Is DAD any good?

[MGS]

Is DAD any good? Everyone seems to dislike it. I think its a good intro for Bond in the 21st century.

[Cigar Girl]

i think it's more like a good outro for Bond of the 20th century. i'm hoping the next one will be a real intro for Bond in the 21st century.

[Perminisconious]

I personally liked DAD, aside from Halle Berry. I really liked the homages to the previous entries in the series, and while I do like more subdued Bond movies with solid performances, I completely understand why the movie was what it was.

[wdunc]

hmm, could you define what exactly makes a movie an intro to the 21st century. If anything the movie, IMO, based on its content, is definately made for a newer generation - it seemed a bit more action oriented, with some definate over-the-top sequences. Enjoyed the opening and sword fight scenes. It definately had some innovative ideas with regards to the technology. Unfortunately, I think the weaker dialogue in the movie left a lasting bad taste for many viewers. I think the fact that the creators were trying to make Jinx too much like Bond with regards to the significance of her role in the movie and her abilities, might have made the movie a little uncharacteristic of a Bond. I'm torn; wasn't a fan of it as a Bond movie, but I can't think of any other recent straight-up action flicks that I've enjoyed (look at BadBoys2, T3, which both grossed in the top 7 for 2003 in the US).

[i007_Bond_007i]

It's bit too commercialised, "Oh, look at me shaving with my PHILIPS shaver". It's a good film, but not really a great Bond film. It's just bits and pieces of the other Bond films mashed up into one, DAD.

[George Lazenby]

I think it's a piece of trash myself.

[Cigar Girl]

lol, tell us how you really feel.

[PrinceKamalKhan]

I think the first 2/3 of DAD constitutes the most entertaining Brosnan-era Bond cinema to date. The final 1/3 degenerated into a video game and a pallid ripoff of the TLD finale but the first 2/3 are good enough to allow me to recommend it for a couple of hours escapist entertainment.

[wdunc]

kamal - agree with ya 100%

[Spanner]

There's a lot to like with DAD; Rosamund Pike was a revelation, the sword fight was a great sequence if lacking the subdued nature of the tension in the Goldfinger golf match which inspired it. I liked the subplot with Gen Moon, it was remeniscent in some ways of Draco in the parent/offspring dynamics (although it does suggest all the Bond villains from now on will be patricidal, seeing as though we've had two in a row now). There were parts where Lee Tamahori's true brilliance did get out although he too is at his best when he is more subdued. I do like this movie but it isn't up to Bond standards.

[The6thBond]

Die Another Day was a good entrance into the 21st century. The ice gave it a futuristic feeling and the transparent vehicle speaks for itself. For me Die Another Day was a good addition for the Brosnan bond films, its just not on the level of Goldeneye and The World is not Enough. But yes indeed there is plenty to enjoy in Die Another Day except the terrible Halle Berry.

[George Lazenby]

I actually think if the next film is like DAD that the series is dead. But I think they will make a more believable film despite what MGM keeps saying.

[Perminisconious]

I don't necessarily think the series will die. Just the die hard fans coming out for the movie will give the movie a respectable take (but probably won't break it even). Then you consider the additional people who will probably go see it for various other reasons, and it will get a decent chunk of cash. If the box office take starts shrinking dramatically, the budget might be cut back, but I think it would really take a lot for the next movie to kill the series.

[PrinceKamalKhan]

Originally Posted by Perminisconious

I don't necessarily think the series will die. Just the die hard fans coming out for the movie will give the movie a respectable take (but probably won't break it even). Then you consider the additional people who will probably go see it for various other reasons, and it will get a decent chunk of cash. If the box office take starts shrinking dramatically, the budget might be cut back, but I think it would really take a lot for the next movie to kill the series.

Agreed, Perminisconious. Considering the guaranteed cash any film that has the 007 label on it will bring in combined with Hollywood's utter lack of original ideas these days(need I say the new Walking Tall remake starring The Rock?), there will always be Bond films regardless if they're good, bad or indifferent ones.

[the stranger]

DAD had so much potential; I really respect Purvis & Wade for reconceiving some Fleming elements in the past couple movies (having him fall in love with a double-crossing woman in TWINE and his capture & torture in DAD being examples). The prisoner exchange scene was inspired, seeing Bond spitting in death's face ("Let's get this over with, shall we?") was about as Fleming-esque as you can get. But there was definitely something missing in the second half that gave it a hollow feeling; no real sense of tension or danger to it and full of rather empty and cliche'ed dialogue. Plus, the unrealistic elements that are normally pardoned for the sake of allowing the movie to move along swiftly were a bit too unreal and a bit too numerous (putting one's self into cardiac arrest, the "genetic engineering," the visible electricity from the RoboCop suit, etc.)

About the possibility of a demise of the series if another crappy movie gets made, I would agree that it would take more than that. There have always been popular ups and downs in the series (which are often smoothed out with time and retrospection), and the series has survived them. Not unlike re-adaptions of Shakespeare's plays or other archetype-based stories. Perhaps if popular audiences reject Bond again as they did in the times of OHMSS and LTK, there might be a hiatus of a few years before the character is again reinvented, a la LALD or GE, which will spawn new enthusiasm for the series.