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61-473: Die Another Day is a 2002 spy film and the twentieth film in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions . It was directed by Lee Tamahori , produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli , and written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade . The fourth and final film starring Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond , it was also the only film to feature John Cleese as Q , and

122-659: A 00 Agent has been suspended under suspicion of having leaked information under duress to the North Koreans. Bond is convinced that he has been set up by a double agent in the British government. After escaping MI6 custody, he finds himself in Hong Kong , where he learns from Chang, a Chinese agent and old colleague, that Zao is in Cuba . In Havana , Bond meets with NSA agent Giacinta "Jinx" Johnson and follows her to

183-472: A Bourne -type movie." However, despite much speculation of an imminent movie, on 26 October 2003, Variety reported that MGM had cancelled the project. MGM instead decided to reboot the James Bond franchise with the next film, Casino Royale , with Daniel Craig portraying the role of the titular character. In 2020, Berry revealed that the film was cancelled over its $ 80 million budget, saying: "Nobody

244-489: A MORI poll for the Channel 4 programme "James Bond's Greatest Hits" , the song was voted 9th out of 22, and also came in as an "overwhelming number one" favourite among those under the age of 24. Reportedly, twenty companies paying $ 70 million had their products featured in the film, a record at the time, although USA Today reported that number to be as high as $ 100 million. The eleventh-generation Ford Thunderbird

305-411: A gene therapy clinic, where patients can have their appearances altered through DNA restructuring. Jinx kills Dr. Alvarez, the leader of the therapy, while Bond locates Zao inside the clinic and fights him. Zao escapes, leaving behind a pendant which leads Bond to a cache of conflict diamonds bearing the crest of the company owned by British billionaire Gustav Graves. Bond learns that Graves only appeared

366-592: A hovercraft chase ensues, ending with Moon's craft tumbling over a waterfall. Bond is captured by North Korean soldiers and imprisoned by the Colonel's father, General Moon. After fourteen months of captivity and torture at the hands of the Korean People's Army , Bond is traded for Zao in a prisoner exchange across the Bridge of No Return . He is sedated and taken to meet M , who informs him that his status as

427-607: A North Korean operative who Bond seemingly killed. It is an original story, although it takes influence from Bond creator Ian Fleming 's novels Moonraker (1955) and The Man with the Golden Gun (1965), as well as Kingsley Amis 's novel, Colonel Sun . Die Another Day marked the James Bond franchise's 40th anniversary. The film includes references to each of the preceding films. It received mixed reviews; some critics praised Tamahori's direction, but others criticised

488-557: A cover. Bond confronts Graves, but Frost arrives to reveal herself as the traitor who betrayed him in North Korea, forcing Bond to escape from Graves' facility. He returns in his Vanquish to rescue Jinx, who has been recaptured in the palace. As Graves uses Icarus to melt the ice palace, Zao pursues Bond into the palace using his Jaguar XKR . Bond kills Zao by causing an ice chandelier to fall onto him and revives Jinx after she has almost drowned. Bond and Jinx pursue Graves and Frost to

549-545: A film series that would be a " Winter Olympics " alternative to the main series. In the late 1990s, MGM had originally considered developing a spin-off film based on Michelle Yeoh 's character, Wai Lin , in 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies . The spin-off Jinx was announced in December 2002. Lee Tamahori initially wanted to direct, but Stephen Frears was ultimately hired. Berry and Michael Madsen were originally going to reprise their roles as Jinx and Falco, while Jinx's lover

610-524: A makeover for the screening and had been transformed into an ice palace. Proceeds from the premiere, about £500,000, were donated to The Film and Television Charity , of which the Queen was patron. Die Another Day was controversial in the Korean Peninsula . The North Korean government disliked the portrayal of their state as brutal and war-hungry. The South Koreans boycotted 145 theatres where it

671-474: A new era of violent, gritty action-espionage movies" and gave rise to the "stripped-down, no-nonsense" Bond of Daniel Craig . It often occupies a low rank on Bond-related lists. In a 2021 Yahoo! survey consisting of 2200 experts and superfans, Die Another Day was ranked as the third-worst installment after Quantum of Solace and Spectre . The authors of the study did, however, specify that "every Bond film...is always someone's favourite". Die Another Day

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732-415: A new orbital mirror satellite Icarus, which is able to focus solar energy on a small area and provide year-round sunshine for agriculture. Frost seduces Bond and Jinx infiltrates Graves' command centre but is captured by Graves and Zao. Bond rescues her and discovers that Graves is Colonel Moon, who has used the gene therapy technology to change his appearance and amassed his fortune from conflict diamonds as

793-405: A number, and the beautiful foreign agent who comes to love the hero. Lang's Dr. Mabuse films from the period also contain elements of spy thrillers, though the central character is a criminal mastermind only interested in espionage for profit. Additionally, several of Lang's American films, such as Hangmen Also Die , deal with spies during World War II. Alfred Hitchcock did much to popularize

854-663: A red shawl and an evening dress designed by Lindy Hemming , and sold in a gift set with Ken posing as Bond in formal wear designed by the Italian fashion house Brioni . Die Another Day had its world premiere on 18 November 2002 at the 56th Royal Film Performance , a fundraising event held in aid of The Film and TV Charity . The event took place at the Royal Albert Hall in London and Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were guests of honour. The Royal Albert Hall had

915-420: A remake of his 1934 film of the same name . He followed this up in 1959 with North by Northwest (1959), widely considered one of the most influential works within the spy genre. The peak of popularity of spy films is often considered to be the 1960s when Cold War fears meshed with a desire by audiences to see exciting and suspenseful films. The espionage film developed in two directions at this time. On

976-692: A year prior, apparently discovering a vein of diamonds in Iceland leading to his current wealth and celebrity. At Blades Club in London , Bond meets Graves along with his assistant Miranda Frost, who is also an undercover MI6 agent. After a fencing match that escalates into a claymore duel, Graves invites Bond to Iceland for a scientific demonstration. M restores Bond's Double-0 status, and Q issues him an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish with active camouflage . At his ice palace in Iceland, Graves unveils

1037-547: Is Charlotte Gray , based on the novel by Sebastian Faulks . Also during the period, there were many detective films ( The Thin Man Goes Home and Charlie Chan in the Secret Service for example) in which the mystery involved who stole the secret blue-prints, or who kidnapped the famous scientist. In the mid-1950s, Alfred Hitchcock returned to the spy genre with The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 film) ,

1098-554: Is an exercise in loud explosions and excruciatingly bad special effects. The CGI work in this movie is an order of magnitude worse than anything I have seen in a major motion picture. Coupled with lousy production design, Die Another Day looks like it was done on the cheap." Gary Brown of the Houston Community Newspapers also described the weak point of the film as "the seemingly non-stop action sequences and loud explosions that appear to take centre stage while

1159-481: Is heard during the mammoth "Antonov" cue on the recording, and is written for piano. The second new theme, used in the "Christmas in Turkey" track of The World Is Not Enough , is reused in the "Going Down Together" track. The title song for Die Another Day was co-written and co-produced by Mirwais Ahmadzai and performed by Madonna , who also had a cameo in the film as Verity, a fencing instructor. The concept of

1220-483: Is prevented by a soldier. In their struggle, a gunshot pierces the fuselage, causing the plane to decompress and descend rapidly. Bond and Graves engage in a fistfight, and Jinx attempts to regain control of the plane. Frost attacks Jinx, forcing her to defend herself in a sword duel. After the plane passes through the Icarus beam and is further damaged, Jinx kills Frost. Graves attempts to escape by parachute, but Bond opens

1281-702: Is the most famous of film spies, but there were also more serious, probing works like le Carré's The Spy Who Came in from the Cold that also emerged from the Cold War . As the Cold War ended, the newest villain became terrorism and more often involved the Middle East . The spy film genre began in the silent era , with the paranoia of invasion literature and the onset of the Great War . These fears produced

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1342-501: The Chicago Sun-Times , 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". Kyle Bell of Movie Freaks 365 stated in his review that the "first half of Die Another Day is classic Bond", but that "things start to go downhill when the ice palace gets introduced." Several reviewers felt

1403-402: The James Bond novels by Ian Fleming were adapted into an increasingly fantastical series of tongue-in-cheek adventure films by producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli , with Sean Connery as the star. They featured secretive and flamboyant supervillains, an archetype that would later become a staple of the explosion of spy movies in the mid-to-late 1960s. The phenomenal success of

1464-642: The Bond series leads to a deluge of imitators, such as the eurospy genre and several from America. Notable examples include the two Derek Flint films starring James Coburn , The Quiller Memorandum (1966) with George Segal , and the Matt Helm series with Dean Martin . Television also got into the act with series like The Man from U.N.C.L.E and I Spy in the U.S., and Danger Man and The Avengers in Britain. Spies have remained popular on TV to

1525-549: The Korean peninsula and stow away on Graves' An-124 cargo plane. Graves reveals his identity to his father, and the true purpose of the Icarus satellite: to cut a path through the Korean Demilitarised Zone with concentrated sunlight, allowing North Korean troops to invade South Korea and unite the peninsula. Horrified, General Moon rejects the plan, but Graves murders him. Bond attempts to shoot Graves, but

1586-798: The London Underground . Examples include the jetpack in Thunderball and Rosa Klebb 's poison-tipped shoe in From Russia with Love . Q 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. In London, the Reform Club was used to shoot several places in the film, including the lobby and gallery at the Blades Club, MI6 Headquarters, Buckingham Palace, Green Park and Westminster. Jökulsárlón, Iceland

1647-618: The Mr. Moto series, based on the books of John P. Marquand . In the 1940s and early 1950s, several films were made about the exploits of Allied agents in occupied Europe, which could be considered a subgenre. 13 Rue Madeleine and O.S.S. were fictional stories about American agents in German-occupied France. There were several films based on the stories of real-life British S.O.E. agents, including Odette and Carve Her Name With Pride . A more recent fictional example

1708-675: The Nazi espionage thrillers of the 1940s to the James Bond films of the 1960s and to the high-tech blockbusters of today, the spy film has always been popular with audiences worldwide. Offering a combination of exciting escapism , technological thrills, and exotic locales, many spy films combine the action and science fiction genres, presenting clearly delineated heroes for audiences to root for and villains they want to see defeated. They may also involve elements of political thrillers . However, there are many that are comedic (mostly action comedy films if they fall under that genre). James Bond

1769-565: The Bond character is almost relegated to second string." Roger Moore , who played Bond in earlier films, said: "I thought it just went too far – and that's from me, the first Bond in space! Invisible cars and dodgy CGI footage? Please!" The amount of product placement in Die Another Day had been a contemporaneous point of criticism, with the BBC , Time and Reuters referring mockingly to

1830-504: The British 1914 The German Spy Peril , centered on a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament , and 1913's O.H.M.S. , standing for "Our Helpless Millions Saved" as well as On His Majesty's Service (and introducing for the first time a strong female character who helps the hero). In 1928, Fritz Lang made the film Spies which contained many tropes that became popular in later spy dramas, including secret headquarters, an agent known by

1891-593: The Chamber of Secrets and Die Another Day would simultaneously reclaim the number one spot at the box office. For six months, they were both the latest films to return to the top spot at the box office, until Finding Nemo joined the group in June 2003. The film earned $ 160.9 million in the US and Canada, and $ 431.9 million worldwide, becoming the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2002. Not adjusting for inflation, Die Another Day

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1952-710: The PHASST." The satellite attack at the end of the film was at first written to take place in Manhattan, but after the September 11 attacks , it was moved to the Korean Demilitarized Zone . The soundtrack was composed by David Arnold and released on Warner Bros. Records . He again made use of electronic rhythm elements in his score, and included two of the new themes created for The World Is Not Enough . The first, originally used as Renard's theme,

2013-519: The UK box office. Die Another Day grossed $ 47 million on its opening weekend in the US and Canada and was ranked number one at the box office. The film would compete against Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and The Santa Clause 2 during the Thanksgiving weekend. Moreover, all three films were able to defeat the underperforming animated film Treasure Planet . Later on, Harry Potter and

2074-422: The film relied too heavily on gadgets and special effects, with the plot being neglected. James Berardinelli of ReelViews said: "This is a train wreck of an action film – a stupefying attempt by the filmmakers to force-feed James Bond into the mindless XXX mold and throw 40 years of cinematic history down the toilet in favor of bright flashes and loud bangs." Of the action sequences, he said: " Die Another Day

2135-437: The film so that it keeps true to the Bond legend, makes reference to the classic films that preceded it, but also injects a new zest to it all." Entertainment Weekly magazine also gave a positive reaction, saying that Tamahori, "a true filmmaker", has re-established the series' pop sensuality. A.O. Scott of The New York Times called the film the best of the James Bond series since The Spy Who Loved Me . Roger Ebert of

2196-469: The film using the title "Buy Another Day". The producers subsequently chose to limit the number of companies involved in product placement to eight for the next Bond film, Casino Royale , in 2006. Despite favour from fans who prefer Bond's more "camp" films, a comment piece in 2020 stated that it is "considered by many to be the worst entry in James Bond's canon" and compares unfavourably to The Bourne Identity (released months earlier), which "ushered in

2257-520: The franchise's earlier installments." On Metacritic , the film has a weighted average score of 56 out of 100 based on 43 critics, indicating "mixed and average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "A−" on scale of A to F. Michael Dequina of Film Threat praised the film as the best of the series to star Pierce Brosnan and "the most satisfying installment of the franchise in recent memory." Larry Carroll of CountingDown.com praised Lee Tamahori for having "magnificently balanced

2318-584: The helicopter interior shots during the Switchblade sequence. These latter scenes, though portrayed in the air, were actually filmed entirely on the ground with the sky background being added in post-production using blue screen techniques. Although the base is portrayed in the film as a US base, all the aircraft and personnel in the scene are British in real life. In the film, Switchblades (one-person gliders resembling fighter jets in shape) are flown by Bond and Jinx to stealthily enter North Korea. The Switchblade

2379-510: The invisibility effect. Fan reaction to it was above average. After its publication, Benson retired as the official James Bond novelist; a new series featuring the secret agent's adventures as a teenager , by Charlie Higson , was launched in 2005. As the novelisation was published after Benson's final original 007 novel, The Man with the Red Tattoo , it was the final literary work featuring Bond as originally conceived by Ian Fleming until

2440-457: The last with Samantha Bond as Miss Moneypenny . It is also the first film since Live and Let Die (1973) not to feature Desmond Llewelyn as Q as he died three years earlier. Halle Berry co-stars as Bond girl and NSA agent Jinx . In the film, Bond attempts to locate a traitor in British intelligence who betrayed him and a British billionaire who is later revealed to be connected to

2501-548: The nation towards the United States. An official of the South Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism said that Die Another Day was "the wrong film at the wrong time." Die Another Day was released on DVD and VHS on 3 June 2003. It was released on Blu-ray on October 21, 2008. It was released digital in 4K on September 15, 2015. On the first day of release, ticket sales reached £1.2 million at

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2562-617: The offer in order to ask Tony Scott and John Woo , who both declined. Scott claims to have suggested Quentin Tarantino as director, although Wilson denies that any formal negotiations were held with him. Pierce Brosnan suggested John McTiernan , Ang Lee and Martin Scorsese as potential choices, and informally discussed the idea of directing a Bond film with Scorsese on a flight. Brett Ratner , Stephen Hopkins and Stuart Baird were later in negotiations to direct, before Lee Tamahori

2623-481: The one hand, the realistic spy novels of Len Deighton and John le Carré were adapted into relatively serious Cold War thrillers that dealt with some of the realities of the espionage world. Some of these films included The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965), The Deadly Affair (1966), Torn Curtain (1966), and the Harry Palmer series, based on the novels of Len Deighton . In another direction,

2684-482: The parachute, pulling Graves out of the plane and into one of its engines, disabling the Icarus beam. Bond and Jinx escape from the disintegrating plane in a helicopter from the cargo hold, with Graves' stash of diamonds. Later, they spend a romantic evening at a Buddhist temple. After the success of The World Is Not Enough , producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson asked the director Michael Apted to return to direct. Although Apted accepted, they rescinded

2745-613: The present day with series such as Callan , Alias and Spooks . Spy films also enjoyed something of a revival in the late 1990s, although these were often action films with espionage elements or comedies like Austin Powers . Some critics identify a trend away from fantasy in favor of realism, as observed in Syriana , the Bourne film series and the James Bond films starring Daniel Craig since Casino Royale (2006). Some of

2806-402: The publication of Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks in 2008 to mark the 100th anniversary of Fleming's birth. 007 Legends , released in 2012, features Daniel Craig's James Bond in a Die Another Day level. Speculation arose in 2003 of a spin-off film concentrating on Jinx, which was scheduled for a November/December 2004 release. It was originally reported that MGM was keen to set up

2867-479: The reliance on CGI, product placement , the story and the villain. Nevertheless, the film was a box-office success with it grossing $ 431.9 million worldwide, becoming the highest grossing James Bond film up to that time. MI6 agent James Bond infiltrates a North Korean military base where Colonel Tan-Sun Moon is trading weapons for African conflict diamonds . After Moon's right-hand man Zao receives notification of Bond's real identity, Moon attempts to kill Bond and

2928-690: The shore shots were taken near Cádiz and Newquay, Cornwall . Scenes inside Graves' diamond mine were also filmed in Cornwall , at the Eden Project . The scenes involving the Cuban locations of Havana and the fictional Isla de Los Organos were filmed at La Caleta, Spain . The scenes featuring Berry in a bikini (designed to resemble Ursula Andress ' swimming costume in Dr. No ) were shot in Cádiz . The location

2989-584: The spy film in the 1930s with his influential thrillers The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The 39 Steps (1935), Sabotage (1937) and The Lady Vanishes (1938). These often involved innocent civilians being caught up in international conspiracies or webs of saboteurs on the home front, as in Saboteur (1942). Some, however, dealt with professional spies, as in Hitchcock's Secret Agent (1936), based on W. Somerset Maugham 's Ashenden stories, or

3050-531: The title sequence is to represent Bond trying to survive 14 months of torture at the hands of the North Koreans. Critics' opinions of the song were sharply divided; it was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song and the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording, but also for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song of 2002 (while Madonna herself won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress for her cameo). In

3111-421: Was based on a workable model called "PHASST" (Programmable High Altitude Single Soldier Transport). Kinetic Aerospace Inc.'s lead designer, Jack McCornack was impressed by director Lee Tamahori's way of conducting the Switchblade scene and commented: "It's brief, but realistic. The good guys get in unobserved, thanks to a fast cruise, good glide performance, and minimal radar signature. It's a wonderful promotion for

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3172-538: Was cold and windy, and footage has been released of Berry wrapped in thick towels between takes to avoid catching a chill. Berry was injured during filming when debris from a smoke grenade flew into her eye. The debris was removed in a 30-minute operation. Brosnan also sustained a knee injury during the shooting of an action scene in Cornwall . Gadgets and other props from every previous Bond film and stored in Eon Productions' archives appear in Q's warehouse in

3233-415: Was featured in the film as Jinx's car, with a coral colour paying homage to a paint option for the original model , and matching her bikini. Ford produced a limited-edition 007 -branded 2003 Thunderbird as a tie-in for the film, featuring a similar paint job. Revlon produced " 007 Colour Collection" makeup inspired by Jinx. Bond Barbie dolls inspired by the franchise were also produced, featuring

3294-631: Was going to be played by Javier Bardem . Bardem would later play villain Raoul Silva in Skyfall (2012). The film would have revolved around Jinx's entry into the NSA, revealing that she had been adopted by Falco after being orphaned in a bombing and being hired by him from the RAND Corporation to do a job at the NSA as a favour. Wade described the film as "a very atmospheric, Euro thriller,

3355-543: Was hired. Principal photography of Die Another Day began on 11 January 2002 at Pinewood Studios . The film was shot primarily in the United Kingdom, Iceland and Cádiz, Spain . Other locations included Pinewood Studios' 007 Stage and Maui , Hawaii, in December 2001. Laird Hamilton , Dave Kalama , and Darrick Doerner performed the pre-title surfing scene at the surf break known as "Jaws" in Peʻahi, Maui , while

3416-545: Was novelised by the then-official James Bond writer, Raymond Benson , based on the screenplay by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade . An effort is made to depict some of the film's more outlandish elements with more believability, in the style of Fleming's original novels' use of cutting-edge technology. So, for example, the non-bodywork elements of the Aston Martin with its 'cloaking' function (the glass windows and rubber tyres) are described as having retractable covers to achieve

3477-434: Was ready to sink that kind of money into a black female action star." Purvis and Wade said that this decision was influenced by the failure of several action films with female stars, including Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life , in 2003. Spy film Spy films show the espionage activities of government agents and their risk of being discovered by their enemies. From

3538-534: Was released on 31 December 2002, as they were offended by the scene in which an American officer issues orders to the South Korean army in the defence of their homeland, and by a lovemaking scene near a statue of the Buddha. The Jogye Buddhist Order issued a statement that the film was "disrespectful to our religion and does not reflect our values and ethics". The Washington Post reported growing resentment in

3599-424: Was the highest-grossing James Bond film until the release of the next James Bond movie, Casino Royale , in 2006. On Rotten Tomatoes , the film received an approval rating of 56% based on 220 reviews, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Its action may be a bit too over-the-top for some, but Die Another Day is lavishly crafted and succeeds in evoking classic Bond themes from

3660-509: Was used for the car chase on the ice. Four Aston Martins and four Jaguars, all converted to four-wheel drive, were used (and wrecked) filming the sequence. A temporary dam was constructed at the mouth of the narrow inlet to keep the salty ocean water out and allow the lagoon to freeze. Additional chase footage was filmed at Svalbard, Norway , Jostedalsbreen National Park, Norway , and RAF Little Rissington, Gloucestershire . Manston Airport in Kent

3721-654: Was used for the scenes involving the Antonov cargo plane scenes. The scene in which Bond surfs the wave created by Icarus when Graves was attempting to kill Bond was shot on the blue screen . The waves, along with all the glaciers in the scene, are computer-generated. The hangar interior of the US Air Base in South Korea, shown crowded with Chinook helicopters, was filmed at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, UK, as were

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