Rating:

Starring Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Toby Stephens, Rosamund Pike, Rick Yune, John Cleese and Judi Dench

Directed by Lee Tamahori

Produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli

Written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade

Distributed by MGM

132 mins.

Rated PG-13

You have to hand it to Pierce Brosnan. The man can entertain with each turn as James Bond.

It seemed like 007 had been gone for ages when he popped up in 1995?s “Goldeneye” and felt at home in the role in 1997?s “Tomorrow Never Dies.” And while 1999?s “The World Is Not Enough” seemed like a misfire, its imperfections served to make it more like the Bonds from way back than a modern version of the veritable spy. In “Die Another Day,” there?s really nothing new, original, or uncharacteristically spectacular about the ultimate secret agent. But that?s just fine by me.

The film opens with the usual whiz-bang action sequence, setting up fairly realistic villains from the North vs. South Korea conflicts. But embarrassingly, our man Bond gets captured after killing the son of a high-ranking Korean officer. And perhaps more absurdly, we?re treated to an opening credits sequence where Jimmy gets drowned and tortured to the beat of an awful title song. Chalk it up to an otherwise dependable Madonna, who now has the sad distinction of making the first truly awful Bond song. On the other hand, her cameo in the film is quite harmless, and rather charming, actually.

But I digress. Over a year later, Jimmy?s boss, M, barters for his freedom in exchange for releasing one of the bad guys he didn?t kill before his capture. Somehow, M doesn?t trust our “man with the plan,” and so he escapes from her and “Her Majesty?s Secret Service” to fight a few more days. Jim comes to discover a saucy mamma jamma in the likes of Jinx (Oscar-winner Halle Berry for “Monsters? Ball”) and another bad man of sorts in Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens of “Possession”).

A plot involving a life-giving satellite that doubles as another ultimate weapon is the center of this episode?s universe. But as long as Bond kicks some serious booty and makes more serious booty calls, there?s nothing to complain about, right?Well, I was really bugged by that opening. I could deal with the idea of James Bond being captured. But it doesn?t look much different than the infinite other P.O.W. films out there, and we?d like to think he?d be able to get himself out of this one. In addition, that Madonna song is just unforgivable. She should have gotten off her high horse, played it safe and left the writing of the song to anyone else but her.

After those first 20 or so minutes, we get to see our buddy Pierce do his thing. Espionage, taking in the sights, the sounds, the bodies, all in the name of Queen Liz. I just couldn?t ask for more, except from the writers (see the previous paragraph). Berry does well as a Bond girl that can beat a man like an egg in a blender. The producers and writers did some good to allow Jinx to fight ?til the end (as opposed to the many times previous Bond girls have needed rescuing towards the end).

Stephens is another properly suave but sour man in a long line of Bond bad dudes. He follows in the tradition of admiring just how rich and pampered these enemies of Bond are, yet we just can?t wait to see Jimmy kick their behind. And Rosamund Pike, as fencing expert Bond chica Miranda Frost, is a delicious sight to behold. It?s nice to see what good actors can do to pure popcorn, as Stephens and Pike please in such a manner.

As do Samantha Bond, in her incredibly hilarious turn as Miss Moneypenny, and “Monty Python” alum John Cleese as gadget man Q. With a key emphasis on the word “hilarious,” you just have to see it to believe it; to tell more would be to tell too much.

In summation, Bond as a P.O.W. and Madonna on the theme song, that?s almost more than I can take. But there?s almost two hours of other stuff worth watching for, and these movies were always about instant gratification. A handsome and debonair man in the lead, sexy women following him, the life-threatening chaos they?re all involved in, the gadgets needed to resolve the situation with, and the semi-serious way in which it?s all handled.

Anybody who doesn?t admit they watch the James Bond movies for at least one of those reasons is lying. And lying is bad. Our pal Jimmy knows what to do with such bad people. He knew how in 1962, and forty years later, he hasn?t shown any signs of stopping.