Every James Bond Movie Pre-Credits Scene Ranked Worst To Best
2. Die Another Day - Bond Gets Captured In North Korea
Don't worry, this isn't a defence of Die Another Day as an underrated gem or something like that. It's an overdone wreck of an action film... or rather, it mostly is. The pre-credits scene is genuinely fantastic and watching for the first time, you could easily assume you're in for a franchise classic.
There's no cringe-worthy CGI or OTT stupidity here; this is just an extremely well-done and enormously thrilling hovercraft chase with a delightfully dark and gritty vibe, while the very interesting setting of North Korea adds a hell of a lot too.
All that being said, what makes this so good is that Bond doesn't get away at the end. He's captured by the North Koreans and is tortured over the next fourteen months (as is shown through the film's opening titles).
It's an incredibly interesting and effective deviation from the formula that allows us to see the iconic hero broken in a way he rarely ever was prior to the Craig films. Unfortunately, things go to s**t shortly after this brilliant opening, but Die Another Day's pre-credits scene is a contender for the franchise's best. Sometimes, greatness really does come from unexpected places.