|
Plot Summary
Special
Agent James Bond (Pierce Brosnan), is imprisoned by the North Koreans when
a secret mission goes wrong. After months of torture he is released in
exchanged for an enemy agent. Bond
discovers that his own people think that he has given away top secrets.
His special privileges have been revoked and he is going to be sent for
re-evaluation. He escapes and goes in search of the enemy agent that had
been released in exchange for his own release…
Review
This is the 20th
James Bond movie and with each new movie there is always the question –
Will the latest one live up to the success of the others?
This 20th milestone probably put even more pressure on producing a
success. Anyway, the answer is yes; this latest effort is as good as the
previous movies.
There is obviously an effort to
try and do something a little different with the Bond formula in this
movie. Firstly the movie starts with Bond, fallen from grace and in a
North Korean prison. This is a new predicament for Bond. There is also a
new role for the “Bond Girl”. This time beautiful special agent
‘Jinx’ (Halle Berry) also gets involved in the action scenes and ends
up as Bond’s partner on the mission. However everything else is very
familiar and the ‘tried and trusted’ formula is very evident!
Of course James Bond movies are
all about action and the special effects and stunts are great. Most of the
action is slick and polished but there is one terrible bit that should
have been cut. This scene has Bond surfing away from danger as lumps of
ice come hurdling after him. The scene is so false and badly done that I
couldn’t help cringing.
Like the previous movies this
one has plenty of juvenile sexual innuendo and corny one-liners but a Bond
movie wouldn’t be the same without this and somehow Pierce Brosnan and
Halle Berry manage to pull it off!
This is Pierce Brosnan’s
fourth outing as Bond and he appears to be almost as popular as Sean
Connery who was immensely popular in previous movies. Brosnan is suave and
charming and he makes a likeable hero.
The beautiful Halle Berry plays
American Agent “Jinx” and for a “Bond Girl” she actually gets to
play a big role in the movie.
The
Bottom Line: Tries to be a little
different but follows the usual Bond formula. Bond movies are all about
action, gadgets and girls and it doesn’t matter than the plot and
characters are silly because it’s still fun. If you don’t like Bond
Movies you won’t like this one and if you do like them you won’t be
disappointed.
Official
Site: www.jamesbond.com
Reviewed by Niall Quinn, Premier Movie Reviews 2002 |