Die Another Day was released in 2002 and is the 20th film in the James Bond series. It was directed by Lee Tamahori and produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. The screenplay was written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade based on the character James Bond created by Ian Fleming. Die Another Day stars Pierce Brosnan in his fourth and final film as James Bond, alongside Halle Berry, Toby Stephens, Rosamund Pike, Rick Yune, John Cleese and Judi Dench.
The storyline follows James Bond as he leads a mission to North Korea, during which he is betrayed and, after seemingly killing a rogue North Korean colonel, is captured and imprisoned. Fourteen months later, James Bond is released as part of a prisoner exchange between him and Zao who was captured by MI6. Believing that someone within the British government has betrayed him, he attempts to earn redemption by tracking down his betrayer and killing a North Korean agent he believes was involved in his torture.
Die Another Day marked the 40th anniversary in the James Bond franchise; consequently, the film includes references to each of the preceding films. Gadgets and other props from every previous Bond film and stored in Eon Productions’ archives appear in Q’s warehouse in the London Underground such as the jetpack in Thunderball, the crocodile disguise from Octopussy and Rosa Klebb’s poison-tipped shoe in From Russia with Love. Q even mentions that the watch he issues Bond is “your 20th, I believe”, a reference to Die Another Day being the 20th Eon-produced Bond film. While most appeared as props some were hidden within the film script such as when villain Gustav Graves claims “Diamonds are for everyone”.
Principal photography for Die Another Day began on 11th January 2002 at Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom with the film being primarily shot in the United Kingdom, Iceland, and Cádiz, Spain. Other locations used for filming included Pinewood Studios’ 007 Stage and Maui, Hawaii. The scenes inside Graves’ diamond mine were filmed in Cornwall, at the Eden Project. The scenes involving the Cuban locations of Havana and the fictional Isla de Los Organos were filmed in La Caleta, Spain. During filming four Aston Martins and four Jaguars, all converted to four-wheel drive, were used (and wrecked) filming the car chase on the ice scene. Additional chase scenes was filmed at Svalbard, Norway, Jostedalsbreen National Park, Norway, and RAF Little Rissington, Gloucestershire with Manston Airport in Kent being used for the scenes involving the Antonov cargo plane.
When Die Another Day was released it received mixed reviews from the critics with the work of Lee Tamahori being praised, while others felt the film relied too heavily on gadgets and computer-generated imagery, which they found unconvincing and a distraction and felt the plot had been neglected. On Rotten Tomatoes it currently holds a rating of 57% with the general consensus being, “Its action may be bit too over-the-top for some, but Die Another Day is lavishly crafted and succeeds in evoking classic Bond themes from the franchise’s earlier installments”. Roger Ebert praised the film, who gave the film three stars out of four, stated “This movie has the usual impossible stunts … But it has just as many scenes that are lean and tough enough to fit in any modern action movie”.
Commercially, Die Another Day was a huge financial success at the box office. Produced with an estimated production budget of $142 million, it went on to take $47,072,040 at the box office during its opening weekend. Die Another Day went on to take $160,942,139 at the US box office and $271,028,977 internationally giving it worldwide box office reciepts of $431,971,116. This made Die Another Day the highest grossing James Bond film until the release of Casino Royale and the sixth highest-grossing film of 2002.
Film Details
Title
Die Another Day
Year of Film
2002
Director
Lee Tamahori
Starring
Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Toby Stephens, Rosamund Pike, John Cleese, Judi Dench
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Action | Adventure | Thriller
Box Office
Budget: $142,000,000 (estimated)
Opening Weekend: $47,072,040 (USA)
Gross: $431,971,116 (Worldwide)
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