DVD Review - Die Another Day: Special Edition

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Site created 12/15/97.

review added: 9/10/03

Die Another Day
Special Edition - 2002 (2003) - MGM

The James Bond Special Edition DVD Collection

review by Rob Hale of The Digital Bits

Film Rating: C

Disc Ratings (Video/Audio/Extras): B+/A/B-

Specs and Features

Disc One - The Film
132 mins, PG-13, letterboxed widescreen (2.40:1), 16x9 enhanced, single-sided, RSDL dual-layered (layer switch at ??), keep case packaging (with slipcover), audio commentary (with director Lee Tamahori and producer Michael G. Wilson), audio commentary (with actors Pierce Brosnan and Rosamund Pike), "MI-6 DataStream" trivia track (with streaming video), trailer for others Bond Special Edition DVDs, animated film-themed menus with sound and music, scene selection (36 chapters), languages: English (DD 5.1 EX & DTS 5.1 ES), French and Spanish (DD 2.0), subtitles: English, French and Spanish, Closed Captioned

Disc Two - Supplemental Material
Inside Die Another Day documentary (90 mins, 16x9, 7 chapters), storyboard comparisons, multi-angle scene explorations, opening credits breakdown, digital grading effects featurette, photo gallery, Madonna's Die Another Day music video and featurette, 007 Nightfire videogame featurette, trailers and TV spots, animated film-themed menus with sound and music, languages: English (DD 2.0)

"It's only a number..."

Okay, 007 reasons this film was a major disappointment:

The credit sequence and title song. Okay individually, but together they... well, can we even call it 'together?' The two seem so separate from one another in tone and content that it is just plain messy.

Apparently an electric razor (insert shameless product placement here) is all you need to take care of 14 months of hair growth.

The film contains a double-cross that can be seen before the character is even introduced (okay, maybe not that early, but still).

An ultra-powerful laser that focuses the sun's rays can blow up entire military compounds in a few seconds, but barely strips the paint off of a plane that flies though it (come on, with the ease that everything explodes in this film, the plane should have vaporized).

Halle Berry. Yeah, I know, she won Best Actress and all, but it wasn't for this film and it shows. There are uneven performance all around. You want me to prove it? Compare her performance to Beyonce Knowles' in Goldmember, which was a farce, and who comes out on top? It's really much closer than you'd expect, and that's scary.

Wit is much more effective when played straight, and someone should have told the cast. Pierce Brosnan and John Cleese fair the best in this department, but everyone else seems incapable of delivering a line without overplaying it.

CGI, CGI, CGI. Oh, and a little CGI thrown in for good measure. Watch as Bond rides a huge wave... no, really, it's really big. Watch me yawn.

And finally, SPOILER WARNING (skip if you care), Bond says, "Time to face gravity," right before Graves is sucked into a jet engine!!?? WTF, I am officially nominating this as the single worst joke in any film, ever. I've seen some bad comedies with some bad jokes, but at least they MAKE SENSE. Now, if Bond had ripped the parachute off of Graves' back and pushed him out of the plane, it would of at least made sense (but still wouldn't be funny). How did this make it into the film?

Having said all of this (Is that eight? Fine. Well, eight didn't seem as fitting as seven, so there you have it.), there IS a lot to like about the film. The Aston Martin returns and just feels more 'right' than the BMW's of the last few films. It's as if the planets have realigned in a way. Also, as with The World Is Not Enough, the first half of the film has a level of drama that is refreshing, in a series that has become known for its over-the-top nature, and is much more reminiscent of the Fleming novels. Unfortunately. the film just can't keep it going. The second half, once again, dissolves into a jumble of explosions, terrible dialog and a desperate attempt to outdo everything that has come before it.

On the acting side, Pierce Brosnan is competent enough (this is his fourth stab at the character) and he is obviously comfortable in the role. If only the same could be said of the 'new' cast. Granted, the newcomers don't have the luxury of having played the characters three other times, but they should still be able to carry things off better than this. As mentioned earlier, Halle Berry never seems to nail down a character, at times overplaying then underplaying, strong then weak (it should be noted that she is nowhere near as bad as Denise Richards was in TWINE). Toby Stevens' villain, an insomniac goober with electrified VR gear, is all camp when playing the 'straight' part and borders on parody when he gets into villain mode. Rick Yune probably fares the best of the newcomers, but is given little more to do than be pale and run around in his underwear for a while.

Art and production design are typically top-notch and director Lee Tamahori pulls off the more dramatic sequences with flair, but I am beginning to wonder how much say the first unit directors have had in the latest Bond films, as the action sequences have become more and more elaborate and the stories seem relegated to filler material much more than they used to (if you think that the Bond films have always been purely about action and 'splosions, I direct you to the first 4-5 films). It's a shame, really, because I really wanted to like this film. In many ways it does succeed, but it eventually collapses under its own weight and ends up an average affair.

Average as the film may be, MGM's disc version easily sits in the 'above average' category. The video transfer has solid color and a sharp picture, if a bit too sharp for my tastes. If there is one thing that burns me, it's a transfer that leaves the film looking digital, and this one borders on that. There is also some minor print damage, which was very surprising for a new film, but it's never distracting. The sound is wonderful, with a nice balance between dialogue and effects. The soundtrack as a whole packs just the right amount of punch.

The extras are a fairly mixed bag, the best of which are found on Disc One. The commentary with Lee Tamahori and Michael G. Wilson is pleasant and informative; the two were recorded together and discuss development and shooting challenges in a very conversational manner. Perhaps more interesting, yet less rewarding, is the commentary with Pierce Brosnan and Rosamund pike, with each actor doing fine at first, but sort of lulling into silence all too frequently as the track continues. Don't get me wrong - it's not horrible by any means, and it's great to hear Brosnan talking about his experiences, but it's just not quite as listenable as it could have been. Finally on Disc One is the "MI-6 DataStream", with is a trivia track with streaming video, not dissimilar to a certain other studio's new flagship 'experience'. That said, I must admit that I think this is one of the most enjoyable implementations of this kind of feature that I've seen yet.

Moving on to Disc Two, the primary supplement is the Inside Die Another Day "documentary" which, in my book, just barely qualifies as a documentary. What we get is a series of featurettes which you can watch, via a 'play all' button, back to back, credits and all. It's a disjointed behind the scenes look at the making of the film, which is nearly unwatchable (unless you like seeing the MGM logo and a credits scroll every 10 minutes). This is not nearly as satisfying as most of the documentaries found on the other Bond films, with only the final 'chapter' (Post-production and Finale) given the time to truly become an engaging experience for the viewer. Also included are two storyboard-to-film comparisons and multi-angle scene explorations for the major action sequences (which I can't help imagining would have been better presented as an editing suite). Regardless, they are nice additions, if nothing exciting. Rounding out the disc is a rather dry title design breakdown (showing how several shots from the title sequence were accomplished), a digital grading featurette that covers the digital color correction used in the film (which is light and fluffy), an equipment breakdown (your very own Q-branch briefing, without Q!), and the ubiquitous photo gallery and trailers. Special mention goes to Madonna's Die Another Day video and "making of" featurette, which are really quite bad. See Madge's grueling seven day shoot!! Listen to her complain about her breast size!! Still, it's funnier than some of the jokes in the film.

Overall, I find it difficult to recommend this film to anyone except for die-hard fans. The film is mediocre at best, but it does get a lavish 2-disc treatment from MGM. This DVD could have been great, but with a lackluster film and a second disc of irritating or fluffy supplements (but there's a lot of them!), it just leaves me feeling ho-hum.

Rob Hale
nirayo@yahoo.com

The James Bond Special Edition DVD Collection