Die Another Day [Blu-ray]
![Die Another Day [Blu-ray]](/images/Die-Another-Day-Blu-ray-B001AQO3TW-L.jpg)
|
List Price: Our Price: $7.15 You Save: $27.84 (80%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $6.00 (click here) Category: Blu-ray See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Die Another Day [Blu-ray]
Movie Review: A Fairly Average Bond Movie
Summary: 3 Stars
Die Another Day was the film released to celebrate Bond's 40th anniversary in the movies. It was also Brosnan's 4th and last appearance as Bond. To be honest, its a fairly average Bond film and the weakest of Brosnan's 4 films. Brosnan's James Bond films started at the top with the terrific Goldeneye and slowly worked their way downward with each film.
Each Bond film since Goldeneye have been incredibly successful. However, the 2 best Bond films "Goldeneye" and "Casino Royale" have been directed by 1 man:Martin Campbell who did a fabulous job on both of those films. The other 4 of the last 6 have been directed by different director with varying results. This one was directed by Lee Tamahori, who not long afterward was arrested for solicitation.(Remember the good old days when Terrence Young directed 3 out of the 4 first great Bond films and John Glen directed Roger Moore's last three and Timothy Dalton's 2 excellent Bond films. I do not like having a different director on each new film and hearing how great they've done because the film makes money. The last Bond film "Quantum of Solace" was as mediocre as this one. Yet I've heard the director Marc Forster proclaimed a genius because the film made boatloads of money. I hope he never does another one.) As stated the film is average with the high point being a vicious swordfight between Bond and the villain. Low points of this film included a terrible CGI sequence of Bond basically surfing over a tidal wave (don't even ask how this occurs) and Bond driving a stealth (invisable) car. The film got a lot of publicity by having Halle Berry as the leading lady, right after she won her Oscar. She is okay but I prefer the frosty Rosamund Pike as the secondary female lead. The pre-credits sequence and conclusion are average by Bond standards. (The film does try something new by having Bond captured at the end of the pre-credits sequence and tortured throughout most of the opening credits.) The very average theme song was done by Madonna, who has a cameo in the film as a fencing instructor lusting after the lovely Rosamund Pike.
As stated, by Bond standards this isn't even close to the great films in the series. It also was not a great film for Pierce Brosnan to go out on. I always felt he had at least 2 more Bonds in him. I guess the producers got tired of hearing him badmouth each film afterward and talk about things like wanting Quentin Tarantino to direct a Bond film. However the producers have got to be jumping for joy after the grosses of Daniel Craig's 2 Bonds.
The extras on the blu-ray are basically the same as on the DVD.
Movie Review: Brosnan's Final Bow
Summary: 3 Stars
I decided to rewatch Pierce Brosnan's Bond swan song once again to see if it was as bad as so many seem to think it is. I had much warmer memories of it myself. Unfortunately I must conclude that it really IS that bad--at least the second half. The compelling opening sequence features a vulnerable 007 being tortured by the North Korean army and even boasts a cane-seat chair, though it's not put to such sinister use as the one Daniel Craig sat on. I happen to like Madonna's driving-techno titular theme theme song as much as I like "You Know My Name", which is bunches. Halle Berry is lovely to look at, but as Jinx receives no assistance from a script that requires her to deliver lines like "Ornithologist, huh? Now there's a mouthful" while staring at 007's crotch. The thrust-and-parry of sexual inneudo between Bond and his ladies has always been one of the hallmarks of the series, but here they overdo it in extremis. What is supposed to be sparkling repartee falls flat as a bored and weary-looking Brosnan delivers the Bond bons mots with nary a twinkle. It almost looks as though he could be thinking, "My God, I'm old enough to be her dad." Their bedroom scene does have the requisite zest, proving that Brosnan's 007 was hardly ready for pasture, but rather an unfortunate victim of timing and increasingly lousy scripts. Brosnan was a capable physical actor, but was hampered by overbloated CGI; the fight sequences here are painfully faked up, unlike the Craig era where the punches seem all too bone-crunchingly real. Quizzically, two of the crafters behind the superb "Casino Royale" script, Neil Purvis and Robert Wade, are also responsible for this turkey. Upon moving to the centerpiece Icelandic sequence, which goes on for an eternity, DAD rivals "Moonraker" for Most Cheesy Sci-Fi Moments Ever. John Cleese provides all-too-brief comic relief; having fully succeeded the late Desmond Llewellyn in the role, he is no longer 'R' but has been fully promoted to 'Q', which stands for 'Quartermaster'--duh, of course! My favorite moment is a steamy makeout session between Bond and Moneypenney that is no less scorching for being all in her head, compliments of a virtual simulator. Or should I say 'stimulator'? Brosnan may have been supplanted by a worthy successor in Daniel Craig, but silly scripts and ridiculous CGI aside, he is still capable of leaving me both shaken and stirred.Movie Review: 3 stars out of 4
Summary: 3 Stars
The Bottom Line:
Though Die Another Day suffers from its inclusion of bad CGI effects and a tendency to go all-out preposterous, it does enough things differently and enough things right to make it barely worth a recommendation, especially if you're a Bond aficionado who wants to catch all the references to previous Bond outings.
Movie Review: Better off dead now (Blu-Ray review)
Summary: 2 Stars
As I've told numerous people asking me how my foray into the Blu-Ray Bond releases, I wish I could have skipped over Die Another Day. The minute I left theaters after seeing Pierce's last foray into Bond-dom, I knew that it was my least favorite of the entire franchise. Handily.
It wasn't my least favorite during the entire running time, though. As the 40th anniversary film, Die Another Day was almost a call back to the best moments from the previous Bonds, and featured elements of Moore, Connery, and Dalton. Sadly, somewhere along the line the film entered the dreaded Camp territory; not to the degree of Batman the Movie, but damned close.
Of all of Brosnan's Bond films, this is the one they decide to test the Blu-Ray waters with? The one with the glacial car chases, invisible car, DNA-altering space madman, and Halle Berry? (Okay, Halle Berry would be a damn good reason for high-def-but read on and you'll see why that isn't the case.) It's certainly the weakest Bond film since Moonraker, and fans were so put off by it that the next Bond film had to reboot the franchise.
But, like I said, it isn't ALL bad. The first 30 to 40 minutes are some of the most entertaining in any genre film; the rest of it, though... I wouldn't be surprised if someone like Peter Travers came out with the review snippet, "Die Another Day? Why can't I Die Now?"
Now, movie aside, you would think that when it comes to the six Bond films being released in high-def, this would have the best quality. Wrong. It's the worst. Somehow, someway, they managed to take the second newest Bond movie and put out a Blu-Ray transfer which actually looks worse than standard def on an HDTV. The film is grainy around just about all CGI aspects (of which there are plenty), and they didn't even try to clean up noise. (Except for shadows, which are unnaturally black compared to other portions of the screen.) On an HDTV the standard DVD release arguably looks better; on an SDTV it obviously looks better. The entire point of a Blu-Ray release is to bring the film to high-def, so why make it look worse?
At least the audio keeps the film on track. Once again we get a remastered 5.1 with lossless audio, and it sounds fantastic. From effects to dialogue to music, the movie has never sounded better-even in theaters.
So the movie is largely stale, the video transfer flopped, and the audio is fantastic. What about the extras? Shockingly, they too are worse than the other Bond films offered in this go-round. While the others are pretty much straight DVD-to-Blu-Ray ports of extras, Die Another Day actually loses one of its best featurettes (the Ministry of Propaganda) in this release.
The features which did make the cut are all solid, even if they aren't presented in HD and look it, but the highlight has to be the commentary by Pierce. It's the first time a Bond performed commentary on a scene-by-scene basis, and it's a real treat for fans. The other features range from boring to so-so, but the other star is most likely the trivia track. It's fun for Bond fans (although non-fans will hate you for playing it), and it does give some life to an otherwise sparse extras lineup.
If you're the type who has to own all of the Bond movies and want to make the jump to high-def, then you're going to get Die Another Day regardless of what I've said. If you were on the fence between picking this or any other Bond film from this set, however, keep in mind that the video transfer for DAD is one of the worst I've seen for a modern movie. If the film itself didn't already sway your decision, that certainly should.
Movie Review: What a waste of Halle Berry!
Summary: 2 Stars
Having grown up with Bond Movies, and I have seen EVERY ONE of them, I must say, D.A.D. was the WORST piece of celluloid EVER (IMHO). The CGI effects in this Madonna laced guano-fest, must have been put together by a cage full of chimps. The scenes with Iccarrus, Bond parasailing on a tidal wave, and racing a giant heat ray were all cartoonish. If you look at past Bond movies, there is not an overly large amount of CGI. After all, the Broccoli family (Producers of almost all JB movies), are know for their over-the-top stunt work. In most of the movies, Bond would have new and more difficult stunts, it was one of the reasons I went to see them. You never saw the same stunt twice.
I was happy to see they went more "traditional" in Casino Royale. (One of the best Bond movies EVER made.)
As for Ms Berry, I think she is one of the most beautiful and talented actresses in movies today, she was really the only worthwhile reason to watch D. A. D. as most of the rest of the flick was nearly unwatchable. Even Mr Brosnen looked as if he would have been doing anything except this awful movie.
I really doubt Blu-Ray will be able to save this dog of a movie. However, if you like Halle Berry, it almost worthwhile picking up the Blu-Ray version. All-in-all, you may want to do something more useful with the $23.95 they have the nerve to charge. I mean, the darn movie has a prolonged scene that includes a sword fight and it is inflicted with Madonna's awful acting, fake British accent, and ever widening.....Waist.
I say, wait until HBO shows this on their HD channels, don't spend your bucks on this guano.