2002, 2 hrs 15 min., Rated PG-13 for action violence and sexuality.�Dir: Lee Tamahori. Cast: Pierce Brosnan (James Bond), Halle Berry (Jinx), Toby Stephens (Gustav Graves), Rosamund Pike (Miranda Frost), Rick Yune (Zao), John Cleese (Q), Judi Dench (M), Michael Madsen (Damian Falco), Will Yun Lee (Colonel Moon), Samantha Bond (Miss Moneypenny).

Pierce Brosnan looks to be 2-for-4 as the man with the Walther PPK, but is just as likable as his old �Remington Steele� days on the telly.

I really liked GoldenEye, but the last two were instantly forgettable. I barely remember the names, let alone the plots and characters. Die Another Day doesn't register in the Bond top ten, either, but I did appreciate some new twists to the Bond mystique, such Bond actually getting a taste of spy world reality for 14 months in North Korea.

Still, for a guy who went through torture (literally) for over a year, 007 doesn't have any scars to prove it. Dude heals quickly. Which is, after all, part of that invincible Bond aura. Sex for dinner, death by breakfast is what we accept from the suave British agent.

Even though it seems that everyone from Elton John to Joe Blow hated the opening song by Madonna, besides the first 30 seconds where it seems like the sound is going in and out, her theme wasn't bad. The visuals were interesting in the mix of hot/cold babes and Bond in bondage. The song itself won't make the pantheon of great Bond themes, but it had a nice beat, and I can dance to it.

Besides the utterly ridiculous glacier/surf stunt (you�ll know when you see it), the rest of the action sequences were pretty compelling. I like the battle on ice, with both good guy and bad guy in equally gadget-equipped cars. But both surfing bits were a little too "Hey, teens, we're like XXX!" for me.

Still, there was more good stuff, such as Bond working with Chinese intelligence, especially the entire scene in the Hong Kong hotel where they make the deal; decent use of hovercrafts in a chase; and the uber-cool Switchblade personal aircraft.

Halle Berry, I�m sorry to say, just didn't do it for me. I'd much rather have the secondary Bond girl, Miranda Frost (Rosamund Pike). Halle was more distracting than useful in the movie. She didn't look like she knew how to even hold a gun, let alone take down an evil genius. She's too big an actress for Bond hijinks now; her lines were beyond corny, and I felt that the filmmakers thought Pierce and Halle were cuter together than what came across on the screen. If I have to see the clip of Jinks emerging a la Ursula Andress from the ocean in slow motion for two minutes, I'll blast a hole in the nearest genetic therapy center.

I liked that this fight became personal with Bond, as he dueled with main baddie Gustav Gray (Toby Stephens) in the fencing club and showed a lot of emotion, acting less proper in his spying duties. Well, take that back. He didn't have many spying duties here, with most of it involving action, not researching and working undercover. That's not easy when every single person he meets already knows who he is.

The supporting cast is all there, too, and as fun as ever. Judi Dench is a fabulous M, with a stately grace and enough of a wet blanket to provide an edge. Miss Moneypenny (Samantha Bond) gets a fun visit to �reality,� and John Cleese has some fun in the subway with older Bond gadgets. Actor Michael Madsen was a nice touch, and provided some solid surliness as a CIA agent watching Jinks� back rather than James�.

The bad guy may be more Borg than evil genius, but Toby Stephens was suitably creepy as the young British billionaire with an affinity for living life to the extreme. His right-hand man, the guy who actually does the dirty work is Zao (Rick Yune), given the Bond makeover with diamonds embedded in his face. If diamonds are forever, Zao will find himself useful with grave robbers well into the next century.

The movie moves fast in the first hour-and-a-half as you empty your mind (a must) and enjoy the ride. But the last hour is bogged down in some of the more outrageous action and unraveling the weird plot. Director Lee Tamahori seems to go for more artistic style, too, with slow motion shots and even the music turns from upbeat to sad Celtic in at least one spot.

Just once I'd like to see what happens if Bond took on a bad guy who didn't have this otherworldly way to take over the world. But that wouldn�t be Bond, now would it? So judging it on the Bond style, Die Another Day won�t kill the franchise, but won't inspire many more days of abandoning spy work for gaudy action.