Photo Credit: lpn.org
Is there really such a thing as “too much of a good thing?” Perhaps in the case of the new James Bond movie, No Time to Die.
Don’t get me wrong- I love Bond, and I was excited to see this epic movie and witness the sendoff of actor Daniel Craig… but it ran a total of two hundred and forty three minutes!… I ran out of popcorn before the big finale! There were a number of scenes, in my humble opinion, that could have cut out- subplots not developed, characters that had nothing to do with the plot, and monologues that just went nowhere… but let me get to the good: This marks the epic 25th Bond movie in the series by Eon Production with actor Daniel Craig. This was Craig’s sendoff movie and it had a lot of car chases, really cool car chases!
It was being advertised with the tagline, “see it on the biggest screen that you can.” I took the advice/bait and booked my tickets a week ahead of the premiere which was Oct. 8th. I was excited yet apprehensive, having not entered a movie theater since March 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
No Time to Die, starts out in true-to-form 007 action before the opening credits. James Bond is engaged in the traditional and beloved car chase, gun fight and more.
The plot was a little weak and hard to follow (as perhaps all the bond movies are), sometimes you feel like you need a scorecard. To clear it up a bit, according to Universal Pictures, “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.”
So yeah, your typical plot of a James Bond movie to engage Bond in car chases, gun fights and a little romance while fighting evil. What more do you need?
This is actor Daniel Craig’s last cast as Bond, a role he has had since 2006, making a total of five films released across 15 years with No Time to Die officially being the last.
This film is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga who does an excellent job at directing the amazing action scenes and stunts, but perhaps he loved his work too much because again there was a lot that could have been cut.
Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, Rory Kinnear and Ralph Fiennes reprise their roles from previous recent bond films. A new sinister villain is introduced played by Rami Malek who played lead singer Freddie Mercury in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.
The film introduces actress Lashana Lynch who plays Nomi, a new “00” agent who, in No Time To Die, apparently entered active service sometime after Bond’s retirement and was assigned Bond’s 007 number. She returns the number to Bond for his return after his brief retirement. She is part of the script, but actually sees little action and perhaps her character isn’t developed as it should be… not that I’m saying it should have been long but her role is minimal in this film which brings up the question, is she to be the next 007? If not, then who? Could there be anyone to replace Craig who is reportedly on par with the first actor to play bond, Sir Sean Connery? But I digress!
No Time to Die is being hailed as a movie you must see on the big screen. I agree, because, well, it was a Bond movie with actor Daniel Craig, and this was his sendoff movie. It had a lot of car chases, really cool car chases. It is long so get the Jumbo popcorn!
