Madonna's Bond theme "Die Another Day" is still the second most expensive music video ever produced. Die Another Day marked an important turning point for the James Bond franchise. The movie came in the midst of The Bourne Identity and 24 reinventing spy thrillers, which offered gritter, more grounded takes on the genre. Die Another Day, on the other hand, felt hopelessly outdated with hokey humor and in-jokes, in addition to outlandish action sequences that often failed to engage.
Despite Pierce Brosnan making for a great Bond, there was little he could do to rescue Die Another Day - which wasn't Brosnan's final performance - either. The film is now considered one of, if not the, worst entries in the whole series. The sequel was still a respectable box-office success, but producers looked at the changing landscape of the genre and decided a total reboot was needed. This also coincided with the studio gaining the rights to Ian Fleming's Casino Royale, which served as James Bond's origin story. 2006's Casino Royale thus introduced Daniel Craig's run as 007, who is regarded as one of the best actors to take up the role.
Of course, any James Bond movie needs a theme tune, and it felt like Die Another Day was in strong hands with Madonna. The iconic singer has recorded various movie themes throughout her career, including "Beautiful Stranger" for the second Austin Powers. Madonna's Bond song "Die Another Day" isn't one of the better themes - like Chris Cornell's underrated Casino Royale song - from the franchise, though it does boost the second most expensive music video, which cost $6 million.
Madonna's "Die Another Day" is a string mix of electronic music and strings, and received very mixed reviews for its repetitive nature. In general, Madonna's connection with Die Another Day received lukewarm notices, especially her bizarre cameo during the movie's fencing scene. Still, Madonna's Bond theme "Die Another Day" does have an impressive music video, which sees the singer held prisoner and withstanding torture, while cutting to an elaborate fight between white and black fencers - both played by Madonna.
"Die Another Day" is the second most expensive video behind Michael and Janet Jackson's "Scream," which is still on top with an eye-watering $7 million. The fencing moments appear to represent a symbolic fight between good and evil raging within Madonna's character. They take this fight to a room filled with James Bond movie easter eggs, including Oddjob's hat and a portrait of Pierce Brosnan's 007. The torture segments relates to the opening of Die Another Day itself, which featured 007 captured and interrogated in North Korea, a credits scene which Madonna's song plays over. It seems most of the budget for Madonna's Bond song "Die Another Day" went to the battle between dueling Madonna's, which sees the two shattering endless amounts of glass.