Rick Yune as Zao in Die Another Day (2002)
The #DiamondZits hashtag is all the rage… 🙂
There are two times when Bond popped up in villains’ databases:
A View To A Kill (1985)
Die Another Day (2002)
Like all James Bond movies I see in the theater (save No Time To Die, of course), I walked out of my first viewing of Die Another Day amped up and declared it the best James Bond movie of all time. I was excited to see it again! And although DAD’s luster surely faded with subsequent viewings and definitely over the years compared to the other movies, as always, there are some bright spots in the movie. Gustav Graves’ introduction is one of them.
As Bond jets to the UK and is served a first-class vodka martini (by Roger Moore’s real-life daughter, FYI) and the Clash’s “London Calling” blares, we are thrust into the ostentatiousness that is the villain, Gustav Graves. Although the movie decays with subsequent revelations of his DNA-altered identity as Colonel Moon, poor acting by Halle Berry and many eyeroll moments, Graves’ intro scene feels like its from a different caliber Bond movie. His entrance (the Union Jack parachute an obvious nod to The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)) and cocky demeanor are spot on for a megalomaniacal Bond villain, and comes off as suave and in control, but definitely annoying and not self-aware. These days, I can’t help but see a bit of Elon Musk in Gustav Graves, unfortunately.
One of the, if not *the*, most out of place sounds/music in any James Bond movie has to go to the use of the song “California Girls” from the “snowboard” scene from the opening sequence of A View To A Kill (1985). Yes, I get that Bond eventually travels to California (and meets girls there I guess?) in the movie and he is technically snowboarding with the snowmobile blade (which is like “California surfing” I guess?), but I’m still going to give the song choice a thumbs down.
I may have approved if the song chosen was the original version by the Beach Boys, but a quick Google also shows this is a cover by Gidea Park, and it sounds like an average one at that. They should have scrapped the idea. How Bond maintains his feet on the blade and gains enough momentum to surprise the skiing bad guys was puzzling enough for the chase, let alone the song choice. It’s fun for sure, but not particularly great.
I was also unfortunately reminded of this scene after watching Pierce Brosnan’s Bond’s absurd snowboarding/gliding scene from Die Another Day (2002):
*shudders*
James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) swaps hands with his Walther P99 in Die Another Day (2002)
The anti-tank defense obstacles make cameo appearances in the beginnings of The Living Daylights (1987) and Die Another Day (2002) seen below:
Czech hedgehogs in the beginning of The Living Daylights (1987)
Czech hedgehogs in the beginning of Die Another Day (2002)
James Bond and his colleagues head to the North Korean shore in the beginning of Die Another Day (2002)
The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai
Korea vs. the Japanese coast, yes…but the layout resembles the painting, IMO!
