No Time to Die (Bond 25)

[Chaplin]

Spoiler

As an action movie, it's pretty good, not great. As a Bond movie, I'd say better than Quantum and Spectre but not as good as Casino Royale and Skyfall. Obviously a finale for Daniel Craig and he does go out well. But I'm still in the minority that I'd like to see more of what humor you saw with all the other Bonds -- you just don't see it as much with Craig, although he did try to pull off at last a couple one-liners.

Supporting cast was ok--not enough Moneypenny and I never really got the whole "new 007" thing. I guess it made sense in the universe, but she definitely was no 007. And I just have to say, yet again, another boring villain. Rami Malek is a weird and engaging actor, but I didn't care one bit about his endgame. They explained his connection to Lea Seydoux pretty well, but there didn't seem to be much motivation for him to be destroying the world.

I did love the portraits of former actors from the series in the halls of MI6 headquarters. Both Judi Dench and Bernard Lee were represented which was a cool callback.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I enjoyed it. Bold move for a bond movie

 

[Zobaczcie suki]

I thought this was excellent.

 

[Covert Rain]

Easily my favorite since Casino Royale. Great send off for Craig IMO. Makes you wonder where the hell they go from here though.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Easily my favorite since Casino Royale. Great send off for Craig IMO. Makes you wonder where the hell they go from here though.

Spoiler

unless they decided to end bond altogether - which I don’t see happening - I think they just start over as if this one never happened. I mean it’s not like the bonds carried over like sequels pre-Craig.

That said, killing all of spectre and bond is a fantastically giant set of balls for bond flicks. He’s never been killed in any prior movie, right?

 

[Cheesebeef]

You guys are nuts (chillax anyone who gets up in arms about this comment. It’s meant in jest. But not really ).

First hour good. Last six hours awful.

Rami Malek’s deformed/methadoned out villain gets to do that? Uh... no.

 

[Stout]

You guys are nuts (chillax anyone who gets up in arms about this comment. It’s meant in jest. But not really ).

First hour good. Last six hours awful.

Rami Malek’s deformed/methadoned out villain gets to do that? Uh... no.

I'm with you, Cheese.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I'm with you, Cheese.

Really a shame because the first hour was fun. The entire Spectre sequence with Ana De Armas as Bond’s partner in crime snap, crackle and popped like a great Bond movie... and then they just dumped that character and her charisma/chemistry with Daniel Craig on the side of the road.

Wouldn’t surprise me if Amazon basically makes a TV show out of that character.

 

[Chaplin]

Yeah not having Ana De Armas in longer was a CRIME.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Yeah not having Ana De Armas in longer was a CRIME.

Right? She was fire on the screen on every way.

I really didn’t need to see Bond get domesticated.

I think the bigger problem with this franchise at this point for me is that it’s just another action franchise swimming in a sea of them. Every action movie is Bond. Every one has gadgets. Freaking Dom Torreta pulls super magnets out of his ass. You can’t rely on that to impress me anymore.

You have to raise the bar in some way shape or form, whether thats with an incredible villain, story or stunts... and I’m talking about Mission Impossible Fallout level practical stunts where you simply can’t believe the stuff Tom Cruise is doing to entertain the audience (and probably try to kill himself).

This movie did none of that for me.

All I was thinking watching this was how much I was looking forward to the much better Mission movie franchise at this point. And that’s mostly because they have copied the old Bond formula. Each new movie is basically just a new mission (with a little attempt at some Ethan character story no one really cares about but humors long enough to get to someone screaming OH MY GOD as Tom Cruise bungee jumps off the top of Mount Everest.) They keep trying to raise the bar on what literally impossible stunt Cruise can do next, innovations in every new movie as far as action sequences. That’s what Bond used to do when it was one of the true singular action franchises. The ski chases in For Your Eyes Only? Goldfinger trying to laser Bond’s balls off? Even Moonraker, which was ludicrous but big “space” action sequences.

Bond just hasn’t done that the last couple movies. Royale was great, story, action, origin story, Solace was actually better on rewatch and Skyfall was like a classic great Bond movie that brought an incredible villain with some crazy evil genius plans and a interesting character story for Bond. But this and Spectre just brought nothing new to the table that I enjoyed. They tried with the family angle, but I just didn’t care and thought using a kid as hostage by the end was pretty beneath the series.

Now give me Tom Cruise literally blowing up satellites in space in a jet pack already!

 

[Chaplin]

Right? She was fire on the screen on every way.

I really didn’t need to see Bond get domesticated.

I think the bigger problem with this franchise at this point for me is that it’s just another action franchise swimming in a sea of them. Every action movie is Bond. Every one has gadgets. Freaking Dom Torreta pulls super magnets out of his ass. You can’t rely on that to impress me anymore.

You have to raise the bar in some way shape or form, whether thats with an incredible villain, story or stunts... and I’m talking about Mission Impossible Fallout level practical stunts where you simply can’t believe the stuff Tom Cruise is doing to entertain the audience (and probably try to kill himself).

This movie did none of that for me.

All I was thinking watching this was how much I was looking forward to the much better Mission movie franchise at this point. And that’s mostly because they have copied the old Bond formula. Each new movie is basically just a new mission (with a little attempt at some Ethan character story no one really cares about but humors long enough to get to someone screaming OH MY GOD as Tom Cruise bungee jumps off the top of Mount Everest.) They keep trying to raise the bar on what literally impossible stunt Cruise can do next, innovations in every new movie as far as action sequences. That’s what Bond used to do when it was one of the true singular action franchises. The ski chases in For Your Eyes Only? Goldfinger trying to laser Bond’s balls off? Even Moonraker, which was ludicrous but big “space” action sequences.

Bond just hasn’t done that the last couple movies. Royale was great, story, action, origin story, Solace was actually better on rewatch and Skyfall was like a classic great Bond movie that brought an incredible villain with some crazy evil genius plans and a interesting character story for Bond. But this and Spectre just brought nothing new to the table that I enjoyed. They tried with the family angle, but I just didn’t care and thought using a kid as hostage by the end was pretty beneath the series.

Now give me Tom Cruise literally blowing up satellites in space in a jet pack already!

That’s really my biggest problem with the Daniel Craig Bond movies. I like him but they are more Mission Impossible than James Bond. The movies are good and well made for sure, but they play like a different franchise.

That’s why I liked Skyfall so much—it was the closest to a traditional Bond movie.

 

[Cheesebeef]

That’s really my biggest problem with the Daniel Craig Bond movies. I like him but they are more Mission Impossible than James Bond. The movies are good and well made for sure, but they play like a different franchise.

That’s why I liked Skyfall so much—it was the closest to a traditional Bond movie.

Interesting. I feel like they’re nothing like those movies. Spectre played like a traditional Bond movie. I just thought it sucked. There was no reason to turn Blofeld into Bond’s stepbrother and somehow make him the architect of all that came before in the series.

 

[Chaplin]

Interesting. I feel like they’re nothing like those movies. Spectre played like a traditional Bond movie. I just thought it sucked. There was no reason to turn Blofeld into Bond’s stepbrother and somehow make him the architect of all that came before in the series.

And that is a big reason that I don’t think it’s close to a Bond movie. You can’t just name a character and all of a sudden it becomes something to add to the iconic history.

Waltz wasn’t Blofeld to me—he was simply a villain. And I also didn’t like Spectre.

 

[GatorAZ]

I like Craig as Bond but he’s very stiff as an action star at his current age. The older guys that pull it off; Cruise, Diesel, Keanu etc are basically world class athletes (or they’re taking HGH). Granted it’s been 15 years but he was like peak Ethan Hunt in Casino Royal.

 

[Cheesebeef]

And that is a big reason that I don’t think it’s close to a Bond movie. You can’t just name a character and all of a sudden it becomes something to add to the iconic history.

Waltz wasn’t Blofeld to me—he was simply a villain. And I also didn’t like Spectre.

Ah... gotcha. Yeah... it tried to have its cake and eat it too and instead just crapped itself in the process.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I like Craig as Bond but he’s very stiff as an action star at his current age. The older guys that pull it off; Cruise, Diesel, Keanu etc are basically world class athletes (or they’re taking HGH). Granted it’s been 15 years but he was like peak Ethan Hunt in Casino Royal.

This is true too. Another reason the action sequences popped in Royale. The parkour opener was great and you could feel the punches during the brutal fight with the... Nigerians(?)... the ends with him killing one in the stairwell. Throw in a huge final setpiece with the collapsing building topped by the emotional beat of Vesper dying to end it and you had three exceptional set pieces to build the movie around and restart the franchise.

The Wick movies are a notch above Bond now because those are also trying to raise the bar in every movie. The first 40 minutes of Wick 3 might be the best non-stop action sequence ever going from the Library to the Knife Store to the Stables to a Horses v. Motorcycle chase. And most of it done with all practical stunts.

 

[cardncubfan]

I thought it was great & a good ending for Craig as Bond. I look forward to the next iteration of Bond, Blofeld, Spectre, & others. They first had Blofeld & Spectre in 1961 in Thunderball with Connery. They can do it all again with a different actor & story line & I'll still watch it. Always loved these movies.