Rating: 
Summary: Leave the Director and Screenwriter in North Korea too.
Review: I bought this movie thinking it'd be another Bond movie; worth watching, cool if you want thrills and classic one liners and innuendo laden names. I thought if it was a Bond movie, it'd rock even if it was mediocre. I was very wrong. Okay, the movie started sort of alright, but it got progressively cheesier and gadgety, and by the time I saw the invisible car and the ice castle (the heck?), I was wondering why the heck I bought this film. Let's face it, this is a Bond film to skip, and there aren't many of those around. For a 20th film, a landmark, this is a horrid, horrid mockery of what made Bond films great. My condolences to whoever invested in this flop. The creative talent in this movie should never work again.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Bond Movie
Review: Die Another Day was a good bond movie, not great, like Goldfinger or even Goldeneye, but still pretty good. As others have stated, the first half of the movie is probably the best, taking the series into uncharted waters (ex: the torture scenes), but tending to fall back into familiar territory later in the movie. It would have been nice to see Bond remain a rouge agent for the rest of the movie, having to work out his problems without the aid of M or Q. This was done in License to Kill, though even then Bond did have a little help from Q. The only real problem in the first half is the theme song by Madonna. It was, quite frankly, terrible. I hope this does not become the standard for which future Bond themes will follow. Most of the fight scenes were done well, the sword fight being a particular stand out. While some have complained, I didn't have any problems with the Ice Palace or the orbiting solar reflector weapon. Ice places do exist, though not quite like the one in the movie, but Bond is supposed to be larger then life, and the ice palace fits right in with other villains headquarters, such as bases in volcanoes, underwater structures, space stations, etc. Also, there are currently designs for real solar reflecting mirrors which could be mounted on orbiting satellites to reflect light on to dark regions of the earth. It is unlikely they could be used as a weapon as in the movie, but once again, Bond is supposed to be larger then life. The villain's electric suit and Bond's car with its cloaking technology, on the other hand, were a bit too larger then life for me. On the other hand, I thought it was nice to show Bond using the ejector seat to right the car after it had flipped over. Usually, bond just happens to have a gadget given to him by Q which he just happens to find the perfect use for later. In this case, it shows that Bond was improvising a gadget for something other then it was originally intended. Being that this was also the 20th official bond movie, many of the scenes in this movie are in someway paying tribute to previous Bond moves. The scene in the Q lab showing many of the gadgets from previous movies (even the hollowed out alligator boat). The new Q also pays tribute to Desmond's Q by saying "Like my predecessor, I never joke about my work". This line was used in the movie Goldfinger. Another reference is the bird watchers book Bond sees near the binoculars he borrows (Ian Flemming, the writer of the original Bond novels, got the name James Bond from a bird book he had, which was written by a man called James Bond). The character of Jinx also appears dressed in a bikini which resembles the one worn by the character of Honey Rider from the first James Bond movie Dr. No. To sum it up, the first part of the movie was 5 stars (except for the theme song), and the second half wasn't quite as good but still was decent with a few minor problems. I would hope though that they maybe try to tone down the sci-fi elements in the next one. Once in a while is fine, but not for every single Bond movie.
Rating:
Summary: Horrible...just horrible
Review: One of the worst movies ever, and definitely the worst BOND movie ever, Die Another Day is like watching a boat sailing across the ocean....and slowly it starts sinking, and sinking, until the whole things just falls into the ocean and everyone in the boat dies. I felt like one of those people in the boat. I couldn't believe how bad the acting was (Please, Madonna in a movie at ALL is bad enough), how silly the SPECIAL EFFECTS were....you would of thought that they would of least made an effort to make it seem realistic to maybe help soften the blow of such a silly plot and bad casting. Halle Berry once again amazes me with her horrifying acting abilities. That's right, Halle, just keep walking down the beach in that skimpy bikini and everyone will call you great. If you're bored and want to watch some junk, this is for you.
Rating:
Summary: Cool start, hot finish
Review: Pierce Brosnan makes a great Bond, with the right blend of poncy suaveness and cruel steeliness. Nice to see him getting a little long in the tooth as well, which helps lend depth to his character. In its opening scenes, this promises to be a transcendant Bond film, taking an entirely different tone from those that came before: this time around, 007 gets caught on a mission and, astoundingly, spends over a year in a brutal torture camp hidden somewhere deep in North Korea. When he's traded back to the West in exchange for one of the baddies who did him in, James finds himself unwelcome at MI5 -- for unexplained reasons, they seem to think he had something to do with his own capture and the failure of the mission. Relieved of duty, Bond briefly becomes a rogue agent, driven by revenge and perhaps just a little bitterness towards jolly olde England. It's a nice set-up, but quickly devolves into a typical flurry of car chases, big explosions, glib dialogue and improbable, campy plot twists, along with every new extreme sport known to man. A fine Bond film, but not the radically new approach hinted at in the beginning. Can't say I was wild about Halle Berry as the latest Bond girl, Jinx, but overall the movie was good, clean fun.
Rating: 
Summary: OOH James!
Review: James Bond is so hot in this movie. The series just keeps getting better and better. The new Q seems to be working good.
I love the cars in this movie. Very high paces and full of adventure.
Rating: 
Summary: Big, Expensive Bond for Teenagers
Review: The first half of "Die Another Day" is relatively innovative and hard-hitting for a modern Bond film; the second half devolves into the standard shiny set piece, with videogame-style car chases and explosions. In short, even if James Bond in general is a European male's mid-life crisis fantasy, this film was made mostly for kids. Pierce Brosnan returns, of course, as 007, still missing that spark that made Sean Connery's Bond a man's man, confident without being arrogant, cool without being cold. He's joined by Halle Berry, whose aptly-named Jinx will either get your motor running or annoy the daylights out of you. (Note to directors: You might keep her dialogue to a minimum and not show her running.) This time, Bond is fighting the North Koreans--even if some of the names sound Chinese, kinda like naming a German "McMullen" or an Englishman "Schmidt"--who've developed a superlaser that can . . . well, does it really matter anymore? The point is, the Asian baddies (including a charismatic Rick Yune) threaten the West and even get to torture Bond in a montage of opening credit scenes set to Madonna's listless techno music. Director Lee Tamahori keeps things big and expensive, but not much in the script explores anything with depth or interest, leaving the cool toys--like a beautiful and well-equipped Aston Martin Vanquish--and stunt sequences yet again more interesting attractions than either the characters or the story. If you're looking for a Bond who does more than go through the motions and fire off predictable one-liners while helping with various product placements, check out the older films. On the other hand, if you don't mind a paper-thin story or lack of any real suspense, "Die Another Day" may just be for you.
Rating:
Summary: 007 does it again!
Review: The 21st Century finds us with our first James Bond adventure of the millenium that contains many of the elements that have made the films so successful!
First, the gadgets in this movie are incredible. The ring emitting a high frequency device is one of the most clever devices created for a Bond film. The car is an amazing piece of weaponry, that unlike Brosnan's last three predecessors is an Austin Martin. It is refreshing to see such a beautiful machine put to great use in this high octane film as opposed to the last one in TWINE which seemed there for promotional purposes.
Secondly, Halle Berry is an excellent actress that did very well as portraying Jinx, someone who can be nearly as cunning and clever as Bond himself. The other girl also does fairly good, although I don't think she will go down as one of the most memorable girls in these movies. My only problem with this new movie is some of the editing done by the only American editor to ever have worked on a Bond film. He does an incredible job, but I can't stand his Matrix-like slow motion take on this film. The parts in the film that involved slowing down the frame rate (there aren't very many otherwise this may have been a 4 star review:) are quite an annoyance. Miss Broccoli and Mr. Wilson, let's not allow that kind of editing to be done again. Let our editing friend head back to where he came from, and next time let's get someone who doesn't appreciate the lacking substance of the Matrix films on the cutting floor. Anyhow, this is a Bond review, so back to the subject.
The sets in this movie are mind blowing. The "Ice House" easily rivals that of the volcano seen in You Only Live Twice, and even the vault seen in Goldfinger. Peter Lamont has once again proven that he is a genius. We are fortunate there is someone like him working on Bond films. As for CGI, it did't take away alot from the Bond tradition. And the surf scene in the Pre-Credits sequence was real. The other one is fake, but is still impressive.
The producers have done it again, and the special features make this a disc worth adding to your collection especially if you are a fan of 007: the man who has impacted cinematic history indefinitely.
Rating:
Summary: Brutal and action packed DAD has Bond in top form
Review: Bond can be defined by each actor and era pretty easily: brutal and action packed (Connery); action orientated but with a humanized Bond (Lazenby); action and a bit of cheesy humor (early Moore); bad action, The Saint instead of Bond and lots of cheesy humor (late Moore); action and a hero with a conscience (Dalton). Now we come to the Brosnan era. The first Bond film featuring Brosnan was uncertain and tenative; it's clear that Brosnan had an idea as to how he wanted to play the role but hadn't been given a script where he could make the character his own. With Die Another Day Brosnan is Bond every bit as much Connery was during his day. Die Another Day actually has something that had been missing from many of the Bond films until Brosnan took on the role--a complex plot and a character that isn't always pleased with the dirty deeds he has to do. Brosnan's Bond harks back to Connery's (and Dalton in his last screen appearence as Bond); Bond is brutal and merciless when he has to be. The last couple of Bond films have benefited from this return to form. While the previous three films all had their merits, the writing wasn't all it was cracked up to be on many of them. Bond's mission in North Korea goes awry when an informant ID's him. He's captured, brutally tortured and left for dead. The British and Americans elect to do a prisoner exchange only because they believe he's become a security risk and is leaking valuable info to the North Korean government. Bond loses his double 00 status. Suddenly, he's got a score to settle with or without MI6 helping him. The stunts are spectacular as usual particularly the conclusion of the film. This is Bond for the 21st century and, I'm sorry, but it puts XXX to shame.The supporting cast featuring John Cleese as the new Q (he was introduced in the last Bond film) and Judi Dench as an unapproving Q are marvelous. The DVD comes loaded with extras. There's an audio commentary from the director/producers and Pierce Brosnan. The second disc consists of a documentary, storyboard comparisons, multi-angle explosions from key scenes, a piece on the title design and visual effects. The only drawback is the inclusion of Madonna's weak title track and the accompanying video.
Rating:
Summary: A Fitting 20th Anniversary For Our Man Bond
Review: I actually rate this at four and a half stars. This is one heck of an anniversary. Some of the best action sequences in the history of Bond films really highlight this very enjoyable installment. One of the things I enjoyed was the obvious homage paid to the history of Bond, from the first sighting of the latest Bond girl, Jinx, coming in out of the surf ala Honey Rider in Dr. No, to various other little hints from Diamonds Are Forever, Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice. I won't ruin the fun of finding these little treats for you but they are liberally sprinkled about. Again, Brosnen does a great job as Bond, mixing a revived libido with revved up physical action and a certain grim demeanor that really carries the film. The villains are well designed and integrated into the plot in a logical manner. The photography is nothing short of gorgeous and the effects work is all pretty much first rate. The music, as usual, is an important component of any great Bond film. From the Madonna opener to the Clash's London Calling, the music has a grand sweep as well as a great sense of humor. The orchestral work is classic Bond, with muted horns layered in with sweeping strings to perfectly capture the John Barry feel. Old timey Bond fan or new devotee, this is a film sure to please all. Don't pass it up.
Rating:
Summary: Get it for the Film
Review: There was a longer-than-usual time between this and the previous Bond film ("The World Is Not Enough"), and it shows. The villain is better, the plot makes more sense, and there are no Denise Richards type non-actors around. "Die" gets off to a great start, and we see for the first time that not all Bond captors are perfect gentlemen who serve impeccable meals before trying to kill him off. There is also a spectacular sword fight and the de rigeur incredible stunts -- along with Halle Berry and Rosamund Pike in the eye candy department, except that they can really act. Brosnan, of course, is excellent as Bond, and John Cleese is the closest thing to the original "Q" we are likely to find. Technically, the picture looks great on DVD. The weakness, and it's important, comes in the extras department. Where previous Bond film DVDs came with sharp documentaries (and kept everything to one disk), this one has two DVDs. Disk 2 has some of the dreariest material you're likely to find. Unlike the film, it really DOES die.
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