Commander James Bond has retired and is living like a nomad with Madeline, the lady from the last movie. The two are quickly brought back into the fold. No Time To Die is the last outing for Daniel Craig as Bond and sets the stage for a new era of Bond films.
No Time To Die is the best Bond movie since Craig’s first outing as 007 in Casino Royals in 2006. Solid action and even better players and enough plot and characters to support all of the above.
THE EDGE
As mentioned earlier, this is the end of Danny Craig’s outstanding tenure as Bond and that is reason enough to get excited about NTTD, but honestly, the film comes up short in some areas. The two people I was most excited to see in the film are Anya De Armas and Remi Malek. I’m pleased to say that the two did not disappoint when they were on screen, but this writer would have liked to see more of them. Unfortunately, they did not have as much time to develop their characters beyond a few lines of backstory, this goes especially for Malek.
I usually don’t nitpick about characters getting shot, or falling from a ridiculous height and surviving. But, at the end of NTTD Bond has 3 grenades thrown at him in a stairwell and not only survives but kicks a lot of ass afterwards.
When Pierce Brosnan made his last outing as Bond in Die Another Day (2002), it was different than his others. Rather than, showing an invulnerable always successful and nearly super-human Bond, he was depicted as a man that could be broken. In the opening of the movie, Bond is captured in North Korea and tortured for 14 months. This laid the groundwork for the Bond we would see in Craig's performance throughout his run. A vulnerable, not-necessarily loving his job, breakable character.
As the framework for a vulnerable character was laid in Die Another Day, No Time To Die lays the themes and framing for the next Bond and it looks like the future is female.
No Time To Die featured its female characters in a way that they never had been in a Bond film. Instead of damsels in distress, they are empowered, powerful and occasionally outfoxing their male counterparts. This reviewer was lukewarm about the future of the Bind franchise, but after NTTD I’m excited to see what’s next.
THE LOWDOWN
Daniel Craig is a seasoned professional with a great rep and was personally invested in the film. Working with him would be a dream. Add to that a seasoned crew that was more or less consistent through his run and you've got a great film to work on. They know the drill, they can roll with the punches. This adds up to an awesome working experience on No Time To Die. No doubt it would have been challenging, but what in this business isn’t. I had the pleasure of working with the Hair and Makeup team from Skyfall and they had nothing but good things to say about it.
I'll let Mr Craig sum it up for you....
I'll be honest with you, moments like these are rare, but when they happen...they help make the hard work worth it and when you have a guy who's as invested as Craig as your star, it makes for a great working environment.
It is worth pointing out the marked difference in the working day and conditions between North American and UK/European crews. Where NA crews regularly endure 14-18 hour days on big features, Euro crews drop the tools at 10 hours. It makes the work that much more enjoyable. We didn’t get into this business for the punishment, and maybe one day.....the execs and producers will learn that too.
THE JIST
Great film, go see it! It doesn't disappoint. People will hate it and they're allowed to be wrong. This is Bond's best outing since Casino Royale (2006). I'm gonna miss Daniel Craig, but the future is bright.
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