Die Another Day (2002)

Director: Lee Tamahori
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Rosamund Pike

Synopsis:
After an op in North Korea goes sour, James Bond is subjected to months of torture and then promptly burned on his release, left to settle the score without MI6's approval or official support.

Impressions:
Pierce Brosnan's final outing as 007 is perhaps one of the lower points of the franchise. To call the story okay would be charitable, the villains only so-so, the special effects laughably bad at times, and the third act a hot mess of rubbish. Brosnan is fine as Bond, but as for the Bond girls, Halle Berry is a mixed bag as ever (mercifully, none of her quips are about what happens to a toad when struck by lightning) but Rosamund Pike isn't bad in her feature film debut. On the villains' side, Toby Stephens is okay as diamond mogul Gustav Graves, but I did like Rick Yune as Zao. Some of the cinematography is jarring and not in a good way. I'm guessing it's part of Tamahori's specialty. There are many better Bond films out there. Watch one of those instead.

Rating:
Avoid It