Christopher Walken

Walken had already walked away with his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in The Deer Hunter before he took on the role of Max Zorin in A View To A Kill. He was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Catch Me If You Can.

Benicio Del Toro

Del Toro played Dario, one of Sanchez's henchmen, in License To Kill. It was one of his first film roles and he would go on to have a very successful career, winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in Traffic (and being further nominated for his role in 21 Grams).

Judi Dench

The third incarnation of M, Dench won her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Shakespeare In Love in 1999 after she had already appeared in GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies. She has also been nominated for Best Actress for Mrs. Brown, Iris, Mrs. Henderson Presents and Notes On A Scandal, and for Best Supporting Actress for Chocolat.

Halle Berry

Berry made history when she became the first African-American actress to win a Best Actress Oscar (on her first nomination) for her role in Monster's Ball. She then went on to play Jinx in Die Another Day.

Other Oscar nominees that have appeared in Bond films are:

• Lotte Lenya (Rosa Klebb in From Russia With Love; nominated for Best Supporting Actress for The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone)

• Robert Shaw (Donald ‘Red’ Grant in From Russia With Love; nominated for Best Supporting Actor for A Man For All Seasons)

• Telly Savalas (Blofeld in On Her Majesty's Secret Service; nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Birdman Of Alcatraz)

• Topol (Columbo in For Your Eyes Only; nominated for Best Actor for Fiddler On The Roof)

• Minnie Driver (Irina in GoldenEye; nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Good Will Hunting)

• Giancarlo Giannini (Rene Mathis in Casino Royale and Quantum Of Solace; nominated for Best Actor for Pasqualino Settebellezze [Pasqualino: Seven Beauties])

• Ralph Fiennes (Mallory in Skyfall; nominated for Best Actor for The English Patient, and Best Supporting Actor for Schindler’s List)

• Albert Finney (Kincade in Skyfall; nominated for Best Actor for Tom Jones, Murder On The Orient Express, The Dresser and Under The Volcano, and Best Supporting Actor for Erin Brockovich)

In the next post, we look at which Bond films have been nominated for an Oscar... and which films have won!