The people who started a little website called Daniel Craig Not Bond. Com must've had a ball of tears when the little actor from that could captivated the world with his brutally honest portrayal of a freshly pruned agent 007 in Casino Royale. There were the most startling peaks and valleys in getting him to where he is today- a star on the Hollywood walk, and a once-in a lifetime finale to a franchise that never saw true sunsets until now.
If there's a hero that the world needs to inspire us through, say it with me now, these challenging times and after the so-called "worst year ever", it's everyone's favorite template of all the secret agents. All the more fitting is that No Time to Die didn't make it to cinemas until now due to other unforeseen circumstances, including the bowing out of Academy Award winner Danny Boyle. The 6 year long boulevard of broken dreams makes this film all the more bittersweet and triumphant.
No Time to Die brings the tonal cycle of the old guard and Craig's grounded prior efforts together in suiting harmony, even more so than Spectre which noticeably struggled with its balancing act. We see the most possibly grounded versions of gadgets and villain technology in this universe, plus there's a virus of nanobots that eliminate people by touching them- Talk about being prophetic. There's humor, mad scientists, even more defying stunts and another exceptional villain base of operations. The writing team is one to behold, including being next in line of a trend of bringing comedy meisters into serious franchise efforts- here it's Phoebe Waller-Bridge. The humor that likely came from here was organic and never reached Spectre's most unflattering jokes nor the tone-deafness of some of the Marvel movies or It: Chapter Two. Rabid fans who were expecting (and probably wanting) the writers to reverse the franchise into pandering or softer in polarizing times will be proven wrong as they maintain a lot of Bond's integrity and inner hurt while naturally progressing his arc. (And no, Lashana Lynch's Nomi does not become "the new James Bond").
If Craig's portrayal in Spectre was that of a quiet, Noir man who didn't say much due to grieving after the death of Judi Dench's M, we see Bond even more vocal here. He's at his most classic and witty, but also mature and vulnerable, and as always- at his wit's end. About the vulnerability; he even comes near crying and even does towards the end (though not to the point of balling). Look out for a tension-filled scene between him and Rami Malek's Lyutsifer Safin, as the world and personal matters are at stake. This was completely earned after years of seeing him so restrained yet willing himself to queen and country at any moment, and should be a truly everlasting moment in his canon.
Cary Joji Fukunaga of True Detective fame was a shoo-in for the throne of Sam Mendes, and here he earns his cinematic stripes. In conjunction is Linus Sandgren's cinematography- lush colors and harsh blues mixed naturally with grittiness, real locations and sets that can almost remind one of Michael Mann. The brisk direction also makes for a near-three hour runtime that surprisingly doesn't toil.
How about that cast- Returning agents Ben Whishaw as Q and Naomie Harris's Moneypenny are as swell as ever due to their ability to be believable in the most dire straits and moments of relief. Jeffrey Wright's Felix Leiter and Ralph Fiennes' M also receive closure in the most unexpected ways; this includes a particularly tense exchange between Commander Bond and M. Newcomer Lashana Lynch delivers as Bond's successor (and even his counterpart) Nomi. Two of the biggest creedences that should be awarded, that side of Craig, are Léa Seydoux as Madeleine Swann and Malek's Safin. With her establishment and small arc in Spectre out of the way, she truly brings it home emotionally. Safin, like Christoph Waltz's Blofeld in our prior excursion, has only limited screen time, but when he's on screen he's simultaneously unstoppable, eldritch and understated.
No Time to Die finds a midway breach between the more human than human Post-9/11 outings of post Nolan's Batman and the blockbuster excess of old-fashioned 007 and our modern times. It's everything one could hope for in a Bond swan song, much like The Dark Knight Rises did for Batman or Wolverine's Logan. It's cinematic catharsis, plain and simple.
RATING: 4 out of 4 stars.
If there's a hero that the world needs to inspire us through, say it with me now, these challenging times and after the so-called "worst year ever", it's everyone's favorite template of all the secret agents. All the more fitting is that No Time to Die didn't make it to cinemas until now due to other unforeseen circumstances, including the bowing out of Academy Award winner Danny Boyle. The 6 year long boulevard of broken dreams makes this film all the more bittersweet and triumphant.
No Time to Die brings the tonal cycle of the old guard and Craig's grounded prior efforts together in suiting harmony, even more so than Spectre which noticeably struggled with its balancing act. We see the most possibly grounded versions of gadgets and villain technology in this universe, plus there's a virus of nanobots that eliminate people by touching them- Talk about being prophetic. There's humor, mad scientists, even more defying stunts and another exceptional villain base of operations. The writing team is one to behold, including being next in line of a trend of bringing comedy meisters into serious franchise efforts- here it's Phoebe Waller-Bridge. The humor that likely came from here was organic and never reached Spectre's most unflattering jokes nor the tone-deafness of some of the Marvel movies or It: Chapter Two. Rabid fans who were expecting (and probably wanting) the writers to reverse the franchise into pandering or softer in polarizing times will be proven wrong as they maintain a lot of Bond's integrity and inner hurt while naturally progressing his arc. (And no, Lashana Lynch's Nomi does not become "the new James Bond").
If Craig's portrayal in Spectre was that of a quiet, Noir man who didn't say much due to grieving after the death of Judi Dench's M, we see Bond even more vocal here. He's at his most classic and witty, but also mature and vulnerable, and as always- at his wit's end. About the vulnerability; he even comes near crying and even does towards the end (though not to the point of balling). Look out for a tension-filled scene between him and Rami Malek's Lyutsifer Safin, as the world and personal matters are at stake. This was completely earned after years of seeing him so restrained yet willing himself to queen and country at any moment, and should be a truly everlasting moment in his canon.
Cary Joji Fukunaga of True Detective fame was a shoo-in for the throne of Sam Mendes, and here he earns his cinematic stripes. In conjunction is Linus Sandgren's cinematography- lush colors and harsh blues mixed naturally with grittiness, real locations and sets that can almost remind one of Michael Mann. The brisk direction also makes for a near-three hour runtime that surprisingly doesn't toil.
How about that cast- Returning agents Ben Whishaw as Q and Naomie Harris's Moneypenny are as swell as ever due to their ability to be believable in the most dire straits and moments of relief. Jeffrey Wright's Felix Leiter and Ralph Fiennes' M also receive closure in the most unexpected ways; this includes a particularly tense exchange between Commander Bond and M. Newcomer Lashana Lynch delivers as Bond's successor (and even his counterpart) Nomi. Two of the biggest creedences that should be awarded, that side of Craig, are Léa Seydoux as Madeleine Swann and Malek's Safin. With her establishment and small arc in Spectre out of the way, she truly brings it home emotionally. Safin, like Christoph Waltz's Blofeld in our prior excursion, has only limited screen time, but when he's on screen he's simultaneously unstoppable, eldritch and understated.
No Time to Die finds a midway breach between the more human than human Post-9/11 outings of post Nolan's Batman and the blockbuster excess of old-fashioned 007 and our modern times. It's everything one could hope for in a Bond swan song, much like The Dark Knight Rises did for Batman or Wolverine's Logan. It's cinematic catharsis, plain and simple.
RATING: 4 out of 4 stars.