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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another Terrific Bond Episode With Pierce Brosnan!, July 16, 2003
This is by far the most interesting and best-produced of the recent James Bond movies, with an interesting plot, breath-taking photography, and a smart, sassy, and able cast making it work. Pierce Brosnan has finally made the part his own, escaping the long shadow of our much-love Mr. Connery by creating a new visage and a new, hipper style for the intrepid Mr. Bond. Here he is joined by the eye-popping Halle Berry, whose emergence from the surf is a welcome sight for these old male eyes. They connect well on the film, with the twist that she is the first Bond conquest ready to love him and leave him, too. The story here is credible and appealing; sent in to assassinate a North Korean general, Bond is captured after successfully and rather spectacularly killing the target. By the time he is exchanged for an opposite number months later, his reputation has been sullied, his loyalty questioned, and his -00 sanction to kill revoked. Bond decides to take things into his own hands, and stepping away from his guarded hospital ward where he is being held under security, begins to unravel the mystery to regain his reputation and his job. Brosnan and Berry are ably aided by a top-notch supporting cast, including Dame Judi Dench, John Cleese, Rick Yune, and a number of notable others. I was, for example, amused to discover the material girl, Madonna herself, popping up in a brief cameo appearance mid-film, and she played her part well enough, but hardly lit up the screen. As usual for a Bond-flick, the action and the pyrotechnics are superb, especially an intriguing use of multiple lasers in a fight scene that has an unusual rhythm to it that is quite well shot, and also a number of interesting and diverting chase scenes that I found quite entertaining. The script is well written, and the usual Bond banter and repartee is as good as ever. All in all, this is a great evening's entertainment, and the only disappointment I had with it is that the credit only alluded to the fact that James Bond would be back, but without mentioning the name of the next film. For we die-hard Bond devotees, that was a disappointment. Otherwise, enjoy!
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