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Lee Tamahori, director of Die Another Day, has defended the sci-fi gadgets in the film, explaining that they are based on real-world technology. Pierce Brosnan’s last film as James Bond was poorly received, criticized for the invisible Aston Martin and the bizarre Icarus storyline. The flaw in Die Another Day is not the sci-fi gadgets, but their placement in the story, which lacked credibility.
James Bond director Lee Tamahori defends the controversial sci-fi gadgets in the film Die Another Day. Released in 2002, Die Another Day was actor Pierce Brosnan’s final time playing 007. The film, which also stars Halle Berry and Rosamund Pike, sees Bond attempting to take down an eccentric diamond tycoon who is plotting to use the Icarus solar-powered satellite to start a war between North and South Korea. Die Another Day received mostly negative reviews from critics, who slammed its plot and gadgets (such as a transparent Aston Martin) as being too outlandish.
In a recent interview with CinemaBlend, Tamahori refuted claims that Die Another Day’s technology is over the top. He said that both Icarus and the invisible Aston Martin are based on real-world technology. Check out what he had to say below:
“One of the things I didn’t know about the Bond series is everything that’s in the Bond films, all the gadgets, everything that’s used, the cars, the machine guns, the invisible cars. I know there are a lot of controversial opinions about the invisible cars, but it’s all based on scientific fact. These things were made up. Adaptive camouflage was developed by the Soviets to make the enemy think there are tanks when they aren’t there or they can hide.
“that’s why, [Icarus] … This is based on another Russian attempt to bring winter sunlight to parts of Russia by reflecting the sun’s rays so they could grow crops in the middle of winter. That attempt was ultimately unsuccessful, and the arrays there would be too large to do that, but there was solid scientific justification for it.”
Did Die Another Day lean too far into sci-fi?
Pierce Brosnan’s final James Bond film was a disappointment
Die Another Day’s gadgets may be based on real technology — invisible cars and a satellite that uses solar-powered laser beams to melt ice castles — but two decades later, Die Another Day’s biggest problem isn’t the elements themselves, but how they fit together within the film as a whole. Overall, Brosnan’s final Bond outing felt overdone and silly.
Related: 11 James Bond gadgets featured in Pierce Brosnan movies
Although James Bond gadgets aren’t as prevalent as they were in the Pierce Brosnan era of the 007 movies, they’re still all great gadgets in their own right.
A dash of silliness is a staple of Bond films, but Die Another Day takes the franchise too far into fiction — a key action scene sees Bond surfing a giant tsunami wave in Iceland, for example — and the whole thing just doesn’t seem real. Characters also suffer in Brosnan’s last film, with the villain feeling too generic and overblown, and the grand plan to use the Icarus to detonate landmines between North and South Korea feeling unnecessarily complicated.
This would create a world where Icarus and the invisible Aston Martin would appear in Bond films, but in a more realistic and believable way. Daniel Craig’s time as 007 was well-received in part because he simplified the character in the early films, removing the gadgets and outlandish elements to tell more believable stories. There is certainly room to bring back the silly Bond elements from Die Another Day in future films, but they must be surrounded by believable characters and storylines.
Source: CinemaBlend
007 Die Another Day
Ames Bond is captured and tortured during a mission in North Korea, but 14 months later he is exchanged for a North Korean prisoner of war. Stripped of his 00 status and determined to clear his name, Bond embarks on a globe-trotting journey to expose traitors and thwart a devastating plot. Teaming up with the enigmatic NSA agent Jinx, Bond tracks down a diamond tycoon with sinister connections to his past. The mission leads Bond to an ice palace in Iceland and a devastatingly destructive high-tech satellite.
Director: Lee Tamahori
Release date: November 22, 2002
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Toby Stephens, Rosamund Pike, Rick Yune, Judi Dench
Duration: 133 minutes
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