JAMES BOND 007 MAGAZINE | BILLION DOLLAR BOND!

Put Your Back Into It!

Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry as Jinx in Die A nother Day (2002)

In order to capitalize on the 40th Anniversary of the 1962 beginning of the James Bond series, Pierce Brosnan’s fourth Bond film was pushed back one year. Titled Die Another Day this 2002 film had to pay homage to 40 years of Bond iconography yet still appeal to 21st century tastes. Especially targeted were the golden demographic of 18 to 30 year old males that Hollywood market research deemed the most valuable audience for a film of this type. Considered the archetype for this demographic was the 2001 film The Fast And The Furious whose co-star, Rick Yune was even cast in Die Another Day as the villain Zao.

Die Another Day would also be the first Bond film in the post September 11th era. While the subject of the horrendous terrorist attacks on the United States was not explicitly dealt with in the film, it certainly influenced the development of the film. The script was altered several times and action sequences were reworked out of sensitivity to the 9/11 attacks.

Returning for his fourth outing as James Bond, Brosnan clearly had the ‘old pro’s grace’ that predecessors Sean Connery and Roger Moore exhibited in their latter entries. Brosnan is a little greyer and a little more weathered when we first see him in the film impersonating an arms dealer in North Korea. But this old pro still has the action chops as he deftly manoeuvres his way through a wild hovercraft chase in a minefield.

The hovercraft chase leads to Bond’s capture by the North Koreans and his subsequent torture and imprisonment by them. This is a significant departure for the cinematic James Bond. Certainly the film Bond has been roughed up in the past but never as a prisoner. The torture scenes are handled quickly and Brosnan captures the steely endurance that we expect of Bond. Beaten, stung by scorpions and doused with ice water, Bond does not break. Supposedly held captive for 18 months, Pierce Brosnan appears with long hair and a scraggy Charles Manson-style beard, a look we have never seen Bond with before. It’s a testament to Brosnan that he brings it off without looking foolish.

Die Another Day (2002) pre-credit sequence

Bond’s liberation from North Korea leads to one of Brosnan’s best scenes in the film, his debriefing with Judi Dench as M. Told by her that he is suspected of leaking information to the North Koreans, Bond’s Double-O status is terminated. Failing to break to his former captors, Bond does not buckle to M’s accusations. Brosnan ably conveys a steely determination to get out of this situation and redeem his honour. Deftly acted by both Brosnan and Dench, this scene bears comparison to the similar scene in Licence To Kill when Bond’s licence to kill is revoked. Brosnan/Bond still respects M’s authority even as she is castigating him.

Pierce Brosnan and Judi Dench as M in Die Another Day (2002)

Brosnan gets his savoir faire back in the Hong Kong scenes after he escapes from his British captors. Walking through a luxurious hotel lobby in wet pyjamas still sporting his shoulder-length hair and beard, Brosnan pulls off another situation that Moore, Dalton and maybe even Connery would look dubious in.

Cleaning up nicely, Brosnan/Bond gets some aid and comfort from the Chinese before setting out on his personal vendetta against the people who betrayed him. There is a nice quiet moment in Bond’s Hong Kong hotel suite when he puts his hand on his chin pensively reflecting on the mission ahead. Brosnan has been criticized in some quarters for using gesticulations rather than acting but this gesture works in the scene.

Pierce Brosnan with Toby Stephens, Madonna and Rosamund Pike in Die Another Day (2002)