Die Another Day

While Sharon was with Janie in Napa in August, Jack and I watched Die Another Day. Released in 2002, this is the twentieth spy film in the James Bond film series and the fourth and last to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond.

Die Another Day marked the franchise's 40th anniversary. The series began in 1962 with Sean Connery starring as Bond in Dr. No. Die Another Day includes references to each of the preceding films and also alludes to several Bond novels.

In the film, Bond leads a mission to North Korea. He is exposed, captured and imprisoned. After spending a year being tortured in prison, Bond is released as part of a prisoner exchange.  Surmising that someone within the British government betrayed him, Bond follows a trail of clues from Cuba to an ice hotel in Iceland and back to North Korea in an effort to earn redemption by finding his betrayer. Along the way, he stops an invasion of South Korea by North Korea.

In addition to Pierce Brosnan as James Bond 007 and Judi Dench as M, the film stars Halle Berry as Giacinta 'Jinx' Johnson (an NSA agent), Rosamund Pike as Miranda Frost (a double agent who initially poses as Bond's ally), Toby Stephens as Gustav Graves (a British entrepreneur, the main antagonist and a North Korean General) and John Cleese as Q (MI6's quartermaster).

In early 2007, I started an effort to watch all of the James Bond movies in order. Watching Die Another Day completes that project. I am going to go back and watch Casino Royale again in the near future.