SEOUL -- Some in South Korea are complaining that the latest James Bond movie unfairly depicts their Communist neighbour to the north as a diabolically evil regime.

Die Another Day attracted crowds at its Seoul premiere on New Year's Eve. But in recent days some moviegoers have been siding with the North in condemning the film despite the nuclear standoff that has increased tensions between the two countries.

"I don't want to see a movie where North Korea is depicted as a menace to peace on the Korean peninsula and the United States is depicted as a hero that resolves the crisis," said Jin-young Park, a 22-year-old university student waiting for a different picture yesterday. "It's really getting old."

In the movie, Bond is sent to North Korea to investigate a rogue Communist officer who is planning an invasion of South Korea. The British spy is caught, imprisoned and subjected to torture.

Later, the rogue North Korean officer uses a satellite-based laser to burn a swath through the demilitarized zone separating the Koreas. His plot is foiled by Bond and an American agent.

A South Korean civic group announced plans to boycott the film, which stars Pierce Brosnan as Bond. Critics say it's demeaning and distorts the situation between the two countries, which have been divided by a demilitarized zone since the Korean War of 1950-1953.

Despite calls for a boycott, however, many are still lining up for the movie.

"I want to see the movie just to see what the critics are complaining about," Lee Se-young, 27, said after buying his ticket.