There are 28 films in theJames Bondcinematic universe. The untouchable 007 has been played by seven different men, with potential future casting rumors circulating all the time. With such a breadth of movies behind the unmatched spy series, there are bound to be some misses. Perhaps the most infamous miss was inDie Another Day(2002),the 20th Bond film, which starred the fifth James Bond, Pierce Brosnan, for the fourth and final time. WhileDie Another Daymay not have the worst critical record of its constituents (that distinction belongs to 1967’sCasino Royale), it does contain one of the most divisive and outlandish decisions in the franchise’s history: the use of an invisible car.
Wait, What?
Yes, an invisible car. Basically,Die Another Daybegins with Bond being captured by the North Korean military while in pursuit of their diamonds. After 14 months as a captive, he is exchanged as a prisoner and returned to M (who is, of course, played by Dame Judi Dench). M lets Bond know that he is suspected of having given in to North Korean torture and leaked vital information, and thus his status as a 00 has been temporarily revoked.
On a journey to get to the bottom of things and restore his status, Bond travels to Havana, where he discovers a suspicious connection between the coveted diamonds and a British billionaire named Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens) and his assistant, Miranda Frost (Rosamund Pike). Of course, this is also where he crosses paths withDie Another Day’s designated Bond Girl, Halle Berry. However, in his sleuthing, Bond discovers plans far more sinister than diamonds that he must foil, for humanity’s sake.
Marvel Star Just “Confirmed” His James Bond Casting … and All Because He Is a Watch Man
The world of James Bond casting rumors can be shaken and stirred by the strangest of things.
So, inDie Another Day’s most notorious scene, a car chase ensues on a frozen Icelandic lake. Zao (Rick Yune), one of the film’s main villains, pursues Bond, who drives a tricked-out gray Ashtin Martin.The twist is, using a bunch of incredibly legit and real science that definitely checks out, the car can disappear. Earlier in the film, we heard Q (who in this Bond filmonlywas played by the invariable John Cleese) explain the exciting new contraption to Bond, saying: "Aston Martin call it the Vanquish, we call it the Vanish. Tiny cameras on all sides project the image they see onto a light-emitting polymer skin on the opposite side.”
As Bond himself says in response to Q, “You must be joking.” Well, sure enough, when it comes down to it on the ice, Bond deploys the invisibility on the Ashtin Martin mid-chase, managing to escape Zao completely undetected and, well, die another day.
The Invisible Car That Won’t Disappear
Die Another Daywas the highest-grossing Bond film in history at the time of its release. Now, 23 years later, people pretty much only talk about this invisible car situation. In a cinematic universe full of crazy spy devices, why are Bond fans still so fixated onDie Another Day’s inclusion of an invisible car? It seems the consensus is that it went just a tad too far.The invisible car pushed their otherwise usually grounded hero into campy territory, and that was a huge no-no.
Some Bond scholars go so far as to suggest that the overwhelming negative response to the invisible car was the catalyst for the end of the Brosnan Bond era and the eventual ringing in ofthe much more “realistic” Daniel Craig series,which would begin just three years later. Even the creatives behindDie Another Dayhave been incredibly vocal about their regret for invisible car-gate, such as special effects supervisor Chris Corbould, who said he “was not keen on it from day one.”
Prime Video Cancels Kevin Bacon’s Demonically Underrated Action Horror Series With 83% RT Score After Just One Season
Fans of Kevin Bacon’s new supernatural action series will be massively disappointed by this.
Arguably, however, it is not only the invisible car that causesDie Another Dayto have a somewhat kitschy feel.The CGI leaves quite a lot to be desired,and Brosnan even goes to space (not the first Bond to do so, however, that was famously Roger Moore)!Sure, the invisible car is probably the most egregious part ofDie Another Day, but the whole movie is kind of ridiculous. Watching the 20th Bond film requires a suspension of disbelief that usually isn’t so present in the other movies, despite the fact that you are always dealing with such otherworldly stunts and gizmos.
The invisible car may be a scapegoat for a larger issue, which was just that people were not responsiveto the tonally sillier Brosnan era of filmswhich did not capture the essence of Bond that people had come to love. Still, if you don’t buy this theory and want to diagnose why fans are still so obsessed with the invisible car yourself, or you just want to see Madonna (yes, Madonna) in a 007 flick,Die Another Dayis available to rent on Prime or Apple TV+.
Die Another Day
