An outing which represents a first for the Bond franchise i.e. one that fails abjectly in virtually every discernible area. The most prominent one being that of a cut'n'paste, dog's dinner of a screenplay that looks as though it was cobbled together by the screenwriters during their dinner break. Previous entries such as 'OHMSS' and 'From Russia With Love' managed to treat their audiences with more than a modicum of intelligence. This is in stark contrast to D.A.D. which seemed to be aiming for an audience predominately populated by XXX-loving, popcorn-munching, baseball capped cretins who will demand the right to see as many things blown up as possible with at least as many people being either shot or wasted whilst being assured that such minor trivialities as 'plot' or 'characterization' are not allowed to spoil their enjoyment of proceedings.
The standard of acting varies from merely perfunctory to downright dreadful. Brosnan simply goes through the motions whilst Halle Berry tries desperately hard to pass what turned out to be an audition for her own character's franchise but ends up being the most irritating leading lady since Tanya Roberts. In her Ursula Andress homage (on second thoughts, make that 'rip-off'), you can almost sense Tamahori saying 'That's right, Halle, swivel your hips. A bit more. A bit more. Keep going and cut !!!' Any chemistry with 007 is all but non-existent with their 'banter' being invariably puerile and tedious.
We have a nemesis who is totally lacking in anything remotely resembling charisma, threat or menace. Indeed Gustav Graves' only real 'gimmick' appears to be a total lack of need for sleep ( watching this drivel would soon change that ). The obligatory henchman, Zao, had mild potential but was under-used.
Much has been said about the risible CGI sequence involving the ice wave ( and deservedly so ) but, for me, the sequence which preceded it was even more ludicrous. Our hero is doing about 300mph in a rocket car and heading for a plunge to his certain death. Don't fret, however, as a trailing anchor digs a few inches into the ice and, over the space of a few yards, brings the car to a complete halt, causing it to flip over the edge and smash into the side of the precipice without so much as a scratch on the vehicle and 007 left not the least bit shaken nor stirred. It was a scene which was more akin to 'The Wacky Races' with Dastardly & Muttley once again receiving their come-uppance.
On the subject of growlers, the living legend (in her own mind) that is Madonna ensured that the title 'song' would, by several light years, be the worst ever. However, Madge's monstrous ego ensured that her contribution to proceedings wouldn't end there and so the unsuspecting viewing audience would then be treated to an equally awful cameo. Did Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones or Carly Simon receive cameos ? Of course not. Many would correctly say that none of them can act. However, based on the evidence of D.A.D. and a clutch of other big-screen stinkers, neither can Madonna.
Pierce Brosnan's outrageous salary demand ( £24 million ) for the next epic appeared to give the producers little option but to announce that it was 'taxi for Brosnan'. Granted, this sage and onion-stuffed extravaganza managed to trouser over 400 mill at the box office so many might say that it's only fair that he's entitled to be angling for a bigger slice of the pie. Never-the-less it sure as hell wouldn't have just been Brosnan's name that sold tickets for a film which I'm sure would still have made a mint even if Graham Norton had been donning the tuxedo. OK, perhaps a slight exaggeration but clearly no individual is bigger than the licenced to kill ( and make money ) Bond franchise.
All-in-all, a charmless, hideous mess that tries, like 'Octopussy', to cram too much in. The introduction of Daniel Craig (and hopefully a decent script) can perhaps inject the series with fresh impetus to help prevent the 007 money-making juggernaut from going the same way as the one from 'Duel'.
The standard of acting varies from merely perfunctory to downright dreadful. Brosnan simply goes through the motions whilst Halle Berry tries desperately hard to pass what turned out to be an audition for her own character's franchise but ends up being the most irritating leading lady since Tanya Roberts. In her Ursula Andress homage (on second thoughts, make that 'rip-off'), you can almost sense Tamahori saying 'That's right, Halle, swivel your hips. A bit more. A bit more. Keep going and cut !!!' Any chemistry with 007 is all but non-existent with their 'banter' being invariably puerile and tedious.
We have a nemesis who is totally lacking in anything remotely resembling charisma, threat or menace. Indeed Gustav Graves' only real 'gimmick' appears to be a total lack of need for sleep ( watching this drivel would soon change that ). The obligatory henchman, Zao, had mild potential but was under-used.
Much has been said about the risible CGI sequence involving the ice wave ( and deservedly so ) but, for me, the sequence which preceded it was even more ludicrous. Our hero is doing about 300mph in a rocket car and heading for a plunge to his certain death. Don't fret, however, as a trailing anchor digs a few inches into the ice and, over the space of a few yards, brings the car to a complete halt, causing it to flip over the edge and smash into the side of the precipice without so much as a scratch on the vehicle and 007 left not the least bit shaken nor stirred. It was a scene which was more akin to 'The Wacky Races' with Dastardly & Muttley once again receiving their come-uppance.
On the subject of growlers, the living legend (in her own mind) that is Madonna ensured that the title 'song' would, by several light years, be the worst ever. However, Madge's monstrous ego ensured that her contribution to proceedings wouldn't end there and so the unsuspecting viewing audience would then be treated to an equally awful cameo. Did Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones or Carly Simon receive cameos ? Of course not. Many would correctly say that none of them can act. However, based on the evidence of D.A.D. and a clutch of other big-screen stinkers, neither can Madonna.
Pierce Brosnan's outrageous salary demand ( £24 million ) for the next epic appeared to give the producers little option but to announce that it was 'taxi for Brosnan'. Granted, this sage and onion-stuffed extravaganza managed to trouser over 400 mill at the box office so many might say that it's only fair that he's entitled to be angling for a bigger slice of the pie. Never-the-less it sure as hell wouldn't have just been Brosnan's name that sold tickets for a film which I'm sure would still have made a mint even if Graham Norton had been donning the tuxedo. OK, perhaps a slight exaggeration but clearly no individual is bigger than the licenced to kill ( and make money ) Bond franchise.
All-in-all, a charmless, hideous mess that tries, like 'Octopussy', to cram too much in. The introduction of Daniel Craig (and hopefully a decent script) can perhaps inject the series with fresh impetus to help prevent the 007 money-making juggernaut from going the same way as the one from 'Duel'.