Wednesday, 10 November 2021

No Time to Die (2021) Review

 


Spoilers!

Bond must stop a deadly DNA encoded virus from being unleashed on the world. 


 Director Cary Joji Fukunaga offers more Bond distinguishable action-adventure but gone is the pretentious staging of the last two films, this feels less stifled and sterile, with a little more casual tongue in cheek humour synonymous with the old Bond outings. That said, writers Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Fukunaga and Phoebe Waller-Bridge deliver a high stakes plot. This outing is wonderfully produced and executed, with high production values, without upstaging 007. There's plenty of callbacks, including music cues, nods particularly to On Her Majesty's Secret Service, a Bond fan's dream. 

 Familiar characters return, including actors Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Rory Kinnear and Ralph Fiennes reprising their roles. Ernst Stavro Blofeld is the key to the plot, but like its predecessor is sorely underused given Christoph Waltz acting talents. Notable is Rami Malek and Ana de Armas is particularly memorable. Léa Seydoux is even better here. Daniel Craig is on form, the one-liners are as on point as his energy and delivery. 

Every Bond troupe, huge sets, larger than life villains, gadgets, everything Bond-like you can imagine is present and correct, and that series familiarity is not a bad thing, there are also plenty of fresh story twists, locations and new characters. 

No Time To Die's impactful ending is polarising, however, it unquestionably and uniquely bookends Casino Royale and Craig's first outing as the title character, it allows a clean slate for the next actor and producers, as the James Bond films of the past (when they stopped using Fleming's book titles) including this one states, ‘James Bond Will Return’. 

Overall, thanks to an engaging story and Cary Joji Fukunaga directorial eye, Daniel Craig bows out on an all-time almost impossible high. Highly recommended.

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