No Time to Die

No Time to Die

Bond 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 CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to 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.

  • Released: 2021-09-29
  • Runtime: 163 minutes
  • Genre: Action, Adventure, Thrillers
  • Stars: Daniel Craig, Rami Malek, Léa Seydoux, Lashana Lynch, Ralph Fiennes, Christoph Waltz, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Ana de Armas, Billy Magnussen, Rory Kinnear, David Dencik, Brigitte Millar, Dali Benssalah, Eliot Sumner, Michael Herne, Lourdes Faberes, Gordon Alexander, Amor Evans, Lisa-Dorah Sonnet, Maya Khosrowshahi, Safi El Masri, Hugh Dennis, Priyanga Burford, Nicola Olivieri, Pio Amato, Andrei Nova, Coline Defaud, Mathilde Bourbin, Gediminas Adomaitis, Amy Morgan, Lizzie Winkler, Andy Cheung, Hayden Phillips, Joe Grossi, Javone Prince, Rae Lim, Steve Barnett, Tuncay Gunes, Clem So, Denis Khoroshko, Philip Philmar, Raymond Waring, Eliot Sumner, Rod Hunt, Ahmed Bakare, Douglas Bunn, Toby Sauerback, Julian Ferro, David Olawale Ayinde, Zoltan Rencsar, Ross Donnelly, John Farrer, Paul O'Kelly, Michael G. Wilson, Davina Moon, Gediminas Adomaitis
  • Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
 Comments
  • gijoe-48397 - 11 May 2024
    No Reason To Watch
    The movie opens up with a young Madeleine being attacked in her childhood home to 'establish' (and I use that term to its bare minimum) the villain. We skip to the present where Bond and Madeleine are in Italy, enjoying retirement. The moment I knew there was gonna be issues is when I heard the Italians saying something to the effect of destroying the past to usher in the new... last time I heard that, Star Wars never recovered. What follows is a patchwork film that has its goods and it's very, very, bads. It centers around a mysterious bioweapon being stolen from a lab. If you take just this aspect, it's actually pretty plausible, cool, and even has a decent twist to it. Unfortunately, everything else is a mess. Legacy characters are killed off for no other reason than to pave the way for the new. Spectre - this omnipresent super organization and its leader are written out of existence with a whimper. The villain is entirely an empty suit with no real goal or purpose clearly communicated. No character really acts like they have in previous movies, with M behaving like a villain and Bond with a domestic husband vibe. The 'new' characters are really nothing more than checkboxes added in late stage of movie production and boy does it show. Not only that, but it also pulls a Dial of Destiny and just flat out brings Bond back just to rob him of the happy ending from the previous movie. And on the subject, you can absolutely tell when and where Phoebe Waller Bridge inserts her awkward contributions to this script because they absolutely do not fit. That being said, all the action is on point and even improved in places, so at least you won't be lacking there.

    I wouldn't say acting is bad, but the material the actors have been giving doesn't really lend itself to enthralling performances. That, coupled with nonsensical dialogue often, just takes away from the experience as a whole. I will say Daniel Craig actually puts forth some effort since Casino Royale, the problem is he's not even Bond. They may as well have just done an original work rather than rewriting the character this much.

    Special effects are one of the strong points of the film with practical ruling the screen most of the time. I especially love the 'one take' shootout sequence towards the climax. Everything seems to be on point from car chases, to gun battles, to fist fights otherwise.

    At nearly three hours, the movie is too long, and its directionless script showcases it. You the viewer will also feel it pretty quickly. I have a feeling if Phoebe Waller Bridge's writing was cut out, you'd have something more realistic for a run time and nothing of value would be lost. Since it's release, I've maybe seen this movie three times and one was purely for reviewing. So, there is no real reason to rewatch this one.

    After his work on bringing Top Gun Maverick's soundtrack to life, I can confidently say Hans Zimmer nails the Bond soundtrack for this one, being loyal to previous entries, but bringing a new energy to it as well. Billy Eilish, however, was a very poor choice for the credits theme song. It sounds nothing like a Bond song, not to mention, whispering over music is not 'singing'. Sound design itself is explosive and vibrant as it should be.

    I really can't recommend No Time To Die for anyone and the ending stating that "James Bond Will Return" just had me saying "Please, no". Just stick with Spectre for Bond's sendoff and let this entry fade into obscurity. Heck, I'll even tell you to watch Die Another Day over this. At least Die Another Day tried to have some fun instead being nihilistic, dour, and depressing; destroying one of our favorite secret agents.
  • bigcarsonrocks - 11 February 2024
    Good, Not Great But Still A Must Watch
    Not exactly the send off expected for Daniel Craig. The movie could have been so much more but Rami Malek is somewhat of a pathetic villain croaking out his lines. Very weak performance and a poor choice IMO. The film has had some interesting stuff like: Felix coming back and Bond becoming a broken and wounded character. There were a few shocking character deaths as well as a sad ending. Not ideal. Daniel Craig's performance was electrifying as was his tenure as bond. He never disappoints! I would suggest he has been the best Bond ever - a nice 15 year run from the series. Ana de Armas was beautiful, funny, fantastic and kick's butt in action as Paloma. The action sequences were exciting, nail biting and suspenseful. There were some emotional moments and tense scenes and powerful moments too. But agai Rami Malek as Safin, is weak and disappoints. Although not as good as Casino Royale or Skyfall, both masterpieces, this film is entertaining and a must watch.
  • cudax - 28 November 2023
    Great action, but...
    As usual, there's always a lot of great action sequences, some more believable than others of course. The earlier movies in this long series were obviously lacking sophistication with respect to special effects, but got marginally better until around the time of Pierce Brosnan, who, in my opinion, was the best, even though I love Daniel Craig in the role. He was a gritty,capable, no nonsense secret agent and doesn't disappoint. My problem is two-fold...firstly, James Bond is not supposed to fall in love. 007 remains detached from emotional involvement, but twice now, he has fallen in love! Secondly, and, most important, if Bond were to "retire" to a more peaceful life,, he would be free to get involved with a woman. However, the 007 number woud not be given to another agent while both were brought on board by MI-6.
  • john22615 - 2 January 2023
    The only bad Bond film
    I've been a big Bond fan all my life and saw many of the films at the cinemas when released. I've also collected copies of all films and watch them all from time to time. This film is the exception.

    Seems to have been thrown together just to hit all the current politically correct targets. Not in keeping with Fleming's writings or concepts at all.

    I watched it once but will not bother a second time. Shame for Daniel Craig as he had been a great Bond up until now.

    I don't know what the future is for Bond films but I do fear they will change many characters away from the images we all know and that have made the films a success up until now. The changes could result in a storyline and film that many of us won't watch.
  • t_curovic - 25 December 2022
    The worse one ever
    I am wondering what were screenplayers, producers and director thinking about when they were making this movie? Biggest disappointment for me as James Bond movies fan. Movie without point, no story to follow, totally chaotic and without any sense. It is a pity for the franchise and legacy of all other excellent, extraordinary, beautiful James Bond movies. With this one a lot of fans will be lost and are already lost. And again, I am realy wondering what was the point, storyline, reason behind all the drama and scattered scenes? 007 is spy agent, in love with dead woman but also little bit in love with someone else. I could go on and on and on but it would make me even angrier.
  • allie701 - 13 November 2022
    Title lies
    Starting with the worst Bond song ever - lugubrious, stupid and nothing you would want to hear again. AND IT WON THE OSCAR! Which says something about the competition. Everything in this movie was in slow motion from the wacko villain to that kid who must have been on tranquilizers.

    One big reason this Bond film stunk was there was absolutely no humor. You could always count on Bond seeing things from a sardonic perspective which he demonstrated with dreadful puns and unflappable grace. In this episode he appeared to be running on fumes with no energy or dash.

    And of course the elephant in the room. Who kills off the golden goose? So the Broccoli family decides it's the end of the line. Fine, but you could let Bond retire with his newly discovered family and make all his fans happy. Someone back at the studio apparently decided, If I can't have him, no one can have him. That's just being a poor sport.
  • johnnymacbest - 20 October 2022
    Solid Conclusion To Daniel Craig Era (despite the wokeness)
    Well, we finally came to the conclusion of the Daniel Craig era of Bond movies and it's quite sad to see such a talented actor's take on one of cinemas most endearing and cherished characters, but most importantly of all, is to look forward to the future of the franchise and see how crazy it can get.

    Tentatively, the producers are in the process of planning the next installment in the franchise, which in this case, is another continuity reboot due to Craig's retirement; it should be quite interesting to see who takes up the mantle. Here's hoping they stick to tradition.

    Does the film in on a high not? Maybe not for most, but at the very least, we got to see it to it's end and in some ways, it's quite spectacular to witness and behold the endgame to the Craig films.

    James Bond Will Return.