The Good

Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry really bring the level of the proceedings up a notch.

The Bad

Sadly, this film seems to play it by the numbers.In the final installment of this series with Pierce Brosnan as Bond, we see his character globetrotting across the world to try and stop another maniacal killer. This time Bond finds himself moving from North Korea to Cuba as he goes after his foe. He is aided by Jinx (Halle Berry) and of course things between them don't always remain all business. Filled with the classic Bond moments that fans have come to expect from these movies, Die Another Day disappoint so much as it makes us appreciate what has been done with the franchise utilizing Daniel Craig in the Bond role.

I certainly don't think that that Die Another Day is a bad film. It just seems like these are the sorts of movies that could get put on cruise control if the creators are not careful. Afterall, we know that we are seeing a franchise and I don't think anybody ever really thinks that Bond is ever in serious danger.

Features

Commentary Tracks

There are two commentary tracks that are available on this disc. The first one features actors Pierce Brosnan and Rosamund Pike (who plays Miranda Frost). The other commentary track gives us Director Lee Tamahori and Producer Michael G. Wilson. Due to time constraints I wasn't able to listen to both tracks. So what I did was split the difference and switched back and forth between the two of them. The actors discuss certain scenes, breaking them down and discussing what it was like to shoot them. Tamahori and Wilson discuss the logistics of the movie. How they pulled of certain scenes, working with the actors, and what they had to go through to get this project made.

MI6 Datastream Trivia Track

Featurettes

This Blu-ray disc came with the following featurettes:

- From Script to Screen

- Shaken and Stirred on Ice

- Just Another Day

- The British Touch

- On Location

All of these featurettes have been put together because of what they represent to this film. Rather than making one long piece that incorporates the elements of the screenplay, the look of the film, the location in which is was shot, etc., these featurettes have all been cut separately to focus on this film. As someone who writes screenplays I naturally took to the From Script to Screen featurette because I wanted to see how this movie looked when it was originally on the page. It seems like when one writes a movie like this they can put anything that they want in it, because the pockets behind the film are deep enough to cover it.

007 Interactive Guide

Video

2.35:1 - AVC @ 22 MBPS. This movie looked astounding on Blu-ray. There is a lot of action happening on the screen at all times, and this disc really handles it well. I found that the colors were well composed throughout my screening of this DVD, and there was never a moment where Die Another Day got muddy or overly baked in places. Director Lee Tamahori and Director of Photography David Tattersall have managed to make this film translate very well to the home theater experience. So much of this movie feels big and bulky but I never thought it overwhelmed or overshadowed the Blu-ray experience.

Audio

English - DTS HD 5.1 - Master Lossless Audio. Spanish stereo. French 5.1 Dolby Surround. Subtitled in English and Spanish. The audio on this film is quite nicely pieced together. Again, it would have been nice to have had speakers surrounding me because that would have really engulfed me in the experience of this film. The soundtrack is layered in waves that seem to build and build throughout each notable scene. On top of that, I liked how over all 127 minutes of this movie, there was never a point where the sound merely felt like it was going through the motions (even if this movie did).

Package

Pierce Brosnan, holding a gun, is presented on this front cover with Bond babe Halle Berry behind them. The back cover features some shots from this film, a brief description of what this movie is about, a Special Features listing, a credits list and technical specs.

Final Word

I guess I am wondering what Pierce Brosnan must be thinking. I know that we never really look at him this way, but I get the impression that he has a daring streak as an actor. I am sure he would have been up for where the producers wanted to go with James Bond. Yes, I do think that Daniel Craig brings a much different energy and intensity level to this project, but I think that if allowed, Brosnan may have been able to have done that as well. Something tells me that the creative types behind this franchise wanted to completely distance themselves from the past, and by getting Daniel Craig they shook things up enough to make that happen.

This Blu-ray disc is filled with action, adventure and extras... what more could the fans want?