Die Another Day

Director: Lee Tamahori
Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Toby Stephens, Rosamund Pike, Rick Yune, Judi Dench, John Cleese, Michael Madsen, Will Yun Lee, Samantha Bond
Certificate: 12A
Running time: 123 minutes

"Bond. James Bond." The immortal introduction is being uttered once again in the 20th outing for Britain's favourite spy. 40 years on from his first outing, "Dr. No", James Bond is still capable of packing a punch at the box office.

As with all the Bond films, there's plenty to feast your eyes on. Whether you like Q's gadgets, or are a fan of the Bond girls, there's something for everyone. "Die Another Day", sticks with the formula that has served the franchise so well over the years…"if it ain't broke, don't fix it", as some people say. You should know what to expect: Car chases, big explosions, gorgeous girls, and a bad guy intent on global domination, and some (at times) questionable special effects. Unlike previous Bond films, the film does not start with Bond finishing off a previous mission, and the story is set-up from the outset.

Pierce Brosnan is, as usual, comfortable as Bond. Although he may not be many people's choice as the "Best Bond", he's up there in the top three beside Sean Connery and Roger Moore, easily outdoing Timothy Dalton and George Lazenby. Whilst perhaps not having the screen presence of Connery, or the stone-cold delivery of the one-liners that was very much the Moore trademark, Brosnan manages to fall somewhere in between, and definitely brings his own extra little "something" that was lacking in his immediate predecessor (Dalton).

Academy Award winner, Halle Berry ("Monsters Ball") plays his love interest and NSA agent, Jinx, and copes with the role very well. She definitely gives the impression that she's having fun, and both her and Brosnan play off one another very well. She even manages to outdo the superspy, delivering a few of the sort of one-liners that we're more accustomed to hearing from Mr. Bond.

Bond just wouldn't be Bond without a super-villain to go head-to-head with, and in this case he comes in the form of Gustav Graves, played by Toby Stephens. The key to the villain in Bond is to make the audience dislike him by virtue of his dastardly deeds; unfortunately Stephens is more annoying, due mainly to his ridiculously cartoon-like evil grin. That aside, he does play the part well enough, giving a certain charm to the character, although it might have been a little better if he didn't grin quite as much.

Just as Bond wouldn't be Bond without a super-villain, the super-villain is not quite the same without his evil henchman. Rick Yune plays the part of renegade Korean general, Zao, with menacing effect. We see him have a run-in with Bond at the start of the film, and that run-in results in him having a more intimidating look about him.

As for the other cast members, the supporting cast give the kind of performances that are expected of them in their limited screen time. Dame Judi Dench returns as "M", and puts Bond in his place with her no-nonsense attitude. John Cleese is so underused as the master of gadgets "Q", although he does have one of the best comic lines in the entire film. Rosamund Pike plays Miranda Frost, an MI6 agent, working undercover as publicist to Graves.

A couple of other famous faces are noticeable, namely Michael Madsen, (who played the ear-lopping Mr Blond in "Reservoir Dogs") as NSA Chief "Falco", and Madonna who cameos as the fencing instructor of the villainous Graves. She also provided the theme song.

All in all, it's James Bond, so you know what you're in for. Whilst this isn't the best Bond film, it's better than most, and there's enough to keep the majority of folks entertained. If you like action movies, Bond gives you what you want, and this film is very enjoyable. As far as action films go, you'd be hard pushed to argue with the words of Carly Simon's song from a previous James Bond outing, "The Spy Who Loved Me"…………….'Nobody Does It Better'.

One word of caution:
If you do choose to go and see this movie, make sure you get to the cinema on time, as the showing I saw did not feature any adverts or trailers before the film, and any late-comers would have missed the very start, which is an important part of the plot.