Die Another Day (3 out of 4)

Starring Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry. Directed by Lee Tamahori.

Talk about taking a beating! There's little question that James Bond is finally getting his comeuppance as far as the bad guys are concerned. Having dodged his way out of deadly situations for the past 40 years, 007 is now as vulnerable as it gets. Keeping within the sensibilities of the time, Lee Tamahori's Die Another Day makes our suave British spy not only more human, but appropriately aged and vengeful. Delicious indeed.
In an opening sequence that, for a change in a Bond film, has something to do with the rest of picture's plot, 007 (Pierce Brosnan) is in North Korea, hunting down rogue Korean generals with plans of world domination. Though James succeeds, his mission is compromised and he loses the trust of MI6 after being tortured for a full 14 months! Underground and slightly rogue, he sets off to hunt down the mole that betrayed him and meets up with mysterious and beautiful Jinx (Halle Berry). Eventually 007 and Jinx collide head on with a wealthy diamond merchant who makes his home in the strangely diamond-rich glaciers of the far north. Aided by a variety of colourful and fairly cool henchmen, swaggering mastermind Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens) forces Bond, as usual, to risk everything to save the world.
Edgier, darker and though a tad confusing as far as the story is concerned - this scribe still isn't quite sure what the bad guys were after - Die Another Day is exciting and thrilling as ever.
Ah, yes... the film also features a scene with Madonna where she isn't at all bad.

Publication Date: 2002-12-01
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=2076