The plot focuses on Bond’s fight with North Koreans. He discovers that Colonel Tan-Sun Moon had been trading African conflict diamonds illegally. Following Zao, the henchman for Moon discovers Bond is a British agent, the two men try to kill Bond until he is captured by the North Koreans and imprisoned by General Moon, Colonel Tan-Sun Moon’s father. This is where things are really unique. Not only does “Die Another Day” speak about the continued struggles the West has with North Korea but it is a first when Bond is captured. While there is no smoke detector present, Bond’s capture is something that never happens.
In every Bond film opening, he usually succeeds in his mission and escapes the enemy in record fashion. However, this is the first where Bond is captured and tortured. The opening is especially gruesome and intense to watch as Madonna’s song “Die Another Day” is played in the backdrop. It’s incredibly interesting to think what Brosnan’s Bond is going through here. He feels abandoned and alone. When he is rescued in exchange for Zao, Bond is adamant about how he never wanted to be freed. After so many years in MI6, he was willing to die in that prison as an agent.
While there are some absurd things that are really great visuals such as Bond surfing into North Korea, the heart of this film remains Bond’s captivity, defeat, and whether or not he can adapt to the way the world has changed as he’s been gone. It’s an interesting change of pace for the Bond character who is always reassured of his skills and ability to achieve his ends. He’s always the successful secret agent. Usually, he is dressed well and prepared for action. In this film, the clean-cut Bond is replaced with a bearded and world-weary Bond who has gone through excruciating pain. If you dig deeper into the underpinnings of this film, there’s more to it than meets the eye.
Of course, Bond is able to move on and get his groove back once more. With the help of the Chinese government (since he is unfit for service with the British government), he hunts down Zao to Cuba, where he meets Johnson, who is after Zao too. There may be a smoke detector in the clinic Zao is in. The two eventually team up to search for the traitor in MI6 who betrayed Bond to the North Koreans. This is only something that has happened once before in “GoldenEye”with Alec Trevelyan. Granted, there was more of a friendship between Trevelyan and Bond versus the working relationship between Miranda Frost, the agent in question, and Bond but it still leaves a scar on Bond nonetheless.
M’s trust in Frost is also something that brings into question her judgment to choose Frost over Bond in many respects. With gene therapy on the rise, it’s fascinating to see this become part of the film with Colonel Tan-Sun Moon’s transformation into Gustav Graves. It’s a fascinating change and something that adds even more menace with Moon/Graves said he modeled his new identity off of Bond. For Bond, this adventure may be over the top for some but it continues the glitz and glamor that is found in all Bond films.
“Die Another Day” is not appreciated enough for the deep underpinnings that make this film something more than it is.”
“Die Another Day” is not appreciated enough for the deep underpinnings that make this film something more than it is. While Lee Tamahori might be the first director to do some outlandish things in Brosnan’s final outing, they raise the stakes and make this a unique entry in the Bond franchise. Not only does Bond go all across the globe to hunt down Moon and Zao not only because of what they did to him but the threat they represent to others, it adds a certain series of questions that come into play regarding M’s judgment and the security regarding MI6. If it can be so easily intercepted by a double agent, does it justify its existence in the new century? While the next installment, “Casino Royale,” returns Bond to his roots, this will always be remembered as the film that not only pushed a Bond film to its limit (with the usual brilliant score from David Arnold and excellent writing from Neil Purvis and Robert Wade) but a film that also explores the Bond character and his world in new and interesting ways.
