Image via Wikipedia
“Die another Day – UK cinema poster” by Intralink Film Graphic Design – Source. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.
If I’m not mistaken, this was the first post 9/11 Bond film — was North Korea sufficiently “Axis of Evil” enough without being too close to Middle East terrorism? When M meets Bond in the abandoned train station, she mentions much had changed in the world during his imprisonment — is this a reference to 9/11? In addition, this movie feels much more militaristic than the past — especially in the command room scene, and when Bond and Jinx are running around in camo.
Plot in twenty words or less: North Korea’s interest in blood diamonds are interrupted by dudes swapping their entire genetic material
How it’s aged: Well for 2014, the storyline of a North Korean dictator’s insane power-hungry son is certainly still on point.
Something that was just weird and/or WTF y’all: The real sword fight initiated by Graves upped the WTF-ante many levels
Obligatory feminist commentary: Does M essentially tell Frost to sleep with other agents — including Bond — as part of her job? Is Frost the first double-agent we’ve seen? I thought the scene with Bond reviving Jinx from near-death was actually one of the most tender scenes we’ve seen from Bond in a long, long time.
I love how Frost attacks Jinx in only her bra, and then Jinx removes her jacket for the sword fight. And then Jinx finishes her off by saying, “Read this, BITCH” as she pins the Art of War to Frost. Did a junior high boy wrote this scene?
Completely hypothetical cultural reference points: The laser on Jinx is straight from Goldfinger, and I also think her bikini is definitely meant to remind us of Honey Ryder from Dr No. There were some other references to previous Bond films I didn’t catch, apparently.
Superficial Thing that did not Amuse Me: I really hated the background scenes of Bond being tortured as part of the opening credits. Also, there were noticeably bad special effects, and slow-motion effects.
Superficial Thing that highly Amused Me: I think MI6 surfers are a new addition to the Bond franchise…
Interesting and possibly dubious thing I learned from Wikipedia: Halle Berry had an eye operation during filming because of flying debris
Martini rating: Four martinis 
Administrative information concerning this viewing:
Drinks consumed: N/A
Food eaten: N/A (boring I know!)
Viewed on: October 25-26
Viewing Partner: The cat
*Not her real name. All my viewing buddies are getting Bond-girl aliases.