Directed by: Lee Tamahori
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, John Cleese, Halle Berry, Judi Dench, Rosamund Pike, Toby Stephens, Colin Salmon, Rick Yune
Bond is sent to Korea to check out the facilities there, and discovers there is are enough weapons and men to run a small war, headed by a Korean Colonel. He goes under cover but someone tips the Koreans off and Bond jumps in a hovercraft and engages in a typical Bond chase having detonated a bunch of C4 in the enemys' faces. He pushes the Korean colonel off the edge and into a massive waterfall and the man is pressumed dead. Then the man's father, unaware of his son's violent activities, turns up and has Bond tortured, and we see his pain during the title credits. Bond is tortured for 18 months. Then M trades for him with a Korean named Zao, but instead of a warm welcome back James is tranquilised and sent to an analysis facility. M thinks he revealed information about them and wants to detain him. But Bond escapes and tries to discover who framed him. Q supplies him with gadgets and he meets the stunningly attractive Jinx along the way. He pairs up with Miranda Frost and meets Gustav Graves, a man with a satellite he calls Icarus and claims it will help third world countries grow crops all year round. But Graves turns out to be the North Korean Colonel we saw 'die' at the beginning, and Frost is revealed to be working for Graves. Having escaped from the rays of Icarus it's up to Bond and Jinx to stop Graves from using his weapon to take over South Korea.
Plot hole: In the pre-title sequence, James Bond travels in a hovercraft along the dirt road, which is full of landmines. Soon after reaching the waterfall at the end, trucks drive up along the road he just drove in on to capture him. As there was only one road into the waterfall complex, the landmines must have all disappeared, as earlier on in that sequence, we are informed that the only way that the North Koreans can avoid the mines along that road is by hovercraft. (00:12:05)
James Bond: Vodka martini, plenty of ice... If you can spare it.
Trivia: This is Pierce Brosnan's least favourite Bond movie of the four in which he appeared. Brosnan disliked the over-the-top special effects and gadgets, and suggested to the producers that the follow-up should be dark and gritty. After Brosnan left, the series was indeed given a grittier reboot.
Question: Is it possible to stop your heart as it seems that James Bond did in this film when he is in hospital, or not? My partner believes that it's not possible.
Answer: Consciously slowing one's own heart rate to barely beating (usually performed by a mystical guru-type character in film or literature) is a myth. It is possible to slightly slow the heartbeat with meditation and relaxation, but completely stopping and restarting it is impossible.
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