“The satisfying finale and the most Michael Bay in the James Bond Franchise”

Dir: Cary Joji Fukunaga
Prod: Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli
Writ: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Cast: Daniel Craig, Léa Seydoux, Lashana Lynch, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Rami Malek, Jeffrey Wright, Naomie Harris, Ana De Armas

No Time to Die is the 25th James Bond film and, I believe, Daniel Craig’s final performance as James Bond. It’s also likely the final Bond movie, as the way the film ends strongly suggests the series may be over for good. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, who is fresh off True Detective and It, I think Fukunaga might not have been the ideal director for a James Bond film.

On the positive side, I love how the movie look.It’s visually stunning. The acting, as usual for a Bond film, is great. I also enjoyed the addition of Paloma’s character surprise, surprise she’s fun, charming, and awesome addition. The fact that she doesn’t have any romantic relationship with Bond is a plus for me. Daniel Craig is fantastic as James Bond, as always. However, there are some stunts that he can’t perform anymore due to his age, which is understandable. The supporting characters, like Moneypenny, the new 007, Nomi, and Q, are still fun and engaging.

The mixed aspects of the film for me include the score by Hans Zimmer. While I love Zimmer’s work, the score doesn’t feel particularly special it seems straight out of The Dark Knight and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The villain, Safin, also feels bland compared to earlier Bond villains like Le Chiffre or Raoul Silva. Those characters had real, grounded motivations, while Safin is just your typical throwback Bond villain who wants to destroy the world for the “greater good” by reducing the human population with a virus. He doesn’t have the same impact as Le Chiffre or Silva, though he’s still better than Blofeld, who is very underutilized in this movie.

Now, for the negatives, it’s not the pacing or the duration, but rather Fukunaga’s direction. While he can handle action sequences, the oversaturated orange color palette, the explosions everywhere, the IMAX aspect ratio, and the handheld camera work really remind me of Michael Bay. In fact, this movie doesn’t seem to have a clear identity in terms of direction or identity crisis. In contrast, with Casino Royale, we knew it was Martin Campbell’s film, and with Skyfall and Spectre, we knew those were Sam Mendes films. But with No Time to Die, if someone told me Michael Bay directed it, I’d probably believe a person them.

Overall, if you’re looking for a solid, satisfying conclusion to the James Bond series after 25 films, this movie delivers. While the direction feels very reminiscent of Michael Bay, you can still appreciate the movie and enjoy watching it.

My Rating: B+.