Each
time I see Pierce Brosnan in the role of James Bond, I am convinced that
his interpretation of 007 is one of the screen’s finest. And with each
subsequent Bond outing, I am equally convinced that the material isn’t
nearly as good as Brosnan. Brosnan has the ability to take the Bond
character to a darker place, yet this possibility is never really
exploited. DIE ANOTHER DAY ($30) had the opportunity to take the
Bond franchise to the darkest place it’s been since the superior Timothy
Dalton outing LICENCE TO KILL. In DIE ANOTHER DAY, we find
Bond captured and brutally tortured for more than a year, when he is
finally returned to British authorities he is considered compromised and
left hung out to dry. Although Bond is forced to turn rogue agent briefly,
the film quickly returns to formula and hits all the expected marks.
Now
I don’t want to give the impression that I didn’t like DIE ANOTHER
DAY, I enjoyed it immensely while watching it, but felt it could have
been a lot better had it gone in a darker direction and assigned more
psychological complexities to the James Bond character. DIE ANOTHER DAY
opens with 007 undertaking a mission to assassinate a North Korean
officer who has been trafficking in illegal weapons inside the DMZ. The
mission ends with Bond in the hands of the North Koreans, who torture him
for fourteen months, until the day he is released as part of a prisoner
exchange. Unable to return to Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Bond goes it
alone, using his connections to tie up the loose ends of his last mission
and to discover whose betrayal allowed him to fall into enemy hands.
Jaunting
from Hong Kong to Havana to London and finally Iceland, Bond eventually
has his licence to kill reinstated by M (Judi Dench), when he discovers
evidence that politically connected diamond broker Gustav Graves (Toby
Stephens) isn’t what he seems, nor are the diamonds that he has
supposedly discovered in an Icelandic mine. Adding to the mix is slinky
NSA Agent Jinx Jordan (Halle Berry), who has at least one of the same
objectives as Bond- namely, eliminating a North Korean terrorist named Zao
(Rick Yune), who had also been trafficking in weapons inside the DMZ. DIE
ANOTHER DAY probably works as well as it does because Pierce Brosnan
and Halle Berry make a good onscreen combination, plus director Lee
Tamahori keeps the action rapid enough for the audience to disregard some
of the holes in logic. The cast of DIE ANOTHER DAY also
features Rosamund Pike, John Cleese (who makes a fine new Q), Michael
Madsen, Will Yun Lee, Kenneth Tsang, an uncredited Madonna and the
delightful Samantha Bond as Miss Moneypenny.
MGM
Home Entertainment has made DIE ANOTHER DAY available on DVD in a
2.35:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for playback on
16:9 displays (a separate full screen edition is also available, but not
reviewed here). DIE ANOTHER DAY is a supremely gorgeous movie,
which translates into a phenomenal looking DVD. Every frame of DIE
ANOTHER DAY has been beautifully lit and photographed and this
transfer really shows off David Tattersall superb cinematography. The
image on the DVD proves to be wonderfully sharp and brimming with detail.
Colors can be quite vibrant or slightly muted, depending upon the mood the
filmmakers are trying to convey for an individual scene. Flesh tones are
usually very appealing, except in the more subdued sequences, during which
they appear rather bland. All of the most intense hues are rendered with
out noise or bleeding. Blacks appear perfect, while the whites are clean
and stable. Contrast is excellent, as is shadow detail. Additionally, the
picture produces a terrific sense of dimensionality. Digital compression
artifacts are well camouflaged on the dual layer DVD.
Complementing
the demonstration quality visuals are the film’s explosive 5.1 channel
soundtracks in the varieties of Dolby Digital and DTS. The sound design is
in full action mode, meaning that the viewer will be sitting dead center
during a continuous sonic assault- and loving every minute of it! Surround
junkies are certain to get a kick out of how aggressively and how
convincingly the split rear channels have been implemented. Sound effects
effortlessly pan in all directions, while maintaining a totally cohesive
sonic environment. Fidelity is truly excellent from top to bottom,
rendering everything from sound effects to the musical score in pitch
perfect fashion. The bass channel is outstanding and guaranteed to blow
the viewer into next week. Dialogue resonates naturally and is rendered
with complete understandability. As for the differences between Dolby
Digital and DTS, they aren’t taken to the extreme, but the DTS has a
slight edge in terms of warmth, character and depth. Like the video
portion of the disc, the digital soundtracks on DIE ANOTHER DAY are
definitely demo quality. French and Spanish Dolby Surround tracks are also
encoded onto the DVD, as are English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s very
stylish interactive menus. Through the menus, one has access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as the supplements,
which have been spread across both DVDs of the two-disc set. Disc one of DIE
ANOTHER DAY includes two separate running audio commentary tracks- the
first is with director Lee Tamahori and producer Michale G. Wilson, while
the second features actors Pierce Brosnan and Rosamund Pike. Of course,
the commentaries approach the material from different perspectives; the
"performer" track is a bit looser and more fun, while the
"crew" track tends to be more serious and technical minded. Of
course, both are worth a listen, if you are a fan of the movie, but casual
viewers may get a bit more enjoyment out of the "performer"
commentary. Also included on disc one is the MI6 Datastream,
which allows one to watch the movie with popup factoids, as well as
providing the option to view additional video vignettes- all very cool and
highly informative. A promo for other Bond titles closes out disc one.
On
disc two, one will find the main body of the supplements including the Inside
Die Another Day documentary. The documentary runs approximately
ninety minutes, however, it has been broken into eight parts, which
include Intro & Surfing, Hovercraft Chase,
Cuba, Quartermaster, Ice palace,
Car Battle and Post Production & Finale.
These various segments of the program feature interviews with the cast
& crew, as well as providing a look at the nuts and bolts of the film.
Next up is the Mission Deconstruction section, which focuses
on the film’s visual aspects and has been divided into four segments- Scene
Evolutions, Interaction Sequences, Title
Design and Digital Grading. Equipment Briefing
focuses on the film’s gadgets- Surfboard, Watch,
Jet Glider, Sonic Agitator and Aston
Martin.
Disc
two’s Image Database offers well over 200 images that have
been indexed into the following subsections: Cast, Special
Shoot, Sets & Locations, Stunts &
Special Effects and Vehicles and Gadgets. Ministry
of Propaganda offers up the promotional material that includes two
teaser trailers, the original theatrical trailer, TV Spots, Madonna's
music video for Die Another Day (with separate making of), 007
Nightfire video game promo trailer (with separate making of) and
MGM bonus trailers. DIE ANOTHER DAY is also DVD-ROM enabled with
access to additional content to coincide with the DVD’s street date.
DIE
ANOTHER DAY may not be the most intriguing James Bond adventure ever
produced, but it does make for a highly entertaining, demonstration
quality DVD experience. If you are a Bond fan or someone looking for
something new to feed your home theater system, you’ll want to add DIE
ANOTHER DAY to your arsenal. Recommended.
Each
time I see Pierce Brosnan in the role of James Bond, I am convinced that
his interpretation of 007 is one of the screen’s finest. And with each
subsequent Bond outing, I am equally convinced that the material isn’t
nearly as good as Brosnan. Brosnan has the ability to take the Bond
character to a darker place, yet this possibility is never really
exploited. DIE ANOTHER DAY ($30) had the opportunity to take the
Bond franchise to the darkest place it’s been since the superior Timothy
Dalton outing LICENCE TO KILL. In DIE ANOTHER DAY, we find
Bond captured and brutally tortured for more than a year, when he is
finally returned to British authorities he is considered compromised and
left hung out to dry. Although Bond is forced to turn rogue agent briefly,
the film quickly returns to formula and hits all the expected marks.
Now
I don’t want to give the impression that I didn’t like DIE ANOTHER
DAY, I enjoyed it immensely while watching it, but felt it could have
been a lot better had it gone in a darker direction and assigned more
psychological complexities to the James Bond character. DIE ANOTHER DAY
opens with 007 undertaking a mission to assassinate a North Korean
officer who has been trafficking in illegal weapons inside the DMZ. The
mission ends with Bond in the hands of the North Koreans, who torture him
for fourteen months, until the day he is released as part of a prisoner
exchange. Unable to return to Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Bond goes it
alone, using his connections to tie up the loose ends of his last mission
and to discover whose betrayal allowed him to fall into enemy hands.
Jaunting
from Hong Kong to Havana to London and finally Iceland, Bond eventually
has his licence to kill reinstated by M (Judi Dench), when he discovers
evidence that politically connected diamond broker Gustav Graves (Toby
Stephens) isn’t what he seems, nor are the diamonds that he has
supposedly discovered in an Icelandic mine. Adding to the mix is slinky
NSA Agent Jinx Jordan (Halle Berry), who has at least one of the same
objectives as Bond- namely, eliminating a North Korean terrorist named Zao
(Rick Yune), who had also been trafficking in weapons inside the DMZ. DIE
ANOTHER DAY probably works as well as it does because Pierce Brosnan
and Halle Berry make a good onscreen combination, plus director Lee
Tamahori keeps the action rapid enough for the audience to disregard some
of the holes in logic. The cast of DIE ANOTHER DAY also
features Rosamund Pike, John Cleese (who makes a fine new Q), Michael
Madsen, Will Yun Lee, Kenneth Tsang, an uncredited Madonna and the
delightful Samantha Bond as Miss Moneypenny.
MGM
Home Entertainment has made DIE ANOTHER DAY available on DVD in a
2.35:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for playback on
16:9 displays (a separate full screen edition is also available, but not
reviewed here). DIE ANOTHER DAY is a supremely gorgeous movie,
which translates into a phenomenal looking DVD. Every frame of DIE
ANOTHER DAY has been beautifully lit and photographed and this
transfer really shows off David Tattersall superb cinematography. The
image on the DVD proves to be wonderfully sharp and brimming with detail.
Colors can be quite vibrant or slightly muted, depending upon the mood the
filmmakers are trying to convey for an individual scene. Flesh tones are
usually very appealing, except in the more subdued sequences, during which
they appear rather bland. All of the most intense hues are rendered with
out noise or bleeding. Blacks appear perfect, while the whites are clean
and stable. Contrast is excellent, as is shadow detail. Additionally, the
picture produces a terrific sense of dimensionality. Digital compression
artifacts are well camouflaged on the dual layer DVD.
Complementing
the demonstration quality visuals are the film’s explosive 5.1 channel
soundtracks in the varieties of Dolby Digital and DTS. The sound design is
in full action mode, meaning that the viewer will be sitting dead center
during a continuous sonic assault- and loving every minute of it! Surround
junkies are certain to get a kick out of how aggressively and how
convincingly the split rear channels have been implemented. Sound effects
effortlessly pan in all directions, while maintaining a totally cohesive
sonic environment. Fidelity is truly excellent from top to bottom,
rendering everything from sound effects to the musical score in pitch
perfect fashion. The bass channel is outstanding and guaranteed to blow
the viewer into next week. Dialogue resonates naturally and is rendered
with complete understandability. As for the differences between Dolby
Digital and DTS, they aren’t taken to the extreme, but the DTS has a
slight edge in terms of warmth, character and depth. Like the video
portion of the disc, the digital soundtracks on DIE ANOTHER DAY are
definitely demo quality. French and Spanish Dolby Surround tracks are also
encoded onto the DVD, as are English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s very
stylish interactive menus. Through the menus, one has access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as the supplements,
which have been spread across both DVDs of the two-disc set. Disc one of DIE
ANOTHER DAY includes two separate running audio commentary tracks- the
first is with director Lee Tamahori and producer Michale G. Wilson, while
the second features actors Pierce Brosnan and Rosamund Pike. Of course,
the commentaries approach the material from different perspectives; the
"performer" track is a bit looser and more fun, while the
"crew" track tends to be more serious and technical minded. Of
course, both are worth a listen, if you are a fan of the movie, but casual
viewers may get a bit more enjoyment out of the "performer"
commentary. Also included on disc one is the MI6 Datastream,
which allows one to watch the movie with popup factoids, as well as
providing the option to view additional video vignettes- all very cool and
highly informative. A promo for other Bond titles closes out disc one.
On
disc two, one will find the main body of the supplements including the Inside
Die Another Day documentary. The documentary runs approximately
ninety minutes, however, it has been broken into eight parts, which
include Intro & Surfing, Hovercraft Chase,
Cuba, Quartermaster, Ice palace,
Car Battle and Post Production & Finale.
These various segments of the program feature interviews with the cast
& crew, as well as providing a look at the nuts and bolts of the film.
Next up is the Mission Deconstruction section, which focuses
on the film’s visual aspects and has been divided into four segments- Scene
Evolutions, Interaction Sequences, Title
Design and Digital Grading. Equipment Briefing
focuses on the film’s gadgets- Surfboard, Watch,
Jet Glider, Sonic Agitator and Aston
Martin.
Disc
two’s Image Database offers well over 200 images that have
been indexed into the following subsections: Cast, Special
Shoot, Sets & Locations, Stunts &
Special Effects and Vehicles and Gadgets. Ministry
of Propaganda offers up the promotional material that includes two
teaser trailers, the original theatrical trailer, TV Spots, Madonna's
music video for Die Another Day (with separate making of), 007
Nightfire video game promo trailer (with separate making of) and
MGM bonus trailers. DIE ANOTHER DAY is also DVD-ROM enabled with
access to additional content to coincide with the DVD’s street date.
DIE
ANOTHER DAY may not be the most intriguing James Bond adventure ever
produced, but it does make for a highly entertaining, demonstration
quality DVD experience. If you are a Bond fan or someone looking for
something new to feed your home theater system, you’ll want to add DIE
ANOTHER DAY to your arsenal. Recommended.
