Die Another Day Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description

Die Another Day is the twentieth James Bond movie made by EON Productions and the fourth to star Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. It was released in 2002 and produced by Bond veterans Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. It is the first movie to not feature Desmond Llewelyn as Q since Live and Let Die.

Table of contents

1 Plot summary 2 Theme music 3 Cars and gadgets 4 Cast & characters 5 Locations 5.1 Film locations 5.2 Shooting locations 6 Reaction 7 Trivia 8 External links

Plot summary

In the film, Die Another Day refers to the villain who fakes his death in the opening sequence. When Bond meets up with him later in the film he says "So you live to die another day".

The plot, reminiscent of Moonraker, Diamonds Are Forever and GoldenEye, involves billionaire businessman Gustav Graves (who, through supposed medical wizardry, is actually a North Korean soldier) who builds an orbital mirror system that can focus solar energy on a small area—supposedly to light the Arctic nights but is actually a superweapon designed to destroy the de-militarized zone that separates North Korea from the South. Bond, with the aid of NSA agent Jinx (Berry), defeats the soldier (whose other major technotoy is an exoskeleton equipped with a high-voltage electric weapon) and prevents global catastrophe, along the way bedding both Jinx and Graves' assistant, the blonde ice queen Frost (who in a succession of twists is first revealed to be working for MI6, then as a double agent for Graves).

The movie departs from the usual Bond formula in several ways. The movie starts with an action set-piece which, instead of a comic ending, ends up with Bond captured by the North Koreans, after which he is tortured for 14 months, depicted in a stylized manner through the title sequence, ending only when he is released in a prisoner-exchange deal. However, the psychological consequences of this torture are not explored in the rest of the movie. The movie also shows some attempts to improve the appeal of Bond to younger people, featuring two separate scenes of Bond surfing, a more contemporary soundtrack (by David Arnold), and extensive use of The Matrix-style slow-motion pans. However, it also features many, many references to the previous Bond films which were eagerly picked out by fans.

Theme music

The theme music to Die Another Day with the title of the same name was written and sung by Madonna. Madonna also had a small cameo as a leather-clad fencing instructor in the movie.

The soundtrack was composed by David Arnold; this is his third time composing for a James Bond movie. The soundtrack also used The Clash's "London Calling" in one sequence.

Although the Bond films have a longstanding connection with the pop music world, the choice of Madonna's song, coupled with the use of "London Calling", proved wildly controversial with some fans who felt the two pieces of music were somehow inappropriate for a Bond movie. Regardless, the title song, "Die Another Day", was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song. Conversely, the song was also nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Orginal Song (2002).

Cars and gadgets

• Aston Martin Vanquish V12 - The car is equipped with all the usual refinements including front-firing rockets, hood mounted guns, and passenger ejector seat that was a homage to original Aston Martin DB5 that Bond drove in Goldfinger. The car was also equipped with an adaptive camouflage device, that allowed it to become invisible at the push of a button.
• Jaguar XKR - While not technically a Bond car, this car was driven by the criminal Zao. Like Bond's car, it came equipped with guns mounted on its hood, missiles, and it could launch mortar shells.
• Glass Shattering Ring - This ring, given to Bond by Q-Branch, emits a high pitch sound that shatters any glass it's near.

Cast & characters

• James Bond - Pierce Brosnan
• M - Judi Dench
• Q - John Cleese
• Miss Moneypenny - Samantha Bond
• Gustav Graves - Toby Stephens
• Jinx Johnson - Halle Berry
• Miranda Frost - Rosamund Pike
• Zao - Rick Yune
• Damian Falco - Michael Madsen
• Colonel Moon - Will Yun Lee
• General Moon - Kenneth Tsang
• Verity - Madonna

Director: Lee Tamahori

Producers: Michael G. Wilson , Barbara Broccoli

Written by: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade

Cinematography: David Tattersall

Theme Music: Madonna

Composed by: David Arnold

Locations

Film locations

• Puk'chong, North Korea
• Korean DMZ
• Havana, Cuba
• Hong Kong
• Isla Los Organos, Cuba

Shooting locations

• Pinewood Studios
• London, U.K.
• Iceland
• Maui, Hawaii
• RAF Odiham, United Kingdom - as "U.S. Command Bunker, DMZ"
• Spain
• The Eden Project, Cornwall, United Kingdom

Reaction

Critical reaction to the film was mixed, even allowing for the typical disdain of action films (and of sequels) held by many reviewers. Many felt that it was merely a tired retread of old ideas, and the attempts to appeal to a younger audience were unsuccessful; supporters of the film counter that the so-called "retread of old ideas" was simply the film paying homage to earlier Bond films, adding that Bond's incarceration and torture at the start of the movie sufficiently broke the pattern of recent Bond films. Berry's performance was heavily criticised by many reviewers and fans. Some also felt that the extensive use of CGI special effects detracted from one of the major appeals of the older films—that the stunts, however preposterous, were actually performed. Some of the CGI was poorly done (notably the second surfing sequence).

Trivia

• It has been suggested that Richard Branson was the inspiration for the Graves character.

• The film united opinion across the Korean peninsula for once, with the North unhappy with its portrayal as a brutal, war-hungry state, whilst many South Koreans were offended by a sex scene conducted in a Buddhist temple and a scene where an American officer issues orders to the South Korean army in their defence of their own homeland.

• This is the first movie since Live and Let Die to not feature Desmond Llewelyn, who had died in 1999. John Cleese, formerly of Monty Python's Flying Circus, takes over the role of Q; however, it is clear that he is playing a different character (who had been introduced as Q's assistant in The World Is Not Enough, the previous Bond film). This is the first Bond film to refer to Q by his full title, Quartermaster.

• The character Wai Lin, played by Michelle Yeoh in Tomorrow Never Dies was originally supposed to make her return, aiding Bond in Hong Kong, but no arrangement could be worked out with the actress and she was replaced by Chinese Intelligence agent (and hotelier) Chang. Wai Lin's presence is confirmed by an extra on the DVD release concerning the writing of the script: Barbara Broccoli is shown leafing through an early script, and it clearly contains lines for Wai Lin.

• On Bond's flight to London, the flight attendant who serves him a vodka martini is played by Roger Moore's daughter, Deborah.

• The book A Field Guide to Birds of the West Indies by James Bond, the ornithologist whose name inspired Ian Fleming, is picked up by Bond with a pair of binoculars in a scene that takes place in Havana.

• Every previous James Bond film is referenced in this, the 20th Bond movie. In addition, references to several original novels are included.

• Although the basic plot and the title do not derive from any James Bond novel, this is the first film since 1989's Licence to Kill to include notable elements from the Bond books, In particular, the Korean villain has a similar name to that of Colonel Sun, the villain in Kingsley Amis's Bond novel of the same name. Plus, a number of elements from Fleming's original novel Moonraker are included, in particular the club called Blades. The character of Miranda Frost was originally named Gala Brand, the same name as the Bond girl in the original Moonraker book.

• The character of Jinx, though controversial to some fans, was nonetheless popular enough that MGM announced plans for the first-ever James Bond spin-off movie based upon the character and starring Halle Berry. Production was abruptly cancelled in late 2003.

• A few weeks before the film was released, TV news reports broke the story that Sean Connery had filmed a cameo appearance in this movie, possibly as Bond's father. The producers of the film strongly deny any such appearance had been considered, let alone filmed, so the origin of this news report remains a mystery.

• The title is taken from a poem by A. E. Housman: "But since the man that runs away/Lives to die another day...".

External links

• - click on "Trivia" for an extensive list of the many references to previous Bond films and novels
• Official site

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