DIE ANOTHER DAY

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Rosamund Pike, Toby Stephens, Rick Yune, Judi Dench, John Cleese, Samantha Bond, Will Yun Lee and Michael Madsen
Director: Lee Tamahori
Running Time: 135 mins
Certificate: 12A

Out to buy on DVD 2nd May

Sent into North Korea to silence rouge military leader Colonel Moon (Yun Lee), James Bond (Brosnan) completes his task only to be captured, tortured and imprisoned. After fourteen months he escapes his captors and goes in pursuit of the Colonel's right hand man Zao (Yune), who seems to be continuing his work with the help of an unknown Western benefactor. Bond isn't alone in his quest for Zao however, it seems like the American's also have an interest in his activities and have sent an agent of their own to investigate. Her name is Jinx (Berry).

All the pretenders in the spy genre have come and gone but there is only one big-screen secret agent and his name is Bond, James Bond.

Celebrating his 40th anniversary in style by returning to the cinema for his 20th adventure, Die Another Day transports Bond into the new millennium with a bang. All the factors that make Bond great are here. The gadgets, the locations, the action and of course, the girls are all in abundance and they have never been better. His new adventure is a roller-coaster ride from start to finish, from the amazing opening sequence, with magnificently blends into the opening credits, to the final confrontation, Die Another Day just never lets up.

What is different about this Bond movie is that it has a comprehensible plot. Many of his previous adventures have only used plot as a device to get to the next action sequence and usually the background information surrounding the story is only really fleeted upon. Die Another Day uses a contemporary issue and escalates it into the hands of an overly patriotic madman instead of using the usual greed and revenge story lines that previous Bond adventures had seemed to rely on far too much. Don't get me wrong, it isn't a literary masterpiece and it isn't going to win any best screenplay awards but in terms of a Bond movie, this is a major step forward for the franchise.

Complementing this is a superb cast. Pierce Brosnan is now so comfortable in the role that you can't visualise anyone one else playing him. He combines all the best elements of previous conveyors of the role, the sophistication and tenacity of Connery, the one-liners and sheer cheek of Moore and the dogged determination and aggressiveness of Dalton but at the same time he puts their ghosts to rest by using this to become the quintessential 007. Halle Berry's Jinx is the most positive Bond girl in the twenty films. She is a female version of Bond, with all the same skills, gadgets, sophistication and corny lines as the British agent but with a modern freshness and sex appeal never seen in previous outings. This all due to Halle Berry, who has approached the role with real enthusiasm and combined both beauty and intelligence to create a new type of Bond girl. Hopefully this won't be the last we see of this tremendous character. Rosamund Pike's Miranda Frost is also a step forward. Her English Rose looks and immunity to Bond's charms are both refreshing and amusing as she continually spurns James's advances with some fantastic put downs.

Toby Stephens and Rick Yune unite to form Bond's greatest challenge in years. These are villains that are truly evil and are not afraid to show it. Overly aggressive and ruthless in everyway, these are characters that push Bond to the extremes of his abilities and don't just roll over in the final confrontation. There is also great support from Bond regulars Judi Dench and Samantha Bond as M and Moneypenny and John Cleese's Q is suitably different to Desmond Llewelyn classic interpretation of the character. I would have liked to have seen more of Michael Madsen's Damien Falco but he is due to return in the next few adventures.

The difference between Bond and any other film that tries to mimic it is that the stunts and the gadgets are mostly real. With the exception of one really poor computer generated sequence that looks more like a computer game than a movie (You'll know the one when you see it) and the final confrontation, all the major sequences where shot using real equipment, real explosions and real stuntmen. Just watch the car chase on the ice and tell me if a computer could have created anything better.

Die Another Day has to be ranked as one of the best Bond movies in the franchise. For fans of the secret agent this is a dream come true and an excellent way to celebrate Bond's 40th anniversary, with plenty of in jokes and nods to his previous outings that will bring a smile to your face. At the end of the day this isn't just an exceptional Bond film, it is an extraordinary action movie in it's own right.

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