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Die Another Day Redone
I've been working on this for a while and it's my attempt to mould DAD into something decent without changing it completely. Some of the changes I made weren't done because I wanted to but more because they fit in with this version (like the fencing, I really like that bit but the new baddy would be too old for it to look good so I replaced it with the bridge bit from MR).
First we have the gunbarrel, without the CGI bullet, and instead of surfing Bond and the others use wingsuits to get onto the beach. The PTS is otherwise exactly the same except Moon isn't buying conflict diamonds, he's buying a missile guidance device that was designed for nuclear missiles. Anyway Bond is found out so he kills Moon, gets captured, etc. Cue title sequence and a theme song that isn't Madonna.
Bond is traded for Zao and ends up on the boat, but he escapes. He doesn't stop his heart though, instead he does it First Blood style. Staff come in to give him a hair cut and get him sorted out but this causes flashbacks to North Korea and Bond beats the sh*t out of all of them, then strolls off. Everything plays out pretty much the same, Bond still waltzes into the hotel with nothing but pyjama trousers, still meets Chang, etc, except Bond seems more damaged by what's happened. He meets Jinx in Cuba (minus the DN reference), who is a better written character than in the film, but doesn't bang her or even seem that interested in her yet. He's after Zao.
Zao isn't having gene therapy, the clinic isn't for that. Instead he's there getting the diamonds removed from his face and having reconstructive surgery. Bond messes this up because he finds Zao, same as in the film, and fights him. The whole clinic sequence is pretty much the same except Bond doesn't grab a diamond off Zao. Instead Zao has a mobile which Bond takes before questioning him. Zao breaks out and escapes, Bond has the chance to kill him but fails and misses because he's still rusty.
Gustav Graves is a different character. An old russian pacifist genius called Vladimir Grubozaboyschikov who made a fortune and is now an industrialist who has a company which disarms nuclear weapons, cleans up powerplants, etc. Ideally someone like Anthony Hopkins to play him. Miranda Frost is still his assistant and he's been in contact with Zao, which is why Bond investigates him, he's the only contact on Zao's phone. Bond doesn't fence him, instead Blades is a club like MR and when Bond meets him he's cheating at bridge, but Bond manages to beat him. VG (I'm not typing his name again) invites Bond to Iceland (although this time it's a celebration, a party to celebrate how well his company are doing, not a demonstration) and Bond is given the key, etc.
Bond meets M just like in the film except this time, she wants to see if Bond is ready before she sends him off again. It's a bit like SF, he fails all the tests. He can't shoot, he's unfit, etc. He's very damaged after being in Korea for so long. M has to send him though because it's the only way she can investigate VG. Not only is he a knight and a very well respected pacifist, he's also a former Soviet double agent. She tells Bond that he supplied the west with lots of important intel (including plans of the facility that Bond and Alec broke into in GE), and that they might not have won the cold war without him. He also helped train several MI6 agents. M knows from the phone Bond retrieved that he's been in contact with Zao but due to some sort of protective technology, MI6 can't actually access the phone calls and texts between them. She also suspects that his company is actually a front for something dangerous but the Prime Minister would never let her investigate him properly. However Bond isn't an agent anymore, so he's sent on an off the books assignment to Iceland.
Before Bond goes he meets Q who gives him the Vanquish. It doesn't turn invisible any more but it still has rockets, machine guns, etc. Q also gives him the laser watch and the ring gadget like in the film. Also we see M meet the new 007 that took Bond's place while he was in Korea: Miranda Frost. She's been working deep cover, etc, like in the film. However, she can't take the risks Bond can because she can't risk getting caught, she's an official agent. M tells her to watch out for Bond and to protect him because M really doesn't think that Bond is up to it.
Bond goes to Iceland and meets VG, and later at the party he meets Jinx again. He also meets Frost and sleeps with her. Jinx is later caught spying on a meeting between Zao, General Moon and VG where VG confirms that he's been stockpiling nuclear weapons and that he's going to give these weapons to the North Koreans. She's handed over to some random guard (not Mr Kil, he's not in it anymore), who takes her somewhere to lock her up for questioning later, but Bond attacks the guard, Bond is struggling, he's still not 100%, but he knocks out the guard after using his Omega as a knuckleduster. Jinx tells Bond about what she heard and Bond figures things out, he sends Jinx to get backup and goes to confront VG like in the film.
Bond confronts VG and reveals he's figured out the truth: VG isn't VG. The real VG died before the wall fell. The baddy Bond is facing is a soviet agent that killed him when he found out about him selling secrets. But the villain knew that the cold war wouldn't last much longer and that communism was coming to an end. So he stole VG's identity (he'd kept his appearance secret to protect himself), and lied to MI6, saying he was going to be found out. He defected to the west and the cold war ended. That's why he's supplying the North Korean's with nuclear weapons, he's actually a communist who hates the west. Zao turns up but so does Miranda Frost, who reveals herself as a double agent and the mole that set Bond up in Korea. She was trained by VG like other MI6 agents but he saw something in her and brainwashed her, managing to get her to switch sides, creating a mole for the Koreans. Bond escapes with the ring gadget like in the film and legs it.
Bond finds Jinx and they head to Bonds car to escape but Zao spots them and chases them. The car chase is pretty much the same, with a bit less emphasis on gadgets (and no invisibilty), and Bond kills Zao (same as in the film but without the car turning invisible), but Frost, Moon and VG escape. Later on M and Michael Madsen tell Bond and Jinx that VG plans to move the weapons to North Korea soon. They have to act quickly. Madsen wants to send Jinx and Bond wants to go too. M isn't so sure but Bond is better now, he persuades her to let him go and M restores his 00 status.
VG, Frost and Moon are at VG's base on his private island overseeing the transfer of the weapons. Bond and Jinx scuba dive and swim through some abandoned tunnels to sneak onto the island. They move through the jungle and manage to board the plane. Bond finds VG and Moon and holds a gun to Moon's head while Jinx locates the warheads in the cargo hold. Jinx goes to open the back, to ditch the warheads in the sea, but Frost turns up and they fight (but it's not a sword fight like in the film). Meanwhile one of the guards attempts to shoot Bond while he has Moon hostage and a gunfight breaks out. Bond is hit in the shoulder but he kills the guards and Moon, and wounds VG. He prepares to kill VG but VG begs Bond to let him pray first. Bond is unable to execute VG while he's in such a state and grants him his last request. VG starts praying but as Bond lowers his gun he dives for one of the guards' rifles. Bond without hesitation puts a bullet in his head.
The plane is going down now and Bond rushes to the back where Jinx has killed Frost. They get a parachute each and Jinx looks at her watch (which is a gadget showing where they are) takes note of their coordinates so that the goverment can find the warheads and then Bond opens the back. Everything, including Bond and Jinx, goes flying out, but they have parachutes and they survive. Later they've managed to make it land and they have sex. The Moneypenny bit isn't in the film anymore. The end.
So what does everyone think? I know it's not great but I think the story is better than what we got in the film and I tried to get some Fleming into it.
First we have the gunbarrel, without the CGI bullet, and instead of surfing Bond and the others use wingsuits to get onto the beach. The PTS is otherwise exactly the same except Moon isn't buying conflict diamonds, he's buying a missile guidance device that was designed for nuclear missiles. Anyway Bond is found out so he kills Moon, gets captured, etc. Cue title sequence and a theme song that isn't Madonna.
Bond is traded for Zao and ends up on the boat, but he escapes. He doesn't stop his heart though, instead he does it First Blood style. Staff come in to give him a hair cut and get him sorted out but this causes flashbacks to North Korea and Bond beats the sh*t out of all of them, then strolls off. Everything plays out pretty much the same, Bond still waltzes into the hotel with nothing but pyjama trousers, still meets Chang, etc, except Bond seems more damaged by what's happened. He meets Jinx in Cuba (minus the DN reference), who is a better written character than in the film, but doesn't bang her or even seem that interested in her yet. He's after Zao.
Zao isn't having gene therapy, the clinic isn't for that. Instead he's there getting the diamonds removed from his face and having reconstructive surgery. Bond messes this up because he finds Zao, same as in the film, and fights him. The whole clinic sequence is pretty much the same except Bond doesn't grab a diamond off Zao. Instead Zao has a mobile which Bond takes before questioning him. Zao breaks out and escapes, Bond has the chance to kill him but fails and misses because he's still rusty.
Gustav Graves is a different character. An old russian pacifist genius called Vladimir Grubozaboyschikov who made a fortune and is now an industrialist who has a company which disarms nuclear weapons, cleans up powerplants, etc. Ideally someone like Anthony Hopkins to play him. Miranda Frost is still his assistant and he's been in contact with Zao, which is why Bond investigates him, he's the only contact on Zao's phone. Bond doesn't fence him, instead Blades is a club like MR and when Bond meets him he's cheating at bridge, but Bond manages to beat him. VG (I'm not typing his name again) invites Bond to Iceland (although this time it's a celebration, a party to celebrate how well his company are doing, not a demonstration) and Bond is given the key, etc.
Bond meets M just like in the film except this time, she wants to see if Bond is ready before she sends him off again. It's a bit like SF, he fails all the tests. He can't shoot, he's unfit, etc. He's very damaged after being in Korea for so long. M has to send him though because it's the only way she can investigate VG. Not only is he a knight and a very well respected pacifist, he's also a former Soviet double agent. She tells Bond that he supplied the west with lots of important intel (including plans of the facility that Bond and Alec broke into in GE), and that they might not have won the cold war without him. He also helped train several MI6 agents. M knows from the phone Bond retrieved that he's been in contact with Zao but due to some sort of protective technology, MI6 can't actually access the phone calls and texts between them. She also suspects that his company is actually a front for something dangerous but the Prime Minister would never let her investigate him properly. However Bond isn't an agent anymore, so he's sent on an off the books assignment to Iceland.
Before Bond goes he meets Q who gives him the Vanquish. It doesn't turn invisible any more but it still has rockets, machine guns, etc. Q also gives him the laser watch and the ring gadget like in the film. Also we see M meet the new 007 that took Bond's place while he was in Korea: Miranda Frost. She's been working deep cover, etc, like in the film. However, she can't take the risks Bond can because she can't risk getting caught, she's an official agent. M tells her to watch out for Bond and to protect him because M really doesn't think that Bond is up to it.
Bond goes to Iceland and meets VG, and later at the party he meets Jinx again. He also meets Frost and sleeps with her. Jinx is later caught spying on a meeting between Zao, General Moon and VG where VG confirms that he's been stockpiling nuclear weapons and that he's going to give these weapons to the North Koreans. She's handed over to some random guard (not Mr Kil, he's not in it anymore), who takes her somewhere to lock her up for questioning later, but Bond attacks the guard, Bond is struggling, he's still not 100%, but he knocks out the guard after using his Omega as a knuckleduster. Jinx tells Bond about what she heard and Bond figures things out, he sends Jinx to get backup and goes to confront VG like in the film.
Bond confronts VG and reveals he's figured out the truth: VG isn't VG. The real VG died before the wall fell. The baddy Bond is facing is a soviet agent that killed him when he found out about him selling secrets. But the villain knew that the cold war wouldn't last much longer and that communism was coming to an end. So he stole VG's identity (he'd kept his appearance secret to protect himself), and lied to MI6, saying he was going to be found out. He defected to the west and the cold war ended. That's why he's supplying the North Korean's with nuclear weapons, he's actually a communist who hates the west. Zao turns up but so does Miranda Frost, who reveals herself as a double agent and the mole that set Bond up in Korea. She was trained by VG like other MI6 agents but he saw something in her and brainwashed her, managing to get her to switch sides, creating a mole for the Koreans. Bond escapes with the ring gadget like in the film and legs it.
Bond finds Jinx and they head to Bonds car to escape but Zao spots them and chases them. The car chase is pretty much the same, with a bit less emphasis on gadgets (and no invisibilty), and Bond kills Zao (same as in the film but without the car turning invisible), but Frost, Moon and VG escape. Later on M and Michael Madsen tell Bond and Jinx that VG plans to move the weapons to North Korea soon. They have to act quickly. Madsen wants to send Jinx and Bond wants to go too. M isn't so sure but Bond is better now, he persuades her to let him go and M restores his 00 status.
VG, Frost and Moon are at VG's base on his private island overseeing the transfer of the weapons. Bond and Jinx scuba dive and swim through some abandoned tunnels to sneak onto the island. They move through the jungle and manage to board the plane. Bond finds VG and Moon and holds a gun to Moon's head while Jinx locates the warheads in the cargo hold. Jinx goes to open the back, to ditch the warheads in the sea, but Frost turns up and they fight (but it's not a sword fight like in the film). Meanwhile one of the guards attempts to shoot Bond while he has Moon hostage and a gunfight breaks out. Bond is hit in the shoulder but he kills the guards and Moon, and wounds VG. He prepares to kill VG but VG begs Bond to let him pray first. Bond is unable to execute VG while he's in such a state and grants him his last request. VG starts praying but as Bond lowers his gun he dives for one of the guards' rifles. Bond without hesitation puts a bullet in his head.
The plane is going down now and Bond rushes to the back where Jinx has killed Frost. They get a parachute each and Jinx looks at her watch (which is a gadget showing where they are) takes note of their coordinates so that the goverment can find the warheads and then Bond opens the back. Everything, including Bond and Jinx, goes flying out, but they have parachutes and they survive. Later they've managed to make it land and they have sex. The Moneypenny bit isn't in the film anymore. The end.
So what does everyone think? I know it's not great but I think the story is better than what we got in the film and I tried to get some Fleming into it.
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Comments
Shame we didn't get this film.
I nicked that bit from the Nightfire game. Always thought it was quite a clever idea that was worthy of being used in the films, a company disarming nuclear weapons is actually smuggling them.
Yeah that's one of my biggest problems with the film. The North Korea section is brilliant but after the boat scene Bond seems to have gotten over it. The film should have been about a damaged Bond getting his mojo back, like in Skyfall. Instead Bond was just his normal self.
Another (sort of) Fleming reference was VG. I got his name from the head of SMERSH in FRWL and I tried to make him a bit like the book Hugo Drax: an enemy from a finished war who's managed to infiltrate British society. Except I modernised it by making him a Russian rather than a Nazi, which I thought fit in well with the Korea stuff given that both nations were communists.
Thinking about it now though, since I took Moon/Graves out of the film post PTS, the title doesn't make much sense at all. That'd have to change, not sure what to though.
I was going to keep the fencing, but then I realised that the villain I was picturing was an old man and I thought that'd look a bit stupid so I changed it to the bridge bit from the book.
Glad you liked it. Yeah Blades was a bit of a waste in the film, I hope DAD using Blades doesn't put them off including it in a future Bond film.
I also enjoy the fact your Bond has troubles to recover and has no invisible car, it's surely more realistic. But IMHO, you should have kept the fencing sequence which was one of the best part of the original screenplay. Still very good. Congrats.
It's a great part of the MR novel- it would be a shame to dismiss it for such a superficial reason. I'm sure they could just rename the club to something else, perhaps one of the other clubs Fleming mentions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blades_Club
It was an outrage that DAD turned Blades into a fencing scene. The Blades card game is one of the best parts of MR and they completely screwed it up.
I have created a few small edits to Die Another Day's story, which in my opinion of course, improves rather well on the original.
I try to avoid recasting with an actor that hasnt already been involved with the series, and I wont be going scene for scene.
The key for these posts( and if anyone else would like to contibute, or do there own version please feel free) is to stick to the basic notion of the plot.
So then, on to the film proper.
The big change I will make character wise, is I am writing out Jinx. I found her to be a poor character, and the dialogue between her and Bond was truly risible and insipid at times.
In her place comes....Wai Lin! The reason for her taking Jinx's place is three fold. Number one, she is a better character than Jinx. Number two, played by Michelle Yeoh, she will be far more credible in any action she is required to be involved in. Number three, and this is the biggest one, the issue and the themes dealt with in the film feel like a more 'far eastern' problem, and it makes much more sense for China to be more involved than the United States. An added plus is it ties in nicely with the Chinese being after Zao and being willing to assist Bond in his capture or execution.
So of we go with roughly the same opening sequence as we got in the film proper. We lose Zao getting the diamonds embedded in his face. The hovercraft chase is the same, sans the terrible 'saved by the bell' line and Bond is captured.
So we get the same imprisonment/torture stuff as before and the prisoner exchange with Zao.
Bond is imprisoned by his own people, exactly the same, but as with Zao and the diamonds, lose the fake heart attack stuff and just have him fake a fit instead.
Again on to Hong Kong, and all is the same. However in the hotel room. Wai Lin is behind the glass instead of Chang. They argue at first, but then reminisce. Bond confides that he is after Zao, and he was responsible for the death of Colonel Moon. Wai Lin explains that Zao is also wanted for terrorism against China, and suggests that they team up, and head to Cuba to track intelligence on Zao.
So off to Cuba as in the regular film. As the Chinese dont have an office in Cuba, Bond goes to Raoul to get the info on Zao being at the Los Organos clinic. He meets Wai Lin on the beach to scope out Los Organos, roughly the same as with Jinx(although without the awful dialogue and Dr.No reference) and they have sex.
All the guff with the rude South African is gone and Bond and Wai Lin sneak onto the island together then seperate. There is no 'Gene therapy' going on at the clinic this time, just extensive plastic surgery and scientific experiments.
This is where I would write out Vlad and have Dr.Alvarez's role be bigger and take over Vlad's too. So Wai Lin finds Alvarez, cold cocks his bodyguard, imprisons him and holds him hostage. But he refuses to talk.
Bond locates Zao, who is being prepped for plastic surgery(note that Zao doesnt have diamonds in his face, and hasnt changed his look since first being seen). Bond and Zao have a vicious hand to hand fight, with Zao using a surgical instrument as a weapon.
Eventually Bond gets the better of Zao, and brutally executes him with a single shot to the head. Zao is dead and written out of the story.
As Bond is making his way to Alvarez's office to meet Wai Lin, the bodyguard wakes up and fights Wai Lin. Alvarez makes his escape through a window and towards his Helicopter. Bond comes in as Alvarez is escaping and gives chase but is pinned down by more guards with automatic weapons. Alvarez escapes in the chopper.
Bond and Wai Lin interrogate the bodyguard, and he reveals that the Clinic is owned by something called the Graves Corporation.
Bond and Wai Lin decide to seperate and contact there respective governments. Bond talks to Raoul to found out more about the Graves corp.
Using Raoul as an intermediary, Bond has re-established links with M and decides to return to London. Once on the plane the film stays the same throughout the intoduction of Graves and the excellent fencing fight.(Sans god-awful Madonna cameo).
Only minor changes to Graves, He looks the same, except has a slightly more of a botched facelift look. Since the gene therapy has gone from the story, his transformation has been done by Alvarez using skin pigmentation, plastic surgery and hair die. I actually really like him as a character, like a dark Bruce Wayne type socialite. And Toby Stephens had a glorious s**t eating grin.
So Bond has his meeting with M, and Q in the London underground, the same as the film proper. He gets the Aston Martin full of Gadgets, but no invisibility this time!
On to Iceland, and again everything is basically the same except for Alvarez taking Vlad's role and Wai Lin in Jinx's. (Also Graves treats Alvarez with a lot more respect than Vlad).
The daft dream machine is also gone, and Bond begins to realise who Graves really is when he sees the Korean generals at the Icarus demonstration. Afterwards, Wai Lin is recognised by Alvarez and is captured by Graves Bodyguard, Kil. So all the stuff with Frost also happens in basically the same way.
Bond looks for Wai Lin, and finds her being held captive by Kil in the Diamond factory. They have a brutal fist fight, until Wai Lin escapes, and assists Bond, who throws Kil down the fake Diamond mine to his death.
He tells Wai Lin to go and find Miranda, who is unfortunately waiting with armed guards and Wai Lin is captured.
Bond and Graves have the 'so you live to Die Another Day...Colonel' confrontation minus Zao.
Bond escapes using the glass breaking ring as he does in the film. And jumps into Graves dragster. Graves shows off Icarus, again exactly as he does in the film. This time, however, the dragster teeters on the edge of the Iceberg instead of going over. With the Icarus beam approaching, Bond breaks the glass windscreen using his ring, and cuts the parachute off of the dragster, and jumps off of the iceberg.
Icarus cuts the Iceberg and causes the massive wave, but no surfing here! Bond is ahead of it due to the parachute and land safely on a smaller Iceberg without touching water.
He sneaks back to the Ice Palace to get Wai Lin, but is spotted by guards and is forced to jump into the nearest one of Graves supercar collection. For arguments sake we will say a Lamborghini.
Here is the twist on the existing car chase. Graves jumps into Bond's Aston Martin (Miranda had taken the keys earlier along with Bonds watch, when she says "Hand over the toys"). And the car chase is on, but for the first time, all of Q's gadgets are being used against Bond!
After dodging some bullets and a thrilling chase across the frozen lake, Bond veers round an ice formation, and jumps from the car, just before Graves destroys the Lamborghini with a rocket. Believing Bond to be dead he drives back to the Ice Palace.
So again Bond is forced to sneak back to the Ice Palace, just as Graves, Alvarez and Miranda are boarding the huge carrier plane.
Icarus is fired at the Ice Palace and Bond manages to rescue Wai Lin, just before she drowns.
So we get the scenes in the South Korean bunker with M, except Falco is replaced by a Chinese equivalent. They decide to send Bond and Wai Lin in to stop Graves destroying the demilitarized zone. Bond tells the Chinese official to attempt to contact General Moon, believing that he will find a way to stop the North Korean move towards the South.
So Bond and Wai Lin manage to get onto the plane, and from here it remains the same as the film.
The North Korean generals are bought before Graves, and he and General Moon have there moment. (There is no electrical suit this time, Alvarez has implanted a chip into Graves, that is connected to his heart. This means if his heart stops beating, Icarus is useless. He does this to make him invaluable to the North Korean high command)
Graves knocks his father to the floor with a punch, and one of the guards handcuffs General Moon to a railing.
At this point Bond bursts in and the window gets blown out. Alvarez and the Korean generals, except Moon are sucked out of the plane, the guard with the keys to Moon's cuffs is hanging on to Moon, and Moon, unseen by Graves, manages to pull the keys free before the guard is sucked out of the plane.
Meanwhile Wai Lin has managed to subdue the pilots and steady the plane.
This is interspersed with the demilitarized zone being destroyed and the Icarus beam is now moving towards Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
Miranda attacks Wai Lin, and they fight, pretty much the same as the film, and Wai Lin kills Miranda(minus the "Bitch!" line).
Meanwhile Bond and Graves are fighting on the observation deck, Graves gets the better of Bond, grabs the Icarus control panel and puts on his parachute. "Its time to face destiny!"
At this point, General Moon has unlocked his cuffs and grabbed a gun from the floor, just as Bond attacks Graves again. They both see Moon, pointing the firearm at them. Moon agonizes over who to shoot, but finally shoots Graves through the shoulder. Bond pulls the cord of Graves Parachute, "Its time to face Gravity!". Graves hangs on, but Bond punches him off and into the plane engine. Icarus goes silent just as it has started to destroy Seoul.
Moon comes with Bond to Wai Lin, distraught over the actions of his son, he agrees to land the plane, or try, so Bond and Wai Lin can escape. As the plane is flying low over the ground, Bond reverses one of Graves supercars out of the cargo door(ala Living Daylights) Unfortunately the plane crashes just after and Moon is killed.
Cut to the final scene of Bond and Wai Lin making out in a hotel room in South Korea, while a news story plays in the background of General Moon being a hero across all the Koreas for sacrificing himself to prevent an international incident....
The End!
Hope you all enjoyed the read.
I think the great shame of it, was that there is a germ of a good film, but it fell foul of a perfect storm behind the scenes.
The producers, let Tamahori run riot on the script and change things on a whim. Thankfully they stopped short of him showing the infamous "code name" theory onscreen, which it is well documented that he wished to.
Apparently Pierce spoke up about a couple of elements being too much, but he was overruled.
The idea of Bond feeling out of shape after his imprisonment is a good one, but is that perhaps too similar to the shoulder injury in the film before?
Lovely idea about using Wai Lin too: she was originally supposed to have a cameo in a car wash, wasn't she? Yeoh is so good I'd have been happy to see her back properly though.
Thanks, appreciate the good feedback!
Admittedly this is a fairly easy one to improve, mind you. I did hear about the planned Yeah cameo. I wonder why it was scrapped?
You can read a lot of the Wai Lin scene on the making of documentary on the Blu Ray if you pause the screen at the right time- they show some shots of the script.
That's an interesting rewrite. The idea of seing all of Q's gadgets used against Bond is an interesting concept that has the merit of being consistent with DAD without falling into something over the top. Speaking of over the top, I appreciate your attempt to tone down the excesses of the film, although I'm not sure there is a place for Moon becoming Graves in your version. Sure, you specify that his change of appearance is less successful than in the actual movie, but I think it would have been better to make them two separate characters in this context.
The other thing I have mixed feelings about is Wai Lin's return. If it is relevant to give a bigger role to the Chinese secret service as you did, I remain divided as to the prospect of bringing back a main Bond Girl from an installment to another. What I totally agree with you on the other hand is the need to remove the character of Jinx who does not add anything to the plot. Replacing her with a Chinese agent like you suggest is a possibility, but personally I think Miranda Frost should have been the only Bond Girl of the story, allowing a better focus on her in order to make her betray more impactful. Overall that was a great read and the promise of a better movie.
If I recall correctly I think it was simply a scheduling issue. Michelle Yeoh wasn’t available so they rewrote the part with Chang and thus lost the close quarters elevator fight and the car wash secret entrance to Wai Lin’s base in Hong Kong. It would have been nice to see her return, even if only for an extended cameo. It would have further strengthened the continuity throughout Brosnan’s films the way characters like Zukovsky, Robinson, Tanner, and Wade do already.
1. Miranda Frost would not be the villainess and would be Gala Brand like it originally was
2. Jinx would be the traitor played by a different actress and very much with different personality and lines (much like the original plan)
3. the ending of the film would be similar to the novel Moonraker similar to the original script.
4. In fact Die another day would be as close to an adaption of moonraker (though modern) as possible.. Personally the only change I would make is the sword fight in the film would be to the death and toward the end.
Much appreciated. Of course, what I wrote/envisaged is far than perfect, but worth a stab. The critiques you give are fair, too.
That's what is such a frustration about the film. If even a layman, such as myself, could tweak things to (on paper at least) make it more palatable... it makes you wonder what a production team full of seasoned pro's was thinking.