Question the motivation of writers and the ideas they convey. Maybe it's me, but didn't the Cold War end in the 1990s? Maybe North Korea, China and Cuba are just not taken seriously.
The communist countries have been the target for intriguing plots. Three of the last four films in the James Bond series, including "Die Another Day," wove communism into the plot. The latest film provides nothing the audience has not seen.
Nevertheless, Bond (Pierce Brosnan) fights to secure the demilitarized zone dividing North Korea and South Korea in "Die Another Day." In the process of hijacking a diamond trade, Bond kills his target, Col. Moon (Will Yun Lee). But not before he is betrayed and subsequently captured by the North Koreans.
After 14 months in prison, he is released in a prisoner trade initiated by British intelligence for Zao (Rick Yune). The rest of the film features Bond's travels around the world in search of the person responsible for setting him up.
His trip starts in Hong Kong, where he escapes from British authorities and his contacts tell him to go to Cuba. There he picks up a national security agent known only as Jinx (Halle Berry), and discovers Zao is receiving genetic therapy on a small Cuban island. Bond ends up destroying the lab and losing Zao.
In the end, all the pieces come together like they do in all Bond films. He gets away, saves the planet and gets the girl in the new car. Bond is known for his cars and those really cool weapons that fit in the palm of his hand. The ones that bail him out of a pinch and continue the story have helped Bond survive for nearly 40 years.
By the time "Die Another Day" was made, there was no secret to the film's content. Sexual innuendo ran rampant through dialogue. Bond's relationship with Jinx was built on double entendres, but served no purpose because the audience knows he's in. There is no point in trying to surprise the audience after four decades of the same charade.
The Ford Motor Co. and Norelco razor "Die Another Day" included the modern case of "ad nauseam." The film features the sleek new Aston Martin Loganda with its all-leather interior and better mid-range acceleration that combines "the essence of Britishness" - heritage and discipline with a twist of creativity.
The days of classic Bond aren't over as long as the story doesn't change. After the product placement, toys, sex and the predictable plot, the only entertainment value left in the Brosnan era is a few explosions that can be easily simulated with a can of WD-40 and a microwave in the backyard.
