Die Another Day

Poor old James Bond, all dressed up and nowhere to go. His latest mission sees him betrayed and, despite a thrilling escape attempt on a hovercraft, he is captured by the North Koreans.

Eighteen months of torture later, looking like Robinson Crusoe's hairier brother, he is traded for a Korean terrorist.

Once back in the bosom of MI6, he finds himself redundant, his licence to kill revoked by an unrepentant M.

But this is only 20 minutes into the film, and James still has exotic locations to visit, gadgets to play with and women to bed.

He also has two meglamaniacs to kill and the world to save while trying to track down the traitor.

Business as usual, then, as the Bond producers try to reinvent the world's favourite secret agent in the 21st-century.

All the tried-and-tested ingredients are there, along with a harder age, credible characters and a satisfyingly complex plot.

That the whole mix isn't so satisfying can be blamed on the producers' use of flashy action-film techniques.

Yes, there is an effective pre-credits sequence, an exciting half-time swordfight and a heart-pounding mid-air climax.

But there are some truly ridiculous moments: an invisible car, a cacaphonic theme song and a computer-generated para-surfing scene that looks decidedly fake.

And the big chase -- two weapon-packed sports cars on an ice lake -- is spoiled by the quick editing so beloved of "cool" modern directors.

At least Die Another Day is better than Bond's last outing and certainly good enough to keep we fans happy.

Die Another Day (12a) is at Keighley Picture House daily, as is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (PG).