My proposal for the best James Bond movie is Die Another Day. Some may find it cartoonish and less gritty and realistic than the Daniel Craig Bond movies and less charming than the Sean Connery ones, but I think it had an interesting global perspective. An English spy is kidnapped and tortured by a corrupt Asian government, He then visits Cuba, meets a beautiful female U.S. spy, and spends time at a “crystal palace” hotel in Iceland made of actual ice, while confronting the only real communist country left in the world.
The movie also deals a lot with fictional or at least cutting-edge technology. The main villain changes his race from Korean to European through medical technology in Cuba. It also shows that James Bond can endure a lot of torture and is not just a playboy. The movie has the typical violence and verbal quips of Bond movies. It incorporates Africa through both the beautiful African- American U.S. spy and the issue of conflict diamonds from Africa.
The main villain, who calls himself Gustav Graves after turning European in appearance, also has an Oedipal conflict with his father, a decent man in the North Korean senior military. The movie ends with climactic fights on a plane in the air, both between men and women.
The movie also has a soundtrack song performed by Madonna and written by Madonna and Ahmadzai Miruai. I think the song is about ascetism and survival when life has been difficult. Here are the lyrics (it is the only Madonna song I still like):
I’m gonna kiss some part of
I’m gonna keep this secret
I’m gonna close my body now
I guess I die another day
I guess I die another day
I guess I die another day
I guess I die another day
I guess I’ll die another day
I guess I’ll die another day
I guess I’ll die another day
I guess I’ll die another day
Sigmund Freud
Analyze this
Analyze this
Analyze this…
I’m gonna break the cycle
I’m gonna shake up the system
I’m gonna destroy my ego
I’m gonna close my body now
I think I’ll find another way
There’s so much more to know
I guess I’ll die another day
It’s not my time to go
For every sin I’ll have to pay
I’ve come to work, I’ve come to play
I think I’ll find another way
It’s not my time to go
I’m gonna avoid the cliché
I’m gonna suspend my senses
I’m gonna delay my pleasure
I’m gonna close my body now
I guess I die another day
I guess I’ll die another day
I guess I die another day
I guess I’ll die another day
I think I’ll find another way
There’s so much more to know
I guess I’ll die another day
It’s not my time to go
I need to lay down
I guess I die another day
I guess I’ll die another day
I guess I die another day
I guess I’ll die another day
Another day
Another day
Another day
Another day
Another day
Another day
Another day