DIE ANOTHER DAY
Released: November 22, 2002
This time out, James Bond is captured by North Korean terrorists and tortured for 14 months. Once he's released, Bond is suspected of having talked his head off while in prison (of course he didn't). He becomes a man alone, stripped of his secret agent ranking, on a mission to clear his good name by tracking down a terrorist named Zao. Sure, Pierce Brosnan does a good job as 007 and Halle Berry provides the ample T&A but there's something about director Lee Tamahori's approach. By dropping the goofy 007 one liners and just giving us action we are left with a shell of a Bond movie. It's fun to watch - up to a point then it just gets generic, which is bad for a movie over two hours. Tamahori directed the far superior "Once Were Warriors" but also gave us the silly "Along Came A Spider" with Morgan Freeman. Maybe this is what's expected of a Bond movie in 2002 but ultimately, it'll go down in memory as one of the lesser Bond films. Save this for a rainy day rental or buy on DVD if you're a 007 fan.
132 Minutes
MGM