James Bond: No Time to Die
Review:
No Time To Die is the first James Bond film that I actually got to go see in theatres and it was a cool experience to go to the opening weekend with a large crowd. The biggest thing I would say this film does right is that it is a proper send-off to the Daniel Craig version of Bond and it wraps up the arc he has had across his 5 films. Unlike most versions of Bond Craig’s has really had connectivity between each film whether story-wise or character-wise and it really allowed Bond to grow and change dramatically. On that note, Craig kills it with his final performance as the character giving lots of emotion and heart as well as showing his evolution as the character. The action in this film is the other standout with the pre-title sequence fight being really high energy and it really sets up the film and the tone. The other action scenes are nicely spread out and each is unique in that it makes it fun to see how Bond will win that fight. The supporting cast is great once again with Q, M, Moneypenny, and Madeleine Swan all return with equally memorable roles, and the new cast adding different dynamics for Bond to play off of. The villain does a great job creating fear and I did genuinely find him creepy. This film really does feel like a send-off with a huge emphasis on Bond and also the biggest stakes in the Craig Bond films. The other interesting thing is that it diverges from some of the Bond tropes and ends with some real finality and differences that set it apart from other Bond films.
All in all, this was a really great action spy movie that really leans into being a typical Bond film while also making some changes and new choices for the character. I definitely recommend checking this out though it may help to have seen a few of the previous films first.
Favourite Moment (Spoilers):
The action scene in Cuba was my favourite because it had some really cool fights and it balanced the humour well. The dynamic between Bond and Paloma was also really fun.
Review:
No Time to Die is my second taste of the James Bond franchise, and I have to say, it was another enjoyable movie. From thrilling action, to nice suspense, to even some well place humor, No Time to Die was a fun spy movie to enjoy.
Starting with the negatives, it felt like the movie was trying to do a lot for one movie. The movie did have almost 3 hours of run time, but to me, I don’t think it was spent evenly. I especially felt it near the end. To me, the final confrontation between James Bond and Lyutsifer Safin was quite short. I expected a bit more for their final fight.
On the plus side, No Time to Die features all the fun aspects of a James Bond movie. This movie spares no expense at the suspense and action. Compared to my experience with Spectre, I enjoyed these action scenes a lot more. And some of them seemed to have a bit more personality as well. Besides the action, the story was interesting and quite engaging. Even for a 3-hour movie, I didn’t really feel time trickle by. The new characters that were introduced were quite enjoyable and added backstories on some of the existing characters was great as well.
Overall, No Time to Die was quite a fun movie to watch. It was a great sequel to Spectre, and I enjoyed No Time to Die more than its predecessor. If you enjoy James Bond movies, then this can be for you.
Favourite Moment (Spoilers):
My favourite moment was James and Cyclops’ last fight. The way the watch activated to defeat Cyclops was quite comedic and relieved a bit of tension in a suspenseful part of the movie. It was also funny that the watch was able to help James in combat, which is something I didn’t expect.
Review:
No Time to Die follows directly after Spectre, and it is an awesome movie. With this being my second James Bond movie, it was really nice to comprehend the background information and understand what was going on from the opening scene. That being said, if you haven’t seen Spectre, you have to close this and go watch it first. Without the backstory that movie gives you, No Time to Die is going to make 0 sense.
I thought the villain they set up in this movie was really awesome. Lyutsifer Safin is dark, he’s evil, he’s ruthless, and he has a really compelling backstory. He isn’t a “route for him to win” villain, but he is so far off the deep end that you route for him to lose miserably. His cold view of the world really shapes the movie, and I enjoyed the way he doesn’t waver from this attitude. I also thought the inclusion of Blofield made for an interesting plot. It kept things interesting, having a second massive villain in the mix, even if it was quite apparent he wasn’t the focus of this movie.
The plot was quite entertaining compared to Spectre. I thought it was a lot funnier, and a lot faster. Even if this is nearly 3 hours, it didn’t feel anywhere near that long. More importantly, I was engaged for the entire movie. There really aren’t any big drops in quality or pace throughout, with the spy-movie tempo carrying through the entire film. I thought Paloma and Nomi were wonderful new additions to the franchise, both bringing different talents and characteristics that kept James on his toes. Having Madeleine still in the picture created a very different atmosphere for a James Bond movie, and it really sold the idea of James being in retirement. It adds something we’ve haven’t really seen before, stakes. That comes from this being Daniel Craig’s last movie as well, but it was really awesome to see an action movie with actual stakes. I was never sure what was coming next or if any of our characters were going to die, and that added a lot of intrigue and excitement to an already solid movie.
No Time to Die is a better movie than Spectre, and quite a bit more funny. I didn’t feel it was too long, and I thought the characters were quite solid. My only warning with this movie is you cannot start your James Bond journey here. Do not cross Go, do not collect 200$, go straight back to at least Spectre, if not further.
Favourite Moment (Spoilers):
My favourite scene was near the beginning, when James and Madeleine are sitting in the car being shot at. It demonstrates Bond’s composure and more importantly, all of the cool things that a car can do. Such a fun scene and it sets the tone for the rest of the movie.
