Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
James Bond is sent to investigate the connection between a North Korean terrorist and a diamond mogul, who is funding the development of an international space weapon.
Die Another Day is widely regarded as one of the weakest entries in the Bond franchise. The plot is convoluted and increasingly absurd, culminating in an invisible car and a space-based laser weapon that stretch credulity even by Bond standards. The acting is serviceable but unremarkable — Halle Berry's Jinx was criticized as a hollow attempt at a female Bond, and Toby Stephens delivers a cartoonish villain. Cinematography is competent and occasionally stylish, with some decent location work in Iceland and Cuba. Novelty is low — the film recycles Bond tropes in a particularly by-the-numbers way, and its CGI-heavy set pieces (notably the parasailing sequence) were critically derided as cheap-looking. The ending is messy and unsatisfying, emblematic of the film's general excess. It ultimately triggered the franchise reboot with Casino Royale (2006), suggesting even the studio recognized its failures.