No Time To Die

 

No Time To Die (7.5/10)
Genre: Action/Adventure
Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
Cast: Daniel Craig, Léa Seydoux, Rami Malek
Country: UK/USA
Language: English
Year: 2021

No Time to Die is a fitting farewell to Daniel Craig's James Bond, and even though it is not the best Bond movie, it is my second favorite Craig-Bond film after Skyfall. Some folks have praised this film while others have mixed feelings, but I loved every second of it, mesmerized by the beautiful cinematography and production design and some mind-blowing stunts. The story is not the typical spy espionage-mystery, which is an integral part of Bond films.  

No Time to Die feels like a personal farewell to 007 played by Daniel Craig - a very uncanny resemblance to Hugh Jackman's Logan - although both films have nothing in common apart from a respectable send-off to its long-serving protagonist. 

No Time To Connects all five films starring Daniel Craig and sets up the tragic finale, which hints at something new in the Bond Universe, and only time will tell what the future holds. I liked Cary Joji Fukunaga's version of Bond as it was different from the last two films directed by Sam Mendes. As many as four writers contributed to the story and screenplay, including Fukunaga, and the result is fruitious. 

The story shows a retired Bond leading a quiet and peaceful life but soon encounters his past and future. 

Cary Joji Fukunaga is slowly making his name as one of the top contemporary directors working in the Hollywood scene, and No Time to Die cements his place. Daniel Craig may be older than he started playing Bond some fifteen-odd years ago, but his charm as Bond will remain forever. Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, Rory Kinnear, and Ralph Fiennes reprise their roles from previous films, while Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch, Billy Magnussen, Ana de Armas, David Dencik, and Dali Benssalah add to the new cast. 

Linus Sandgren's exquisite cinematography is one of the major highlights in the film. Hans Zimmer's music becomes a quintessential part of every film he works on, and this film is no different. 

I loved every second of No Time To Die, and if you can ignore the lack of spy elements, it is an elemental James Bond movie.