Movie · 2002 · Adventure, Action, Thriller · 2h 13m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 1.0/10 (377K ratings)
He's never been cooler.
Overview
James Bond is sent to investigate the connection between a North Korean terrorist and a diamond mogul, who is funding the development of an international space weapon.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.0/10
IMDb: 6.1/10
Letterboxd: 2.56/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 55%
Metacritic: 56
TMDB: 6.0/10
Director
Lee Tamahori
Production
EON Productions
Cast
Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Toby Stephens, Rosamund Pike, Rick Yune, Judi Dench, John Cleese, Michael Madsen, Will Yun Lee, Kenneth Tsang, Emilio Echevarría, Mikhail Gorevoy, Lawrence Makoare, Colin Salmon, Samantha Bond, Ben Wee, Ho Yi, Rachel Grant, Ian Pirie, Simón Andreu
Curator Review
Verdict
A loud, glossy, often ridiculous Bond entry that swings between slick set pieces and camp excess. It’s worth it if you enjoy late-era Brosnan spectacle, icy gadget-driven action, and the franchise at its most overstuffed; less so if you want tight plotting, grounded stakes, or a serious Bond tone.
Best for
Bond completists
fans of big-budget early-2000s action excess
viewers who enjoy campy spy spectacle
people curious about one of the franchise’s most infamous entries
Skip if
you want the best-written Bond films
you dislike heavy CGI and dated effects
you prefer grounded espionage over comic-book absurdity
you’re already tired of formulaic blockbuster action
Overview
Die Another Day is the kind of Bond movie that seems determined to keep escalating until it becomes a joke, and then keeps going anyway. The first half has the familiar pleasures of Brosnan-era swagger, but the film quickly veers into ice palaces, invisible cars, and effects that now feel more embarrassing than impressive. It’s a maximalist spy fantasy with very little discipline, but plenty of noisy invention.
Worth noting
What makes it interesting is not quality so much as excess. The movie is packed with the sort of tacky, overdesigned ideas that can be either intolerable or weirdly entertaining depending on your tolerance for franchise self-parody. Halle Berry and the supporting villains add some sparkle, but the script is overloaded and the action often feels like it’s chasing its own tail.
Bottom line
As a Bond artifact, it’s memorable for how far it pushes the series’ old habits right before the Craig reboot reset the tone. If you like your blockbusters polished, coherent, and self-serious, this will probably be a slog. If you enjoy watching a franchise go gloriously off the rails, it has a certain busted charm.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Mike Ginn (1★) · 2180 likes
wow, first thing that happens is James Bond walks into frame and fires his gun at me, the viewer. I have never felt so disrespected in my entire life and expect better from a man wearing a tuxedo. One star.
adambolt (3★) · 1233 likes
sigmund freud
analyze this
matt lynch (2★) · 763 likes
Nothing but counterrevolutionary imperialist propaganda. A decadent agent of a corrupt Western technocracy forces a Korean comrade patriot to debase himself morally and deface himself literally, so that he can collaborate with and pass for a member of the white ruling class in order to gloriously reunite his people.
Quintin (1.5★) · 483 likes
James Bond sleeps with a girl.
Me: Ah never change Bond. Glad to still see you haven't changed at all in 40 years.
James Bond: I haven't slept with a good girl in a while.
Me: Making creepy comments again, now it's her turn to say she isn't a good girl.
Jinx: "What makes you think I'm a good girl?" She pulls out a knife.
Me: Classic 'all girls are either sexy or evil cliché' from the Bond movies.
Jinx…
Neil Bahadur (2.5★) · 437 likes
One of the most completely incoherent films ever made
1997 · Action, Crime, Science Fiction · 2h 19m · R · Curator 6.2/10 (728.5K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, MGM Plus
For viewers drawn to outrageous identity-swapping melodrama and high-concept action absurdity.