Review of Die Another Day

I am going to start with the strengths of this Bond entry. It is for me one of the better-looking Bonds, both the cinematography and locations are truly inspired, and I loved the Icelandic snow palace. The pacing is relentless and the direction is done with fluid style, while the incidental music is good enough. The script has some nice moments too apart from some cringe-worthy one liners, while the action is very intense. In terms of acting, Pierce Brosnan is on fine form as the betrayed and vengeful secret agent. Bond is still charming and witty in some ways, but also tough and angry, Brosnan portrays this excellently. Halle Berry is a nice addition, and Judi Dench and John Cleese are solid too as is Toby Stephens as villainous Graves and especially beautiful Rosamund Pike as chillingly frosty Miranda Frost. However, the plot is quite familiar and quite preposterous in a sense in the second half, and there is an overload of CGI and sadly it's awful. My two main problems though are both to do with Madonna. One is that her theme song is truly grating and one of the more forgettable theme songs. The other is that her cameo as a fencing instructor is truly dire. In conclusion, a mostly solid if slightly disappointing entry in the series. 7/10 Bethany Cox