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Old 11-22-02, 12:12 PM
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Die Another Day discussion

Doubt anyone has had a chance to see it yet, but I might go to a late afternoon show when I get off work. While the previews and theme song have me skpetical, a lot of critics seem to like it (mostly non-mainstream/internet ones).
I just don't know if I should see it as a matinee or tonight with the late show crowd.
Old 11-22-02, 12:49 PM
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Re: Die Another Day discussion

Originally posted by Dr. DVD
While the previews and theme song have me skpetical, a lot of critics seem to like it (mostly non-mainstream/internet ones).
Ebert gave it 3 out of four stars in his review: http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert...ws-die22f.html

I might go see this tonight too. Looks like a lot of fun to me.
Old 11-22-02, 01:09 PM
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I've read good reviews(thank god) me and some guys from work are going tonite. This will be my first theatrical Bond experience...can't wait.
Old 11-22-02, 02:10 PM
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ew gave it an A- and has a pic right above the artical of berry on her back in a bra and panties (ill look for it)
Old 11-22-02, 04:00 PM
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Saw it this afternoon, business meeting you know!

Easily one of the BEST ever, no kidding! I was stunned on how great everything was in it. It kicks major A$$! H. Berry was very good in it also...
I would give it an A as I did not have any complaints about anything in it. Nice to see John Cleese make it his role now also.
Old 11-22-02, 04:40 PM
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I fully intend on seeing tonight. Here's hoping for a rocking crowd to see it with.
Old 11-22-02, 04:44 PM
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im going tonight at the 8:20 show.
Old 11-22-02, 05:44 PM
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Seeing it sometime this weekend or next week.
Old 11-22-02, 06:42 PM
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Did anyone notice?

There was a subtle change to the traditional gun barrel sequence at the beginning where Bond walks out in the circle, shoots, and blood drips from the top....



Anyone remember what it was?
Old 11-22-02, 07:13 PM
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Saw it. Best Bond film in a long time. Definitely the best of the Brosnan series, and might be the best one since Roger Moore's days (still not in league with Connery though, can't mess with him ).
Probably the best aspect about this film was Brosnan's portrayal of 007. While cool and collected as usual, this Bond was the closest I have seen to the Fleming character from the books since Dr. No. This time Bond gets legitimately hurt and displays true contempt for his adversaries. Speaking of which, these were also the best villains of the Brosnan series as well. They were not as cookie cutter as those in the past, and they actually gave you some insight into their motivations.
In terms of how the film will do, I went to a 4:30 showing this afternoon and the theater was close to full. Mostly adults, but they seemed really into it and enjoying themselves. While I am sure a "rocking" crowd might have been good, I chose to see it with the earlies as I would be able to concentrate on the movie and not get caught up in the moment, causing me to think the movie was better than it actually was like what happened with TWINE. I give it a solid A-. Great entertainment and doesn't really slip into self parody for once. all the way!!!


That said:
Spoiler:
I hope they do something further with Michael Madsen's character. You could definitely tell they were planting the seeds for a future villain. While I saw the betrayal of Frost a mile away, the Gustav Graves really being the General's son knocekd me for a loop.


The only bad things:

-Halle Berry was a little to hammy at times.

-As I said once before: "Madonna, you can't act!!!"
Old 11-22-02, 07:24 PM
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went. 3 shows were sold out and the next show was 940.
Old 11-22-02, 07:27 PM
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Sweet, good to hear good things about the movie, ill be checking it out later tonight
Old 11-22-02, 07:44 PM
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good luck getting tix.
Old 11-22-02, 10:12 PM
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Saw it. Loved it. One of the best Bonds ever. Nice to see better females who can hold their own. Loved Madonna's cock fight comment. John Cleese will make a great Q, but wish they had stuck with R. That was a pretty funny comment.

Judi Dench is amazing as M. That was a fantastic choice for the role. Pierce Brosnan rocks as Bond. Man did I need a cold shower after this one.

One thing I missed because the audience was laughing. When Moneypenny was trying out the virtual reality device, Q made a comment and I didn't hear it or her reply, can someone fill me in?

This was my first opening night Bond and I'm glad I did it.

Oh yea! I'm ready for the DVD now!
Old 11-22-02, 10:36 PM
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I might not be able to wait until next week...
Old 11-22-02, 11:22 PM
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saw it in a NYC theatre. it was showing on 2 screens and every show was sold out.
this was my first Bond film and it was interesting to see the audience react to a number of things, which were obviously nods to past films.
the funniest thing happened before the film though. there was a preview for that Malcom In The Middle kids James Bond-esque movie, and as it faded to black and the theatre was quiet, someone reacted "oh. God. no." everyone was hysterical.
Old 11-22-02, 11:48 PM
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I was hoping this would be Brosnan's best outing yet. Sadly, it didn't top Goldeneye, but it was still a very enjoyable film. definitely better than both Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough.


(SPOILERS AFOOT)




What I liked about the film:

---


The Opening: Wow, I can't remember the last time I've seen Bond in less than perfect condition. While I wouldn't want to see him, say, lose to a supervillain or anything, a reminder like this that he's not exactly invincible was quite a twist.

The Villains: These villains were far more interesting than the last wuss, Renard. Graves parachuting like Bond from The Spy Who Loved Me was a good homage. I especially liked how Graves said he modelled his new identity after Bond; that was priceless

The Girls: From the homage to Honey Ryder on, I knew that the film would not be lacking in this department. They were both very hot. And of course, great actors for this film. Much better than the wretched Teri Hatcher, or the attractive yet wretched Denise Richards, or Michelle Yeoh, who was not a Bond Girl. These were were best pair of Bond girls since at least Goldeneye, maybe even further back. Halle Berry was not even close to annoying as I thought she would be - I thought she acquitted herself admirably. Rosamund Pike was excellent, and hot, especially while fencing. Loved how she tampered with Bond's gun. Did I mention they were hot? Even when they were cold, they were hot...

The Quartermaster: John Cleese had big shoes to fill, and I thought he performed admirably, considering. He seems to have tapped the same dry wit of Desmond Llewelyn, and the same frustration over Bond destroying absolutely everything he makes. I noticed the little homage to past Bonds with all those relics and memorabilia. And, Q gets away with the best quip of the movie, in my opinion.
Bond: "You're cleverer than you look."
Q: "Better than looking cleverer than you are."


The Cars: The car chase was great. It was interesting to see another car just as souped up as Bond's.

Moneypenny: And I thought they would forget about her - it would have been criminal to leave her only shot in the film as a corpse. This was a hilarious closer.

Did I mention the girls were hot?

---

What I didn't like about the film:

The Previews: Well, I guess I can't blame the film for this, but unless this movie topped out over 2 hours and 40 minutes, I must have sat through HALF AN HOUR of previews. That's just insane.

The Title Sequence: When I heard Madonna's "Die Another Day". I thought, "It's a decent enough remix, but I want to hear the version they're going to use in the movie." So imagine my surprise when I hear this. I almost retched. This was the first time I've seen an audience at a Bond picture get impatient, and even snicker, at the title sequence. Maurice Binder would be rolling in his grave. The images were fine - it's that horrid song. It had no place in a Bond Film.

The Editing: Yes, Bond updates with the times. But he does not turn into MTV. Every time they used a motion mixer, or gratuitously threw in slow motion, it jarred me from the film. Those stylistic elements have as much place in Bond as, say, bullet-time.

The CG: The action in Bond was never really about effects. It was always about real people doing actual stunts that would make you say "I can't believe they did that". For example, the two most memorable for me were the parachute sequence in Moonraker, and the aerial fight in The Living Daylights. Those elicited actual suspense, unlike much of the CG work done in this film. I would ask that if they plan to use CG that much, at least make it look somewhat more convincing.

But the girls... hot... I think that made up for all its faults.

----


Elektra: After Moneypenny tuns off the virtual reality device, she says, "I was... just testing it out." Q replies, "It's hard, isn't it?" And Moneypenny says, "Yes... it is."

One thing:

Did anyone else think the original guy in the helicopter in the opening was Graves? That's what I first thought when I saw Graves for the first time.

Last edited by RolloTomasi; 11-23-02 at 12:01 AM.
Old 11-23-02, 12:33 AM
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I thought DAD was entertaining enough for me because my expectation don't force James Bond to adhere to a pure realistic/gritty foundation. I'm willing to forgive some unbelievable stuntwork just because it's part of the pacakge that comes with the franchise.

The Good:

The premise was somewhere we've never seen Bond having to go through. But he did sort of re-acclimate himself a bit too quickly.

The villains had some grit to them. The extent they went to become who they were was mind-boggling if you thought about it. Their big bad weapon was big and bad. How much of it is actually possible remains an exercise for the viewer.

The stunts were just plain fun to watch, sure, there's some throw-back 1960's stunt work going on, but it gave it a retro feel to the stunts. And I've never seen some of the stuff that was in this film, and the second unit pulled off most of it well enough. There's quite a few OMG stunts, and there's a few implausible stunts that you either buy or don't.

The opening credits footage was good in that it progressed the plot along at the same time.

James Bond got his mojo back in this film. I'm pretty sure his middle name must be "Randy".

Q was great and exasperated as always. He still comes up with the nifty toys.

Moneypenny's money shot was priceless.

The Okay:

Halle Berry's Jinx doesn't come across as a sharp secret agent type, and I would not go see her in a "Jinx" movie because there's just not enough to work with. Her role in this film as written stumbled to give her some credentials to make her believable as Jinx.

M was more crotchety than ever before.

Miranda Frost was aptly named. I think she got short-shrifted in some character development bits.

The Bad:

Madonna's theme song - I thought it was wretched. Electronic songs are not what James Bond theme songs should be, they should be sung with passion, and have a solid orchestral backing. Madonna missed badly with this song.

Also, Madonna's part as Verty, the fencing instructor, was average, she's just not a good actress.

Michael Madsen was wasted in this film.

The plot was a bit hokey. I think too many films are jumping on the "North/South Korea DMZ as the global hot spot in the world" bandwagon where unrest is just a few committed terrorist away.

I have it 3 stars or a grade of B (for Bond).
Old 11-23-02, 01:09 AM
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I had mixed feelings about it. I was really into this film until
Spoiler:
Gustav shows off that satellite. I mean wtf? If I wanted to see something like this, I would have popped in Diamonds Are Forever


The good:
The opening, Brosnan's performance, the villains were the most memorable in recent times. Cleese did a pretty good job as Q, and the ending with Moneypenny was hilarious (although I saw it coming)

The bad:
Spoiler:
The whole satellite thing, I know Bond films usually suspend reality, but come on.

Madonna, she definitly had to have put that in her contract to perform the main title (which I hated btw)

The indifferent:
Spoiler:
Some other things I predicted like Frost's turn, Moneypennys VR love with Bond (that was funny however), and the training VR Bond went through.


Halle Berry's performance, was alright, but seeing her running around with a pistol was just hilarious. Apparently the folks who put together Bond did get what they wanted out of Berry's performance: horny teens whooping when she came out of the water.

An allright movie, I think I would have liked it better had I not had to wait till 11 to see the movie. IMHO it doesn't top Goldeneye, but ties with TND and beats out TWINE.
Old 11-23-02, 01:20 AM
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I saw it this evening with a pretty wild crowd. Was quite funny actually. During the previews Two Towers came on and afterwards the entire crowd cheered and applauded. Right after they showed Star Trek Nemesis and once again, cheers and applause. Then Daredevil and yup, cheers and applause. After that they started the movie and for the first 2 minutes every time the scene changed it was cheers and applause (kinda mocking/joking about the earlier cheers and applause). Got a good laugh out of it though.


As for the movie, I went in only expecting action, explosions, cool gadgets and some T&A and well, thats what I got. It entertained me, and that's all I asked for.

BIG thumbs down for Madonna's theme song though. Horrific. Her short part was fine, didn't bother me, but that theme song. UGH.
Old 11-23-02, 02:40 AM
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I have to agree with just about everything RolloTomasi said, both the good and the bad.

I really thought John Cleese paid a fitting tribute to Desmond Lewellyn. I also loved the line about the watches. "Let's see, I believe this is your twentieth watch. Do try to bring this one back!"

I also absolutely despised both Madonna's song and her "cameo" role in the film. I have never not liked a Bond title sequence... until now. Oh, the visuals were fine, but that horrible, horrible song.
Old 11-23-02, 03:32 AM
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this movie had one of the best sound mixes ive heard in a theatre. Everything sounded so full and natural, the waves, the icarus breaking the ice, better than dare i say...the seismic charges in ep II. I can't wait for the dvd.
The film itself was pretty good, i lost interest after the ice palace transpirings though. Diamond face was too cool, he should have lasted longer. This is the best brosnan bond film, great action, hot girls and hot cars.
Old 11-23-02, 04:32 AM
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Me and my boys had a helluva blast - we were all ready to get back into line again as the showing let out. Hot babes, lightning fast action, suave sophisticated Bond (even when he's not so dapper) - the film had everything! At least, I think it did. . . . lets run the bond checklist, shall we?

* Criminal Mastermind with one outstanding feature? Check
* Bizarre henchman with a physical deformity and an unusual name? Check - two, in fact.
* Impregnable Fortress of Evil in an exotic location? Check?
* Criminal Mastermind invites Bond to dinner and/or social event before killing him? Check
* Amazingly hot sidkick with little to no acting ability? Check. Surprisingly, Halle not only looks good in a wet t-shirt, but can also act. Bonus points there.
* Name for said Amazingly Hot Sidekick that doubles as innuendo? No, not this time around.
* Bond's Booty Call? Check - but with only two females, a very disappointing ratio.
* Over the top pre-credit sequence that has little to do with the rest of the film? Check, although shockingly the pre-credit bit actually ties back into the main story arc.
* Titles sequence with all kinds of T&A? Normally I would disapprove of the unusual credit sequence, but it ties in nicely. Full kudos on this one.
* Sultry Vixen singing the Main Title Song? When I heard the song before the movie, I shuddered. I was never that big into Madonna, and the techno was out of place - or so I thought. After seeing it in context, I don’t mind it so bad. There's been worse songs (All Time High comes to mind) and there's been better (Goldfinger) - this one I can take or leave.
* Thread-bare plot that really only serves as a framework to support the action pieces? Yeah - no more muddled than any of the other 19 pictures.
* Scuba and/or ski sequence? Sort of - lots of snow, but no skiing. Very brief scuba sequence.
* Witty banter between Bond and Moneypenny? Sadly, Bond and Moneypenny have very little screen time together.
* Sexual innuendo? Check! It's all over the place.
* Car Chase, showcasing all of Q's gadgets? Check in a big sort of way.
* Countdown to destruction near climax? Check
* Bond is interrupted in the middle of getting some by President/Prime Minister/UN Leaders at the end of the successful mission? No - but the person who DOES get "oopsed" will have you on the floor busting a gut.
* "Oh, do Pay Attention, Double 0 seven" and/or "I never joke about my work"? Check
* "Shaken, not stirred"? - Shockingly, no.
* "Oh James. . . "? Yes - but not who you would expect.

All in all, it was a helluva ride. Brosnan *IS* Bond, hands down.

Last edited by El-Kabong; 11-23-02 at 04:43 AM.
Old 11-23-02, 04:46 AM
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Old 11-23-02, 07:03 AM
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I guess it's all a matter of opinion because I think this was Brosnan's best film for Bond so far. It easily blew Goldeneye away and Tomorrow Never Dies is a close second for me.

Um, Michelle Yeoh IS a Bond girl. Can't get away from that. And I think she was the best so far. Handled herself really well. I really got bored easily with the chicks who were useless except for sex. I want one who can kick butt and take names. She did it quite well.

I liked the fact that they showed Bond as much more human when captured and tortured. It was an amazing opening to the film.

Halle Berry equated herself quite well and I liked her character. They would definitely need to flesh out the character more if they are going to do any films based on her character.

I did miss Bond's CIA buddy from the last films. He was pretty cool.

I'm ambivalent to the opening song. That was the first time I heard it.

Rollo - thanks. When the scene switched to the two of them, I knew she was using the device, but when everyone else caught on and then she got caught, they were laughing so loud I couldn't hear. I like her character too.

I usually suspend my belief for Bond. I feel it's something your suposed to do. Otherwise, you relly won't appreciate the film.

What I liked about the last few Bond films is that they seem to bring a more realistic, human quality to the character. Plus, Brosnan is just so freaking hot!!!! Wow!

Also, in Cuba, was Bond driving a classic Caddy?


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