DVD Reviews: 007 Die Another Day (Special Edition)

Die Another Day is the very latest in the brilliant 007 James Bond series starring Pierce Brosnan. In direct homage to Fleming and in fact all the other films before it, DAD seems to pack in so many references to those that went before it that my head spun! Quite possibly the fact that the Bond universe has an anniversary this year (40th) and the fact that this is the 20th 007 film, DAD aims to blow all the movies that went before it out of the water - in a tasteful manner of course!

Beautifully presented in this two disc collectors edition, Die Another Day is a visual and aural feast the likes of which I have not seen in a movie for some time. Not being a fanatical Bond fan, although a voracious reader of the books, I could approach this film without too much of the fanboy making exceptions for mistakes and look at the film objectively, and still I am here to say that this film and DVD rocks!

The story sticks to the tried and true formula of bad guy wanting world domination and Bond trying to stop him. Of course throw in a bevy of hotties that James gets to bed and you are set for another great movie. Sticking true to the formula has seen the series go from strength to strength and DAD is not an exception to this rule.

I must confess that my favourite Bonds have been Connery, Moore and Brosnan as I always felt that the others quite frankly were not quite up to snuff. Brosnan is suave, and fits all the other "ahem" characteristics that Bond possesses.

The transfer of this film is absolute heaven and is lovingly presented in widescreen 16:9 format. The soundtrack comes in an absolute plethora of sound options including Dolby 5.1 and DTS-ES which sound sweet as hell. I wasn't sure which soundtrack I preferred as both shone in their own right during different parts of the movie.

20th Century Fox have pulled out all the stops on this disc to make it one of the most fully featured releases I have seen in some time. The DVD is actually a two disc set and there are a multitude of extras on both. The amount of features on both these discs are incredible and will make your head spin (just see below).

Every aspect of this DVD shows the amount of time and care that was put into it, making it one of the best I have seen as far as putting a disc together goes in some time. This is certainly one to please both the die hard fans and the DVD enthusiast. One of my favourite parts of the extra features was the part when they deconstruct the scene where Bond escapes over the ice in a truly amazing vehicle. I won't go into detail just in case you haven't seen the movie yet, but it's fabulous.

All things said and done, you need this movie in your collection for more than one reason. If you are a Bond fan then I don't even have to give you a reason why to get this film. If you are a movie buff or DVD addict then buying this film will enable you to add a movie that totally justifies the DVD format to your collection. Highest Recommendation!