In 2006 the first Bond movie with Daniel Craig - the wonderful reboot 'Casino Royale' - was supposed to show us how Bond became who he is. But they didn't stop there. Three Bond movies followed that exploited the character, showing him as vulnerable, dealing with his past, quitting the service several times and having a hard time figuring women or life out: 'Quantum of Solace' (2008) - a fast-paced hard-to-follow shakycam thrillride, 'Skyfall' (2012) with its ludicrous plot and a villain's scheme that made no sense and the heavily graded 'Spectre' (2015) with its clumsy script.
Now, in 2021, No Time to Die, the longest Bond movie ever, is finally here after being delayed three times and oh man...this was actually great!
No Time to Die is really a real treat. It is beautifully shot (IMAX cameras were used in many scenes) and wonderful to look at. The three big setpieces work fine. But they are much, much too short. The Hans Zimmer score is the best James Bond score, since David Arnold composed 'Casino Royale', meaning bombastic and melodic, with a couple of unexpected nods to earlier Bond movies.
No Time to Die is well acted, and I have to say that Ana de Armas steals the show away from all other than Craig. Sadly her part was very small. Great chemistry between her and Bond. I hope to see her back as the half-drunk agent!
The pacing is also mostly fine, there's a fair amount of thrilling edge-of-your seat moments and the locations are varied and put to good use as they should be (especially the Italy and Norway scenes). It is also the most emotional and bold Bond movie ever attempted.
As a die-hard Bond fan, I have been pretty much disappointed with the last three, and after Terminator and Star Wars going woke I was a bit afraid that the Bond franchise would suffer the same fate. And yes...wokeness is certainly here to some extent, because in these times you can't have a suave unethical gambling self-assure single masculine womanizer roaming the silver screen. So they turned James Bond into a feminist family man who can't figure women or life out. This "alternative" take on the James Bond character may put some people off. It's not a huge issue for me though. The glamourous larger-than-life character WILL return one day. And I do miss THAT guy!
The massive team behind this last Bond movie should be very proud! Much to my surprise, and against many odds, they actually nailed it!
