No Time to Die

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/no-time-to-die-spoiler-free-review "No Time To Die is the most emotional, personal James Bond movie of Daniel Craig's Era, holding a heartfelt farewell to the now-iconic actor. Delivering his best performance as 007, Craig finishes his memorable run in a high-stakes film with some of the best action sequences of the entire franchise. Technically, the practical sets and locations, stunt work, cinematography, and editing are all no short of impressive, working together beautifully to create magnificent set pieces. Despite an overlong runtime with an exposition-heavy second act and a terribly stereotyped villain with unclear motivations, the emotionally compelling narrative sets up a powerful third act boosted by an epic score. Cary Joji Fukunaga brilliantly directs a movie packed with phenomenal performances that will leave no viewer indifferent. Massive praise to the outstanding ensemble cast. And a humble thank you to Craig… Daniel Craig." Rating: A-

**A -{ _F I N A L E_ }- So Stunning, And Poetically GRANDIOSE ⚘ . . . . . . . . . . " That You Will Simply -{ _N E V E R_  }- See What's Coming ".** This Is A **-_B I G_ -** Screen MINI Review ; Film Viewed On September 30, 2021, At "VOX CINEMAS" , UAE. ______________________________________________________ Q : "Can I just have one nice evening please . . . . before the world explodes". { Taken from one of the many -official - previews for No Time To Die; which I'll refer to as **"_N.T.2.D_ "** in this review }. ______________________________________________________ **1. " The Overall Calibre Of Acting Here, Given That This -_Is_ - , At The End Of The Day , A -_Blockbuster Popcorn Flick_ - Is Well & Truly BREATHTAKING " :** Spearheading -{ DAZZLING 💎 }- array of world-class talent in _N.T.2.D_ are : A : Hollywood veteran Léa Seydoux ...arguably best known for 'Blue Is The Warmest Colour' | 'Ghost Protocol' | 'Spectre' ...who plays the deeply damaged yet very independent, & ravishingly Lovely psychotherapist 'Madeleine Swann' ; rendering a delicate & impassioned performance that is nothing less than **MESMERIZING.** B : Rami Malik, a.k.a 'Lyutsifer Safin', the movie's -primary- ( of two ) "Classic" Megalomaniacal Bond-Villains, who unquestionably provides a most "_DELECTABLY **IDIOSYNCRATIC** PORTRAYAL_ " { on account of his having been ( -Very- ) badly scarred as a vulnerable, young boy ; as it is entirely incumbent on me to point out }. C : 'The-Man-Of-The-Hour' himself of course, Daniel Craig, who -_Did_ - actually catch me a bit off guard . . . managing to completely 'Wow', with _both_ his utterly stupendous physical performance . . . **- _A N D_ - , HIS GENUINELY SUPERB EMOTIONAL & DRAMATIC 🌠 DELIVERY.** **2. " FUKUNAGA . . . . . . . WHO ? " :** You could -_very_ - easily be forgiven for NEVER having heard of **Cary Joji Fukunaga,** the { formerly } -_relatively_ - unknown, yet "MULTIGIFTED" Actor-Producer-Writer-Cinematographer-Director ; who, in the September of 2018 was officially -and publicly- awarded the globally "Mega-Coveted" job of not only **-DIRECTING-** _N.T.2.D_ , but of co-writing its whole script & screenplay, _As Well_. And it's no wonder, frankly, given the fact that only the very -_SECOND_ - complete picture that he -_ever_ - Directed, executive produced & co wrote { '_Victoria Para Chino_ ' | 13 minutes | 2004 | New York University | Student-movie } . . . went on to not only win the 'Best Student Narrative Short' **OSCAR AWARD 🏆** for the year 2005 . . . but -_also_ - pretty much "_Sweep The Deck **C L E A N**_ " by winning 4 of the 5 _other_ ( Major ) awards that the said short was nominated for, in that very same year. **3. " FINAL ANALYSIS " :** Every now and then, along comes a film with the capacity to altogether, and most _U N E X P E C T E D L Y_ **. . . . - _M O V E_ -** THE VIEWER TO THEIR VERY CORE. For me, this was such a picture, & yes **. . . . IT'S PERSONAL.** And in that vein, I want to say a Deep & Heartfelt **THANK YOU** to you, Cary Joji Fukunaga, to your 'viscerally beautiful' movie's ENTIRE -{ _E N S E M B L E_ }- CAST, your uber-talented crew ; and most of all to your leading-man, **DANIEL CRAIG 🙏 💜** ; for so successfully having enthralled us 'to this degree', _even_ in the throes of what is _very much_ ( -Still- ) a raging, vicious, global, pandemic. **_Y E S_ ,** I shan't deny that I would have loved to see a _LOT_ more screen time given to -Both- **The Completely Tantalizing Ana de Armas,** _As Well_  as the **Ever Endearing Jeffrey Wright** { 'Paloma' & 'Felix Leiter', respectively } . . . . but hey, I am no less grateful for the undeniably mind-blowing experience that I just had. **A Full-Blown, Unabashed 25 Marks Out Of 10 . . . AND , YES MY WORD IS MY " _B O N D_ " 😅 💥❗** .

As a life long James Bond fan I thought this movie was a fitting end to the Daniel Craig era as James Bond. I did not think it would be possible to top Casino Royale, however I think this movie did just that. This will cement Daniel Craig's legacy as either the best actor to play James Bond or as an equal to Sean Connery.

This final Bond installment with Craig had the potential to be his best Bond movie. The good: Cinematography, locations, Story, action, and directing. The poor: Rami Malek, the villain, is by far the absolute WORST Bond villain in the history of the franchise. He will literally "put you to sleep". Perhaps he was nervous and decided to swallow an entire bottle of Valium before each take. Lashana Lynch, plays Bond's replacement when he retires. (Nomi) Although her acting was OK, her character is totally unnecessary in the movie, and she gives me the impression that the Producers were more interested in being politically correct than making a great film. They could have cut 30 minutes off this over-length film by simply adding her to the cutting room floor.

I guess there was time to die, and as so many predicted, be replaced with a female Bond of color. Because... woke. But it is fitting that Craig went out like that, he seemed to be the only man in the world that didn't want to be James Bond. There was nothing playful about him... ... he was just miserable, and miserable from start to finish. I don't see the draw in watching a depressing 007, and I don't see the draw in watching the inevitable new Politically Correct 007 either. Neither seem to fit with the franchise.

**No Time to Die ignores all the development and opportunities of the four previous Bond films to deliver a movie that doesn't understand or care who James Bond is at all.** I am just so frustrated. Daniel Craig's run as Bond was solid overall, with some of the greatest films of the 80-year franchise and a couple that weren't amazing but still entertaining. But the conclusion to Craig's Bond was poorly written, out of character, and just plain disappointing. No Time to Die was The Last Jedi of James Bond. Long-time Bond fans will hate it, while those who are indifferent to the franchise or have not seen this entry will find it entertaining and possibly thoughtful. But I just don't see it. The writing was awful. The screenplay couldn't find better ways to motivate or shock than killing off characters that had been developed for over a decade. The idea of a new 007 was pitched as intriguing but hardly affected the story and sidelined Lashana Lynch's character altogether. The villains were generic, and their motivations inconsistent at best. And Bond's love for Madeleine didn't fit the character at all. He said and did things that Bond just wouldn't do. One shining moment in a film of disappointments was Ana de Armas as Paloma. Her performance was witty, engaging, and the most entertaining part of the movie. So, of course, she was only given 5 minutes of screen time. No Time to Die was clearly at a loss for what to do and failed to close this excellent chapter of James Bond history with nothing more than a mess of dreadful writing and unsatisfying conclusions.

Damsel in distress. Except that's what makes this film stand out as different from other Bond movies. It isn't a damsel in distress, but instead a child in jeopardy. 007 finds himself trying to protect the most innocent of creatures. Along the way, he goes through some high octane action sequences. And he fights against a villain using genetic engineering in a weird and deadly way. However, the biggest problems here are "predictability" and "horrible directing". The imagery is horrible. Even when there are exotic locales, there is not one cinematic second. It's all dull and tedious. The classic 007 films of the Connery and Moore era had cinematic beauty with exotic locales. In the era of Daniel Craig, this poor actor has to go through movies where the director can't even make imagery out of the most exotic locations. Why even film on locations? This may as well been done in the studio of Mr. Rogers and his neighborhood.