TheJames Bondfilm franchise has created many outlandish and outrageous stunts overthe last 60 or so years of its existence. Whether it’s running over a pack of crocodiles, death-defying chases across harsh terrain, or fighting an army of bad guys underwater, James Bond has just about done it all. But out of all the stunts pulled off in multiple James Bond films, which one is the most ridiculous? After twenty-five films, there is one stunt sequence in particular that takes the cake.Pierce Brosnanis not the worst Bond actor, but he was arguably the star of the worst James Bond film ever made,Die Another Day. WhileDie Another Daywas not exactly a franchise killer, one specific action scene symbolized all that was wrong with the James Bond franchise and why it was time for change. It’s time to unpack whythe surfboard tidal wave stunt was the most ridiculous stunt the Bond franchise has ever seen.
Die Another Day
James Bond is sent to investigate the connection between a North Korean terrorist and a diamond mogul, who is funding the development of an international space weapon.
James Bond Surfs a Tsunami in ‘Die Another Day’
During the scene in question,the wealthy and evil Gustav Graves(Toby Stephens), operates the high-powered laser of his Icarus satellite, attempting to disintegrate Bond. The laser chases Bond over the cliff of a glacier in a high-tech snowmobile. As the snowmobile goes over the edge, it shoots a grappling hook, leaving the vehicle and Bond precariously hanging over the side. As Bond seeks to grab an ejection parachute from the snowmobile’s rear compartment, the Icarus satellite cuts off the edge of the glacier, sending it to the bottom of the ocean. Luckily,Bond manages to daringly survive, utilizing the snowmobile’s parachute and the rear compartment cover as a makeshift surfboard. From there, things only get progressively worse.
The chunk of ice that dunks into the water creates a tsunami, so Bond is forced to ride a deadly tsunami using a parachute and makeshift board. The sequence utilizes garish computer-generated, digital, and green screen effects that have not particularly aged very well over the past few decades.Bond rides the tsunami to a curved iceberg, using it to jump to safety on top of another glacier, with Graves and his forces believing Bond sunk to an icy doom. Of course, Bond survives the madness. Not only were the complex act and Bond’s method of survival preposterous, but the stunt looked utterly absurd as well.
‘Die Another Day’s Tsunami Scene Ruined Brosnan’s Bond Run
Many valid criticisms can be levied againstDie Another Day, with its cheesy, hackneyed dialogue, tropes reaching their breaking point, andthe overall feeling that the James Bond franchise was reaching the end of its rope. However, the surfing sequence symbolizes everything wrong that the franchise had become up to that point. Brosnan portrayed a decent James Bond. His debut entry as the character,GoldenEye, remains one ofthe stronger franchise efforts and debuts. But this particular stunt was downright obnoxious. It showcased how the Bond franchise had become too big, opulent, overstuffed, outlandish, cheesy, outrageous, ridiculous, and over-the-top.Audiences could no longer buy into Bond, and the horrendously rendered tsunami sequence proved unconvincing. The scene lacks any sense of realism due to the badly animated CGI, and the lack of practical stunt work removes all suspension of disbelief.
By comparison, take the snowboarding sequence inA View to a Kill. That works considerably better than the tsunami surfing sequence here. The skiing sequence with Bond (Roger Moore) skiing down a mountain while facing a group of bad guys is not as problematic because it utilizes far more practical visual effects and stunt people performing the actual feats in-camera. There is some compositing and blue screen work for the stunt sequence, but most of the action is performed in-camera. Of all the stunts inDie Another Day,the poor compositing and rendering of the visual effects hurt the surfing scene the most. The CG rendering of the tidal wave and the ice looks poor and ineffectively executed. Brosnan as Bond is not well-integrated within that environment. Action scenes in CG-animated movies have looked far superior and more authentic. It looked less like a hyper-realistic action scene and more like a bad video game cutscene. The scene did not functionally work, andit signaled that the Bond franchise needed to change.
The James Bond Franchise Rebooted With Daniel Craig’s ‘Casino Royale’
AlthoughDie Another Daywas still relatively successful at the box office, grossing over$431 million worldwide, the franchise heads at EON Productions were savvy enough to recognize that the series had reachedthe end of the line with Brosnan.The franchise could not continue moving in the direction of awful CG glitz and glamor, bringing the franchise into the realm of embarrassing unintentional self-parody. Not to mention, it felt like the franchise had veered off course from the roots ofIan Fleming’s original novels. Bond was no longer a blunt instrument for the British government, and he morphed into a one-dimensional superhero.
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To Brosnan’s credit, he had a decent run as the character, and he made the most of his time. Unfortunately, the franchise got away from him in terms of itsoverly outlandish plots and storytelling. The filmmakers became too overconfident that audiences would be content with the typical tropes of the franchise and CG visual effects that were becoming tiresome even in the early 2000s.Die Another Dayis viewed as the black sheep of the franchise, yet it sparked a reset with a more grounded, serious reboot starring Daniel Craig.
Die Another Dayis available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.
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