View Full Version : 007, No Time To Die (Review)
JAMES BOND 007: No Time To Die (Review)
The last Bond movie with Daniel Craig and the end of James Bond himself... I have to start this review by being honest: I have not enjoyed a Bond movie since Casino Royale, and had high hopes for Craig and the direction of Bond movies as more gritty realism, but it was not to be. This Bond movies tries to incorporate some of the classic Bond moments of old, but misses the mark at every turn.
There's some good action scenes, but they tend to drag on, and the movie seems more focused on his emotional state and heavy drinking trying to forget a lost love and move forward with the new one (plaid by French actress Léa Seydoux) who does a convincing job all around. Bond movies themselves are perhaps passed their due date culturally, and trying to fit Bond into today's culture - something Bond and M (Ralph Fiennes) actually lament about in the movie - does not work any more. There's some all inclusive wokeness in the movie that will annoy some viewers to be be sure.
If you enjoyed the past Bond movies with Craig beyond Casino Royale, you'll likely enjoy this one too. If you feel as I do about it, see this one for no other reason that to say goodbye to Craig as Bond, but the movie is not the Bond you grew up with to be sure. I think it's probably best they don't continue the franchise... B-/C+
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTnDYxwhSaI
Casino Royale is the last Bond film I can remember and the only one I can rewatch.
I can't even remember the Bond girls from the films after that. Gemma Arterton is hot but I don't remember her from Quantum of Solace or anything else about that film. Vaguely remember Olga Kurylenko being in it.
Only thing I remember about Skyfall is it sucked and Naomie Harris was really not that hot.
Apparently Monica Bellucci was in Spectre but I really don't remember anything about that film and I love Monica Bellucci.
Apparently they've brought a bunch of those forgettable hacks back for this film as well. I have heard the next Bond will be a female and they might as well. I have all the important films on DVD.
Diamondback
01-17-22, 17:14
If I was brought in by the Broccolis to try to save the franchise, I'd go as far from Woke as possible--roll back to the '50s/'60s and do them as Period Pieces in original Fleming storyline sequence, ditto the authorized continuances approved by Glidrose (who hold the Fleming Estate custodianship). Lightly massage things as described in the books to fit what actually existed in the day, set them against a backdrop of historical events and then always add a closer with M discussing the official cover-ups that explains why, as with the opening text of The Hunt For Red October, "nothing of this... ever happened."
NTTD is my favorite Bond of ALL time. So there I said it. It was sad to see him die and leave his woman and his kid without a father.
Loved Skyfall too, that movie cost me over $4000. Well actually less than that :) as I sold the Quantum of Solace Omega Planet Ocean and used the money from that plus $1500 toward the Aqua Terra. :)
It's going to be tough to replace Daniel Craig.
Sue me. LOL.
If I was brought in by the Broccolis to try to save the franchise, I'd go as far from Woke as possible--roll back to the '50s/'60s and do them as Period Pieces in original Fleming storyline sequence, ditto the authorized continuances approved by Glidrose (who hold the Fleming Estate custodianship). Lightly massage things as described in the books to fit what actually existed in the day, set them against a backdrop of historical events and then always add a closer with M discussing the official cover-ups that explains why, as with the opening text of The Hunt For Red October, "nothing of this... ever happened."
Yep, I would "Mad Men" the entire atmosphere of every film. That would be a winner.
It was ok, but I didn’t love the idea of trying to humanize the Bond character. There’s plenty of other movies for that, I personally think Bond is best as a light hearted action thriller. I like the gadgets, girls and guns aspect of the franchise—and ai think franchises like Fast and the Furious are successful enough being entertaining there isn’t a need to make James Bond a social commentary piece in order to keep the movies going.
It was ok, but I didn’t love the idea of trying to humanize the Bond character. There’s plenty of other movies for that, I personally think Bond is best as a light hearted action thriller. I like the gadgets, girls and guns aspect of the franchise—and ai think franchises like Fast and the Furious are successful enough being entertaining there isn’t a need to make James Bond a social commentary piece in order to keep the movies going.
I don't know. I think Casino Royale was a pretty human Bond. He had obviously been through some shit and they really put him through some more shit during the film. I think Craig was the first "real" Bond we ever saw that wasn't 1960s Batman "camp."
I know they tried to some extent with Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan and while they weren't any worse or better than Roger Moore, none of them really pulled it off. At least Sean Connery made it work for his generation of films...most of the time.
Worst thing about Craig was probably that he set the bar so damn high with Casino Royale that he never got close to it again. While I love many of the classic films, I think Craig's Casino Royale is probably the best Bond film ever made.
Gabriel556
01-17-22, 19:09
Steyr, I was with your right up to the last sentence. Unfortunately, I didn’t care for a single movie with him as Bond. I really don’t know why either. He was good in Casino Royale, but I didn’t like the movie.
I am glad I will never have to suffer through another Bond movie with Craig.
Steyr, I was with your right up to the last sentence. Unfortunately, I didn’t care for a single movie with him as Bond. I really don’t know why either. He was good in Casino Royale, but I didn’t like the movie.
These things are subjective. We all like these films for different reasons. With Casino I really enjoyed the reality they introduced to a genre that is pretty goofy sometimes.
Diamondback
01-17-22, 20:54
Yep, I would "Mad Men" the entire atmosphere of every film. That would be a winner.
The Gardner novels were set in the '80s-'90s, with an older near-retirement and later semi-retired Bond who unfortunately still has the curse of getting every woman he ever actually loves killed. Interestingly, in the Gardner books the DB5 "Silver Beast" was sold off as MI6 surplus and is now Bond's personal ride. If you could find a pair of actors to pass for young/old versions of each other the way Mark and Sean Harmon do, maybe stagger them so you have a Fleming and Gardner movie interleaved for side-by-side production and staggered releases so you get Casino Royale first, then License Renewed, then progress down the two parts of the storyline in parallel.
Adrenaline_6
01-17-22, 21:24
The highlight of this movie was Ana De Armas.
I am glad I will never have to suffer through another Bond movie with Craig.
Careful what you wish for, I don't see things improving. Stand by for your gender neutral 007.
Did you like the first one or did you hate them all? If so, what Bond films did you like and why?
The Gardner novels were set in the '80s-'90s, with an older near-retirement and later semi-retired Bond who unfortunately still has the curse of getting every woman he ever actually loves killed. Interestingly, in the Gardner books the DB5 "Silver Beast" was sold off as MI6 surplus and is now Bond's personal ride. If you could find a pair of actors to pass for young/old versions of each other the way Mark and Sean Harmon do, maybe stagger them so you have a Fleming and Gardner movie interleaved for side-by-side production and staggered releases so you get Casino Royale first, then License Renewed, then progress down the two parts of the storyline in parallel.
Honestly I don't even know who Garner is. Casino was written by Fleming, unfortunately the 1967 film was f'ed over by Woody Allen and a bunch of other shitheads. David Nivens is NOT James Bond and even Ursula Andres couldn't save this turd.
I also think the plotline of a cursed 007 who gets every woman he loves killed is freaking retarded. Probably another reason I hated all the recent films.
The highlight of this movie was Ana De Armas.
Can't you say that about pretty much every film she's ever been in. War Dogs, she was the main attraction. Blade Runner 2049, unnecessary sequel but had Ana De Armas in it.
Diamondback
01-18-22, 00:49
Honestly I don't even know who Garner is. Casino was written by Fleming, unfortunately the 1967 film was f'ed over by Woody Allen and a bunch of other shitheads. David Nivens is NOT James Bond and even Ursula Andres couldn't save this turd.
https://jamesbond.fandom.com/wiki/Category:John_Gardner_novels Quite agreed with the '67 blight upon the IP... the '54 CBS TV version was better, and it was no prize either. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casino%20Royale%20(Climax!)
I also think the plotline of a cursed 007 who gets every woman he loves killed is freaking retarded. Probably another reason I hated all the recent films.
It's a straight lift from the books IIRC, going all the way back to Fleming establishing the first two dots with Casino Royale and OHMSS.
If I was brought in by the Broccolis to try to save the franchise, I'd go as far from Woke as possible--roll back to the '50s/'60s and do them as Period Pieces in original Fleming storyline sequence, ditto the authorized continuances approved by Glidrose (who hold the Fleming Estate custodianship). Lightly massage things as described in the books to fit what actually existed in the day, set them against a backdrop of historical events and then always add a closer with M discussing the official cover-ups that explains why, as with the opening text of The Hunt For Red October, "nothing of this... ever happened."
Yep, I would "Mad Men" the entire atmosphere of every film. That would be a winner.
Yes!
I literally scrolled to the bottom to post these things myself - almost exactly what popped into my head to revive a current Bond franchise.
The problem with Craig as Bond, starting with even Casino Royale, is he's too "operator". So much so, that I don't buy him in other elements of the film[s]. He can't turn the "cold and calculating" aura off. He'd have been great in some sort of Punisher/Leon-esque lone wolf vigilante role, or John Wick-ish gunslinger/assassin, but he never worked for me as Bond. I know Bond has been described as a "blunt weapon", but he's TOO blunt. And so, for me, the films were never able to mesh that old-school debonair-Bond charm with updated stories and action, because they had an actor that just is NOT suave at all. Craig would actually have been better cast as a recurring villain...
If I was behind the camera to reboot the franchise, it would be very similar to the quoted ideas. Roll it back to a "period piece" instead of current day, and maybe even add in a bit of conspiracy theory "nothing ever happened" element that perhaps plays into the way thing really are today - why things happened, how it turned out this way, etc.
Critically, I'd have to find an actor that can be smooth and romantic, but also cold and badass like, at the drop of a hat. Heck, speaking of Mad Men, John Hamm could probably pull it off...
Add back in the "old charmer" element of Bond, where he often gets his way by being more of a 'people person' when required, as well as with his own cunning and cool gadgets form Q.
At the same time,for the action scenes, I'd ramp those up to a really hardcore level of simple, brutal, utter realism. If you ever had a chance to watch the one (great) season of Quarry, the gunfights would be more like the last shootout at the carnival. Keep it feeling like it's in that "era", but hits way harder, in a more modernized way, hold the cheese and skip the karate-craze that's infested everything since the 80s. Simple brutality, keep the scenes as one-cut as possible without the 50,000 cuts and shaky-cam (most) everything has nowadays.
Also, Bondish one-liners. Because, yes, we DO need him to say "shocking" in the best utterly deadpan british style after assassinating someone with a toaster.
Yes!
I literally scrolled to the bottom to post these things myself - almost exactly what popped into my head to revive a current Bond franchise.
The problem with Craig as Bond, starting with even Casino Royale, is he's too "operator". So much so, that I don't buy him in other elements of the film[s]. He can't turn the "cold and calculating" aura off. He'd have been great in some sort of Punisher/Leon-esque lone wolf vigilante role, or John Wick-ish gunslinger/assassin, but he never worked for me as Bond. I know Bond has been described as a "blunt weapon", but he's TOO blunt. And so, for me, the films were never able to mesh that old-school debonair-Bond charm with updated stories and action, because they had an actor that just is NOT suave at all. Craig would actually have been better cast as a recurring villain...
If I was behind the camera to reboot the franchise, it would be very similar to the quoted ideas. Roll it back to a "period piece" instead of current day, and maybe even add in a bit of conspiracy theory "nothing ever happened" element that perhaps plays into the way thing really are today - why things happened, how it turned out this way, etc.
Critically, I'd have to find an actor that can be smooth and romantic, but also cold and badass like, at the drop of a hat. Heck, speaking of Mad Men, John Hamm could probably pull it off...
Add back in the "old charmer" element of Bond, where he often gets his way by being more of a 'people person' when required, as well as with his own cunning and cool gadgets form Q.
At the same time,for the action scenes, I'd ramp those up to a really hardcore level of simple, brutal, utter realism. If you ever had a chance to watch the one (great) season of Quarry, the gunfights would be more like the last shootout at the carnival. Keep it feeling like it's in that "era", but hits way harder, in a more modernized way, hold the cheese and skip the karate-craze that's infested everything since the 80s. Simple brutality, keep the scenes as one-cut as possible without the 50,000 cuts and shaky-cam (most) everything has nowadays.
Also, Bondish one-liners. Because, yes, we DO need him to say "shocking" in the best utterly deadpan british style after assassinating someone with a toaster.
Quarry...now we are f'ing talking. That series was awesome but they took it away.
Speaking of Mad Men, Hamm was already "undercover" through most of the series. Hard drinking, hard smoking with a stressful life. Add in some SAS and RM training and you are there. But also the environment of Mad Men, where everyone drinks, smokes and is generally a F up while they all believe they are superior to everyone else.
They took the most boring subject possible, advertising, and made a completely engrossing series from it by fully developing nearly every character and with brilliant writing, that seemed painfully authentic for the time. They also didn't sermonize about anything with "isn't this terrible", they simply presented it as the way things are and got on with it.
Add spies and cold war elements and you have a damn winner. Easily 20 films can come from that if done right.
https://jamesbond.fandom.com/wiki/Category:John_Gardner_novels Quite agreed with the '67 blight upon the IP... the '54 CBS TV version was better, and it was no prize either. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casino%20Royale%20(Climax!)
It's a straight lift from the books IIRC, going all the way back to Fleming establishing the first two dots with Casino Royale and OHMSS.
But then they wised up and stopped wacking all the Bond girls.
CharlieDeltaJuliet
01-18-22, 07:24
My favorite Bond movies are Goldfinger, Skyfall, Casino Royale, and Goldeneye. I was a big Daniel Craig fan until he opened his mouth outside of the movies. Then he was another hypocrite who made a fortune off of something he stood against. I get it is just entertainment, but still. Don’t claim the high ground if your hands are dirty from climbing there. I enjoyed the films and enjoyed No Time To Die. I just dread what they will do with the series to make it “woke”. James Bond was a misogynist, an alcoholic, and a womanizer who broke all of the rules. Anything other than that and it isn’t a Bond movie.
Careful what you wish for, I don't see things improving. Stand by for your gender neutral 007.
Did you like the first one or did you hate them all? If so, what Bond films did you like and why?
The plots were generally ok. I just did not like him as an actor - too robotic. Odd because I have seen him on other roles and thought he was good.
I was hoping for Tom Hiddleston but that is not likely now. Killing off Bond leaves the show no place to go. And now they killed off Dexter. WTF…
A parody, but this seems to be the direction society is heading:
https://video.foxnews.com/v/6252723664001#sp=show-clips
At one point, Daniel Craig mentioned bringing homoerotic themes into Bond’s sexuality, because apparently that’s the correct way for modern, sensitive men to behave. The whole franchise was doomed since empowering toxic feminism and normalizing LGBT became the battle cry of progressives. Looks like this movie (I will not be watching it) is the whimpering end to a legendary character. Glad Sean Connery isn’t here to see his legacy tarnished this way.
Adrenaline_6
01-18-22, 09:40
Can't you say that about pretty much every film she's ever been in. War Dogs, she was the main attraction. Blade Runner 2049, unnecessary sequel but had Ana De Armas in it.
Yea...pretty much.
The plots were generally ok. I just did not like him as an actor - too robotic. Odd because I have seen him on other roles and thought he was good.
I was hoping for Tom Hiddleston but that is not likely now. Killing off Bond leaves the show no place to go. And now they killed off Dexter. WTF…
That entire Dexter exercise was just an annoying waste of my time. I was forced to listen to that one annoying twits murder podcasts, thankfully she was murdered. She's the only innocent victim of the entire series that I wanted to see murdered.
Harrison, still a serial killer...not a serial killer anymore? We don't know and wasn't that the entire point of the reboot? Got a bunch of half assed writing and wokeness and yet nothing was actually accomplished with any of it. They also f'ed over the Ray Donovan movie completely with again, nothing accomplished and creative writing we saw coming a mile away.
Regarding Craig, if the acting isn't natural to you I get it. Of course Bond films aren't especially known for brilliant acting. Sean Connery's greatest strength had to be to not bust out laughing while trying to deliver some of those lines.
No opening incredible action sequence … woke … and BORING!
Reagans Rascals
01-23-22, 02:19
Utter garbage. Its like watching your dog get put down. Better to not watch it at all, just remember all the good times, go out with good memories.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.