{"id":17225,"date":"2021-10-07T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-07T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/?p=17225"},"modified":"2024-03-02T21:14:01","modified_gmt":"2024-03-03T05:14:01","slug":"review-no-time-to-die","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/review-no-time-to-die\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: No Time to Die<\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cary Joji Fukunaga\u2019s No Time to Die<\/em> is a fitting finale to the Daniel Craig era of James Bond, which eschewed the series\u2019 characteristic glib tone and absurd action sequences for grit and real consequences \u2014 both physical and emotional \u2014 for the hero. This 25th film in the franchise is at once on brand with the two dozen films that preceded it, while managing new possibilities for the almost 60-year-old series. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No Time to Die<\/em> begins with a flashback within a prologue, giving us a glimpse of the childhood of Bond lover Madeleine (L\u00e9a Seydoux) and brief moments of grown-up bliss between the psychologist and the now-retired spy. The film vastly overestimates both our memory of and our investment in 2015\u2019s Spectre<\/em>, as well as the character Madeleine herself, but I\u2019ll move on. Meanwhile, the franchise cannot: the ghost of Eva Green\u2019s Vesper Lynd still lingers over the proceedings, and a visit to her grave in Italy puts Bond back into danger. It also threw me into a mental tailspin wondering why Vesper\u2019s tombstone says she was born three years after Green was in reality. (I know why: Bond girls can\u2019t be over 40, even in death.) Fast forward five years and Bond is still retired and living in Jamaica when another face from the past \u2014 Jeffrey Wright\u2019s Felix Leiter \u2014 tempts him back into the spy game with the opportunity to get back at SPECTRE. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What unfolds over the nearly three-hour runtime is both surprising and not for fans of the franchise. There\u2019s a big bad \u2014 Rami Malek\u2019s murkily motivated Lyutsifer Safin (eye roll) \u2014 who has to be stopped from killing millions, and a tux-clad Bond does espionage alongside a beautiful woman (Ana de Armas, absolutely disarming in far too brief an appearance) in far-flung global locales. However, there\u2019s emotional depth here that hasn\u2019t been a hallmark of the franchise, even in the weightier Craig years that have made 007 both emotionally and physically vulnerable. First-time Bond composer Hans Zimmer\u2019s take on the iconic theme brings new urgency to the score, while the sound design emphasizes the stakes here as the violence has a real impact on the characters on screen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But even with the upped gravitas in this outing, No Time to Die<\/em> still has its fun moments with finely orchestrated car chases and fight scenes (those high kicks from de Armas!). Its witty dialogue goes beyond the series\u2019 expected double entendres, thanks to a punch-up from Phoebe Waller-Bridge to the script from Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Fukunaga. Hugh Dennis, the bank manager from Fleabag<\/em>, even shows up here in one of the scenes that feels most shaped by Waller-Bridge\u2019s voice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Whether due to her influence or that 007 isn\u2019t fully on the prowl, No Time to Die<\/em> is the rare film in the franchise that treats women as people. Don\u2019t worry, bros; you still get your sexy ladies on screen. De Armas is stunning in a plunging evening gown, and Lashana Lynch seduces the audience as an MI6 agent. However, the film doesn\u2019t suffer from the lack of the lingering, leering bikini shots that have been franchise trademarks. Plus, the women in No Time to Die<\/em> aren\u2019t just Bond Girls, who will either be a sexual conquest, a pawn lacking agency, or both. Instead, the film lets each of the women on screen be (gasp) an actual human. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No Time to Die<\/em> doesn\u2019t just rely on the women (and Craig) as the source of on-screen beauty. This is truly a gorgeously shot film, both in its framing of these attractive people and the impressive locations. Oscar-winner Linus Sandgren captures the colorful streets of Santiago de Cuba and the heart-stopping heights of Norway\u2019s Atlantic Road, and there\u2019s a dizzying upside-down shot that feels remarkably fresh within the world of the decades-old series. Director Fukunaga has also worked as a cinematographer (including on 2015\u2019s Beasts of No Nation<\/em>), and his collaboration with Sandgren results in one of the best-looking Bond films alongside Roger Deakins\u2019 Skyfall <\/em>(2012). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bond purists will likely complain about plenty here (and, you know, everywhere in a world that isn\u2019t just about their boners anymore), but expecting 007 to stay the same as everything has changed around him does a disservice to the character and his skills. The Bond in No Time to Die<\/em> remains the suave martini-swigging master spy, but he\u2019s evolved enough to ensure he remains relevant and emotionally resonant.\u00a0\"\"\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

B+<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

“No Time to Die” is in theaters Friday.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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