Summary
James Bonddirector Lee Tamahori defendsDie Another Day’s controversial sci-fi gadgets. Released in 2002,Die Another Daymarks actorPierce Brosnan’s final time playing 007. The film, which also stars Halle Berry and Rosamund Pike, follows Bond as he attempts to take down an eccentric diamond mogul who plans to use the Icarus, a solar-powered satellite, to start a war between North and South Korea.Die Another Dayearned mostly negative reviews from critics and was heavily criticized for being too far-fetched with its plot and gadgets, which included an invisible Aston Martin.
In a recent interview withCinemaBlend, Tamahori pushes back against claims thatDie Another Day’s technology went too far. According to the director,both the Icarus and the invisible Aston Martin are based on real-world technologies. Check out his comments below:
“One of the things I never knew about the Bond franchise is that … everything that’s in the Bond movies, anything gadget, everything that’s used, cars, and machine guns, and invisible cars. I know there’s been a lot of controversial comments around the invisible car, but it’s all based on scientific reality. These things have been made. Adaptive camouflage was developed by the Soviets so they could fool their adversaries into thinking the tanks were there when they’re not there or they could hide.
“So even the [Icarus] … That’s based on another Russian attempt to bring sunlight into the winter months, by reflecting the sun’s rays onto parts of Russia and be able to grow crops in the middle of winter. It never worked out, and it’s too big an array to set up there to do so, but that’s where it had its foundation in some solid science.”
Did Die Another Day Stray Too Far Into Sci-Fi?
Pierce Brosnan’s Final James Bond Movie Missed The Mark
WhileDie Another Day’s gadgetsmay have been based on real technology, invisible cars and a satellite using sun-powered laser beams to melt an ice castle do still feel quite far-fetched, even 20 years later. It’s not these elements on their own, however, that wereDie Another Day’s biggest problem, but rather how they fit into the film as a whole. In general,Brosnan’s final outing as Bond felt too over-the-top and too silly.
11 James Bond Gadgets From Pierce Brosnan’s Movies Ranked
The James Bond gadgets were no more prevalent than during the Pierce Brosnan era of 007 movies, and all of them are great gadgets in their own right.
A little bit of ridiculousness has always been a part of theBondmovie formula, butDie Another Daytakes the franchise too far into fiction. A key action sequence, for example, sees Bond surfing a giant tsunami wave in Iceland, and the entire scene just doesn’t look at all real.The characters are another problem with Brosnan’s final entry, with the villains feeling too generic and campy, and their grand plan with the Icarus to detonate mines between North and South Korea feeling needlessly complicated.
There’s a world then, where the Icarus and the invisible Aston Martin work in aBondfilm, but they would have to be included in a way that feels more grounded and believable.Daniel Craig’s run as 007was well-liked in part because his earlier installments stripped the character down and removed the gadgets and the more far-fetched elements, telling a more believable story. There’s certainly room to bring back some of the sillyBondelements fromDie Another Dayin a future film, but they would just need to be surrounded by believable characters and storylines.
Die Another Day
Cast
ames Bond is captured and tortured during a mission in North Korea, but after 14 months, he is exchanged for a North Korean prisoner. Stripped of his 00 status and determined to clear his name, Bond embarks on a globe-trotting quest to uncover a traitor and stop a catastrophic plot. Teaming up with the enigmatic NSA agent Jinx, he tracks down a diamond mogul with a sinister connection to his past. The mission leads Bond to an ice palace in Iceland and a high-tech satellite capable of devastating destruction.
