Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
Screenplay: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Cary Joji Fukunaga, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Minutes: 163
Year: 2021
Score: 8
Release: UPHE
One of the downsides to writing something on the James Bond series, especially new physical media releases, is that there really is no point. I certainly don’t have anything new to add to the zeitgeist and you are already planning to add this to your collection, or you are not.
From UPHE.com:
Daniel Craig returns one last time as James Bond, starring alongside Oscar® winner Rami Malek in No Time To Die. Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.
The biggest mistake I experienced with NO TIME TO DIE is that I failed to revisit the Daniel Craig episodes before watching this in the theater. I didn’t really care for SPECRE and I haven’t re-visited it since my first viewing; this left me ill prepared for this entry.
Sometimes it is neat to have a long, multiple film, story arcs. But when it isn’t one singular narrative, I don’t think it is the right move for the Bond franchise. I enjoyed the through-lines of the earlier films, but I also liked that they were rarely essential for the individual film.
Having too many threads to weaver together hurts NO TIME TO DIE because there is not enough time to make Lyutsifer Safin a Bond villain, rather than a Spectre villain. He has a tragic backstory, but it feels haphazardly shuffled together. There are also too many supporting characters to develop the necessary relationships, if you don’t have the whole Craig series fresh in your mind.
I feel safe to be critical because at the end of the day it is a Bond film. Bond films, to me, get a pass to be dumb sometimes. These are very well produced action films, and a nice chase scene cancels out the ridiculous at a two-to-one ratio. And a dynamite car chase NO TIME TO DO does have.
While this seems to be a nice punctuation on the James Bond franchise it has already been announced at there will be a new Bond and some new films. If Paloma, Ana de Armas, returns I will be even more forgiving.
Special Features:
- Anatomy of a Scene: Matera
- Keeping It Real: The Action of NO TIME TO DIE
- A Global Journey
- Designing Bond
Director: 7 – Cinematography: 10 – Edit: 5 – Parity: 10 – Main performance: 8 – Else performance: 6 – Score: 8 – Sound: 10 – Story: 5 – Script: 9 – Effects: 10 – Design: 7 – Costumes: 5 – Keeps interest: 10 – Lasting: 10