Review 681: No Time to Die

  

No Time to Die has a few standout moment and action but overall, it's pretty flavourless.

James Bond (Daniel Craig) 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 C.I.A turns up asking for help. The mission is 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.

Honestly as they introduced a biological weapon of mass destruction, I just checked out. This is more generic spy nonsence that we've seen before and has been run into the ground.

I'm so tired of how continuitty heavy the Craig Bond films have become. Can't we enjoy a good, standalone Bond movie and enjoy the ride like the old days? 

Maybe this was Eon Productions attempt at telling a series or Era or Bond films that felt like a distinct series as opposed to a series of episodic adventures but what's apparent about this film is that it's a "conclusion" to a Era of Bond movies that had no direction to begin with.

I've gotten to the point where I don't much care for Craig's Bond.

Tonely, No Time to Die seems very inspired by On Her Majesty's Secret Service: Bond goes a typical mission but his relationship with Madeleine Swann and her daughter Mathilde is supposed to give Bond some vulnerability and gives him something to loose. Whilst many see OHMSS as an overlooked gem I can't say I feel the same and much like that film, their relationship suffers from a pronounced lack of chemistry 

Director Cary Fukunaga's direction feels muddled mixing some truly outstanding, visceral action scenes which feel at odds with the films more melacholy, sombre tone  The cinematography is gorgeous and captures the beauty of the locations; the locations (Matera, Cuba and Jamaica) are all splendid, the score by Hans Zimmer is beautful. A reprise of "We Have All the Time in the World" doesn't work for nostalgia or thematicaly it just feels so lazy. The production design is splendid, the costumes are

Daniel Craig

Lea Seydoux

There is Ana de Armas in the film but not enough of her in my opinion. She gets to share one scene action and exchange some banter with Bond before disappearing from the film entirely. One can't help but wonder if her minscule role was a result of the films constant rewrites

As Lyutsifer Safin, Remi Malek makes for one of the worst Bond villains in recent memory. Despite producer Barbara Broccoli describing him as "a nasty piece of work." "He's the one that really gets under Bond's skin'' and the films attempts to build up as a cruel, sadistic, cold villain, His soft spoken nature is more grating than intimidating.

Jeffrey Wright is only prominently featured in the first act of the film before getting