This Absurd 133-Minute Thriller Marked the End of an Era for James Bond

James Bond’s 40th year as cinema’s premier spy was intended to be a celebration and a capstone by MGM. While Die Another Day was indeed a financial success, critics noticed a steep drop-off in quality from Pierce Brosnan‘s three prior entries as 007. Today, Brosnan’s final Bond film is among the worst — right down there with the original, comedic Casino Royale and the non-canonical 1983 Never Say Never Again. From CGI sequences that were abominable even for the time to a bizarrely uneven script and Madonna‘s disco-revival theme song, it plays like as much of a relic as even some of the cheesier Roger Moore entries.

For what it’s worth, Die Another Day was also the perfect note to end the Brosnan cycle on. By the time the film arrived at its extended ice palace climax, it was clear to even Die Another Day apologists that the engine was running out of gas. Bond actor cycles tend to begin relatively grounded and escalate in absurdity, and this was the apotheosis of the Brosnan era’s spoofs and goofs; next, it was time for the Daniel Craig era to shine like a diamond.

‘Die Another Day’ Started Off Pretty Strong as a Strong James Bond Movie

Image via MGM Distribution Co.

Under the eye of the late, talented director Lee Tamahori, Die Another Day is surprisingly sturdy for much of its runtime, as much of its bad reputation was earned by the interminable second half. Opening with an arms deal takedown in North Korea that turns into an all-out battle, Bond is then captured and tortured over the opening credits, in a series first. That sequence — emphasizing Bond’s vulnerability and subsequent return to duty — actually presages some of the Craig films’ focus on the physical toll a 00’s job can take.

Likewise, the Cuba sequence and Halle Berry‘s callback to Ursula Andress‘ legendary introduction in Dr. No work well enough. To Brosnan’s credit, his performance throughout is solid as a rock, striking the perfect balance between deadly seriousness and wry self-awareness. And with as much scenery as Toby Stephens chews as the literally two-faced villain Gustav Graves/Colonel Tan-Sun Moon, he fits well within the 007 villain canon. By the time Bond is violently fencing with Graves and destroying the scenery while an amused Madonna (yes, Madonna) looks on, everything is still good fun.

James Bond Surfing Is the Most Absurd Sequence in 007 History

Image via MGM Distribution Co.

After that fairly classical opening half, though, comes Graves’ ice palace, the invisible Aston Martin, Berry tossing a “your mama” joke at the villain, and, most infamously, a computer-generated Brosnan surfing a tsunami using a piece of a jet. Even for 2002, it’s simply astonishing stuff — a “jumping the shark” scene that must be seen to be believed.

The climax of Die Another Day manages more absurdity even than the loosely Rupert Murdoch-coded villain of Tomorrow Never Dies and Denise Richards‘ nuclear scientist Christmas Jones in The World Is Not Enough. Critics noticed, and the surfing sequence is a laughingstock to this day. It remains a shame, though, that Brosnan didn’t get an affecting ride into the sunset to close out his era.

‘Die Another Day’ Cleared the Deck for Daniel Craig’s Masterful Take in ‘Casino Royale’

After Die Another Day, producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson decided that the series had become too “fantastical” and that it was time for a new tone with Casino Royale, they said in a 2012 Den of Geek interview. And from Casino Royale through his finale as Bond in No Time to Die, Craig proved to many audiences to be the definitive Bond. More vulnerable, but also more violent and full of rage than any prior actor (save perhaps Timothy Dalton), Craig helped set the series right again.

It was no coincidence that, for Casino, the producers went back to veteran craftsman Martin Campbell, who’d previously helmed Brosnan’s sturdy first outing, GoldenEye. The circle was complete, and Bond once again lived in a semi-real world, with real stakes. While to this day, Die Another Day remains a breezy hoot to watch, it’s most notable as the final chapter in a cycle that ran its course.

Release Date

November 22, 2002

Runtime

133 minutes

Director

Lee Tamahori