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Die Another Day (Full Screen Special Edition)

Die Another Day (Full Screen Special Edition)

List Price: $14.95
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Since when is James Bond Superman?
Review: In the new 007 flick "Die Another Day" Pierce Brosnan reprises his role as superspy James Bond. Unfortunately the series has gone down ever since "Goldeneye". James Bond was, primarily, a spy. A spy with over-the-top gadgets, but a spy none-the-less. Ever since Brosnon (who does an admirable job anyway) started doing the series, he has turned into an action figure. He suddenly seems to have super-powers, like outrunning an ozone collapse. He is a caricature now. No longer the suave superspy, but a girl-hound G.I. Joe on steroids. This movie is boorish and pretentious, and takes itself seriously while being a ridiculous spinoff of a classic series. Don't waste your time

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best Bonds ever - and this DVD proves it
Review: Off the bat, I have to admit this is unlike any previous Bond movie. It is a mix of a true espionage flick, an action/adventure bonanza, and then the traditional bond formula of women, cars, and destruction. You knew this Bond was going to be different when you are shocked to learn that Bond has been in a North Korean prison camp for 14 months being beatened and tortured. I think it took the fantasy away for most of us that Bond is something of a superhuman - and showed that he can be valnerable. I was so sucked in with his plight that I knew this movie would be different.

The DVD is done extremely well. I listened it to it in DTS ES which is amazing. Just watch the opening sequence and you will be amazed at the level of sound engineering MGM did. The truly use all 5.1 channels for an ultimate experience. Great movie. Great DVD. A must have for DVD collector.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Overrated and Outlandish
Review: If movies were judged solely on special effects, then this would be a great movie.

However, Bond movies have taken a turn for the worse in recent episodes. I think the problem is that the Bond filmakers have "run" with the Bond gadgets and escapes a little too much. I mean, now we have James Bond becoming invisible with specialized cars, disappearing into thin air when his enemy is upon him. He's outrunning the entire collapse of the ozone. What can't this guy do?

It's not that we actually expect or want Bond to die, but there just seems to be a regular formula to how Bond gets away each time. As an viewer you just know that a villian's chance is going to be foiled when he finally has Bond, but rather than killing him starts saying lines like "Did you think you'd escape Bond?" and proceeds to talk for 10 minutes about all the injustices of his life until Bond thinks of a way to escape. The more the villain seems to "have" Bond in his grasp, the more we know that he really doesn't.

Overall there were many grandiose action sequences. Those chase scenes and "climactic" finishes in Bond films have become so predictable and over-the-top that it has almost become a little humorous. How long can Bond and a villian be at each other's throats? I know that Bond films are made with the intent of keeping the audience entertained and thrilled, but can't they do it with an equal distribution of action scenes AND story plot. It's hard to believe that they couldn't do that in a movie that was about 2 and a half hours in duration.

If you are a special effects kind of person, this is a great movie and I recommend you give it a try. If you want an in-depth and authentic story line, then I would suggest you pass on this one.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A reason to go on.
Review: After the terrible (but still watchable) The World is not Enough, Bond returned in Die Another Day, the best Bond film since The Living Daylights and Bronsnan's best since Goldeneye. This does not deserve most of the criticism that it got. I know I didn't wanna see Halle Berry and Madonna in this movie either, but beggars can't be choosers. I recommend this to the die-hard Bond fan (like me). All others might wanna rent this one before thinking about buying it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: James Bond lives to Die Another Day!
Review: The newest James Bond movie is one of the most glamorous. Die Another Day represents 40 years of James Bond movies. Filled with beautiful and deadly girls, evil villians, thrilling gadgets an adventerous an action filled plots! Die Another Day is no exception, but for the fact that it goes a little too much over the edge. Many have compared it to Moonraker, an are hoping the next film will have the gripping excitement that For Your Eyes Only had. Still, no one can admit that Die Another Day has a certain pizazz of it's own.
The story begins with James Bond going to North Korea. He intercepts an illegal African-conflict diamond smuggler who has arranged to sell them to a Korean Colonel Moon. Bond intercepts the diamonds and places a trigger-bomb inside the case. He then meets Colonel Moon and his associate Zao. However, the plan goes awry when Zao receives a call that exposes Bond. Moon orders Zao to kill Bond, because he must hide the hovercraft weapons from his approaching father, General Moon. Bond explodes the bomb, and Zao falls to the ground with diamond shrapnel across his face. Bond then engages in a high speed hovercraft chase with Colonel Moon through a minefield. Moon crashes over a waterfall and Bond is captured by General Moon. He is then tortured for 14 months to tell what wester person made Colonel Moon betray his country. Bond does not know who the person is, but he knows it is the same one who exposed him. A prison exchange occurs where Bond is traded for Zao. Bond then returns to meet M. she tells him that they had to get him out because the thought he was divulging information. Bond discovers that the same person has set him up again. He breaks out and gets information that Zao is in Cuba. Bond travels there and meets ally Raoul. He then meets the magnificent Jinx in the (original Ursula Andress style.) The two exchange welcomes and the next morning Bond goes to the near Los Organos island, where Zao is receiving gene therapy to alter his identity. He battles Zao and meets the feisty Jinx again, discovering that she is an agent also. Zao escapes, but Bond manages to steal diamonds from a necklace around his neck. He goes back to London and traces the diamonds to Gustav Graves. He gets the equipment and briefing from MI6 and meets and duels Graves in a sword's club. Bond also meets the eye-catching Miranda Frost, (Graves publicist). Bond travels to Iceland to the palace of Gustav Graves, where he discovers the powerful Icarus, a satellite that can direct light on any object. Bond corners Graves and discovers that he is actually Colonel Moon. Bond also thinks that Miranda Frost is a fellow MI6 agent, when she turns out to be the traitor. A thrilling car chase with Bond and Zao follow, with Zao perishing in the palace. Bond and Jinx go aboard the antonov plane to stop Graves and Frost from destroying part of Korea. Jinx matches swords with Frost and kills her. Bond battles Graves and sends him hurlignto his death. Bond and Jinx escape, stop the dangerous Icarus from destroying Korea and fly off for a needed rest. There is also a very nice scene where Miss Moneypenny finally gets her dream come true, (or so she thinks.) The movie ends with Bond and Jinx enjoying the diamonds in a small temple.

The DVD is filled with music videos, documentaries, audio commentaries, scenes, trailers and other tidbits.

***To access the hidden "Hi Jinx Easter Egg", follow these steps...
-Insert Disc 2
-Select "Image Database"
-Then select "Sets And Locations"
-Go to the 12th picture (Jinx) and hit the UP arrow key on your remote. This will take you to the hidden menu.

***For those who search for the hidden Michael G. Wilson's cameos, there ARE 2 IN THIS FILM.

1st- In the very beginning of the Cuba scene, Bond is walking past an outside scene, he passes by a man in the backround who is leaning on a pink car. That's Wilson.

2nd- The second and more obvious one is in the building complex where M and Falco are in the ending of the film. Wilson is dressed as an officer and can be seen several times in this scene. (He is also credited as General Chandler.)

Die Another Day features many relics to the past, here are a few...
-All the gadgets in Q's office.
-The entrance of Jinx like Ursula Andress in Dr. No.
-The Union Jack paarachute used by Graves from The Spy who Loved Me.
-Bond stealing a grape in the health clinic ala' Thunderball.
-If you listen VERY CLOSELY, you can here the original Dr. No gunbarrel music over the music where Bond is getting up from his bed and escaping from containment by M.
-The Blades club is actually from the Fleming book, Moonraker.
-The Players poster in the Q scene is described in the Fleming book, Thunderball.

Finally, the air hostess serving Bond a Vodka Martini on the plane is the daughter of Roger Moore.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent picture, but I found a small problem
Review: Loved the movie. I think it was the greatest. However, I did find a small problem with the information inside the case. And surprisingly, in just about every listing I'd been checking out. Seems, many have forgot that there have been 21 Bond movies, in total. Here's the listing most everyone shows:

1. Dr. No 2. From Russia With Love 3. Goldfinger 4. Thunderball 5. You Only Live Twice 6. On Her Majesty's Secret Service 7. Diamonds are Forever 8. Live and Let Die 9. The Man With The Golden Gun 10. The Spy Who Loved Me 11. Moonraker 12. For Your Eyes Only 13. Octopussy 14. A View to a Kill 15. The Living Daylights 16. Licence To Kill 17. Goldeneye 18. Tomorrow Never Dies 19. The World Is Not Enough 20. Die Another Day

But, there was one other, Never Say Never Again. It was Sean Connery's last bond appearance. So, I'd recommend the movie, but also thought it would be nice, to add some spice, to those only remembering a total of 20 movies in the Bond collection.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A huge dissapointment!
Review: Marking the 40th anniversary of James Bond, "Die Another Day" was supposed to be the definitive 007 movie, as our favorite secret agent makes his way into the new milenium. After a three year wait (since "The World is not Enough") was it worth it? Sadly, no.

One of the problems since Brosnan took over the role of Bond is a lack of consistent direction. Unlike past entries that returned the director year after year (John Glen, Lewis Gilbert, Terrence Young, etc...) all of the new Bond's have a different director at the helm for each outing. Thus, Bond's newer entries have been lacking in consistent quality. Lee Tamahori is easily the weakest of the bunch, lacking the true understanding of agent 007 that Apted (TWINE) and Campbell ("Goldeneye") displayed.

The film starts off rather strongly, with an exciting pre-credit opener. As a refreshing change of pace, Bond does not walk away successfully, but is instead captured by the Koreans. Nevertheless, the opening does have it's weaknesses. The director opts to show Bond's toture scenes while the credits are rolling, which seriously weakens the effectiveness of them. Coupled with a rather weak title track by Madonna, and the worst pun ever in the history of Bond (Brosnan's uttering "saved by the bell" while swinging from one) the early impact of the scene is lost.

The first half of the film tries to present a rather unique twist, as Bond has his 00 status taken away by M. Sadly, this scene pales in comparison to an earlier effort. Brosnan and Judi Dench fail to muster up the tension that Dalton and Robert Brown did in a similar scene in "Licence to Kill" The reason being ... Brosnan has failed after four efforts to make the charceter of Bond his own. While he has had strong performances in the past, he is unable to work through a weak script. Bond as a rouge is not suited to Brosnan's more cinematic approach, and this script would have been much more appropriate for Sean Connery or Tim Dalton.

While the first half of the film is passable, the second half is just plain awful, and rivals "Diamonds are Forever" as one of the silliest conclusions ever in a James Bond Film. It features the worst use of CGI that I have ever seen in a high budget produciton (Brosnan's surfing away from a tidal wave is embarrasing to watch, and looks like technology from the late 70's) It also resorts back to the comic book style story that marred many of Roger Moores outings. The "Icarus" satelite melting the ice fortress (but not before Bond rescues the girl of course) has no shred of realism to it, and alienates the audience from the action.

On a side note, the use of sexual innuendos has crossed (actually leapt) over the line from witty to juvenile. Halle Berry eying Brosnan's crotch saying "that's a moutful" supposedly in reference to his being an ornithologist is like something out of an 80's teen movie. Do you "get the thrust" of how I feel about this movie?

On a more positive note, most of the cast in this film are quite strong. Stephens, Pike, and Yune form a solid trio of villians (Pike's character of Miranda Frost turning traitor was a nice and suprising twist) The three are strong actors, and make the most of their performances despite the weak script. Ironically the most heavily billed star (besides Brosnan) Berry, proves to be the most unsatisfying. While it is nice to see a Bond woman in a strong role, though it certainly is nothing new (see "The Spy who Loved Me" and "Tomorrow Never Dies") Berry's character tires to share the limelight with 007 (even on the release poster) This is a mistake! Bond should always be the main star!
Berry is a fine actress, but does not live up to the hype as a Bond girl.

As far as Brosnan goes, he fails to muster a satisfying performance in this, his fourth entry. After seeing his strong showing in the prior Bond outing (TWINE) I had high hopes for him. Unfortunately is seems that he may never be able to properly convey the true 007, as conceived by his creator Ian Flemming. While he has occasional moments of greatness (the hotel scene where he is offered a massage for instance) as a whole he seems more content to present Bond as an action hero, than a spy. Then again, with his box office numbers being as high as they are, perhaps that is what audiences want.

Overall though, as much as I wanted to like "Die Another Day", in the end I had to recognize it for what it was, a weak entry that has little in common with the early Bond's. This is easily the weakest Bond movie since "Moonraker".

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Austin Powers?
Review: I watch/read James Bond stories for the action, and that's what I get. I grew up reading James Bond--snitching my dad's paperbacks from the closet where he "hid" them. Bond is my man--smart, alert, accomplished, cool and funny. Not at all like Austin Powers, which brings me to what I miss most about the new "Bond." Ever since Timothy Dalton's Bond the humor has gone right out. Bond does not have cheesey humor ...Austin Powers has cheesey humor. Bond has a dry, ascerbic and sometimes satirical wit. Bond's humor is more of an aside. Austin Power's is a side show. There's a difference here folks. I keep watching the Bond movies hoping for the return of real wit and Pierce Brosnan's electric smile. So far I've been kept on short rations. It's a great movie, though. Enjoy.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Its More Like Bruce Willis than Bond!
Review: What the heck has happened to Bond?? I watched it and all I could think about is how americanized blast em' up it has gotten! Really watch this movie and see how Bond handles things and you will see that the movie is a Die Hard with a different name. I love the James Bond series, but this does not feel like a Bond movie. Now on the fair side, it did have some ups. Such as it paying homage to the other bond movies, and it having some very clever twists. I enjoyed the fencing scene because I am a sabre fencer and it was very, very well done. The villian and henchmen were classic bond which is great. So the really the only "un-bond" in this movie is Bond himself. Other than that, the girls, the henchmen and the plot is great. One problem though was the leaders, M didn't even try to rescue him and the american dude talks like a street urchin! That and of course Bond not escaping prison! He is James Bond! He can get out of any prison, but for some unknown reason, this worn-down prison seems to stump him. So he just hangs out until they trade him, then he doesn't make a daring rescue when he is with the general in the jail! Oh well, as long as the Bond movies soon to follow are not as americanized (when I say that, it means things blowing up in almost every fight or action scene). So buy, or rent? Well it may have its obvious flaws, but it is a pretty good action movie so I would have to say buy it. Now if you are a person who watches movies for realisticness then it probably isn't a good buy because the movie is somewhat unbelievable(invisible car and the palace made of ice). Still you will be at the edge of your seats during the last two fight scenes, so give it a chance but do not compare it to the rest of the series (Well except License to Kill because then Die Another Day will seem like the best movie in the world). Check it out.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: they're gettting worse and worse
Review: Not only does "Die Another Day" have the worst Bond theme, it also has the worst Bond girl. The plot of the movie is the same as any other, villians want to take over the world, blah blah, etc. And of course James Bond comes to the rescue once again, this time with a score to settle with the North Koreans. Basically the same plot as any other spy movie. The gadgets in James Bond have been getting completely out of hand. An invisible car? I mean, c'mon. What next, a cyborg that James Bond commands that will do all his dirty work? This is probably one of the worst Bond movies ever. Whatever you do, if you are a newcomer to James Bond, please do not judge the series by this junk! Start with Goldfinger and move your way up. Or better yet, skip this film completely.


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