Well, it has been a little more than one day since my last post in this series on the latest James Bond film, No Time to Die. If you have seen the movie, I think you may know why it took this long to post something about the movie. If you haven't watched it yet, I recommend you stop reading here and find a streaming service or the nearest Best Buy that will sell you a copy so you can view and make your life whole.
At this point I have given the spoiler warning and can go into my official review of No Time to Die.
1. This is hands down the most emotional Bond film since On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The ending of Casino Royale is certainly poignant, but from start to finish the latest entry in the series will emotionally wreck you.
2. I like a pre-title sequence to be its own stand-alone adventure like the early films did, but boy is this one exciting. It is a little long and combines two story elements, which I normally don't like as I want it to be a few minutes long with Bond working on some unrelated mission, but the action and intensity in both plotlines is amazing.
3. The reference to Dr. No with the dots in the title sequence was a great touch and isn't an Easter egg that feels forced. True fans get it. Others probably don't even notice them.
4. From day one I have said that Billie Eilish's lyrics were the best of the entire series. They let the listener know exactly what the mood of the film is going to be and sum up Daniel Craig's entire time in the series. I'm not a huge fan of the song as I don't care for the seeming laziness in the vocals, but the lyrics themselves are a real highlight.
5. I'm not the only one to say this as she was a big hit for a lot of moviegoers, but Ana de Armas' character, Paloma, was outstanding. I really wish we had gotten more than just the Cuba sequence with her, but the time we do spend with her is excellent.
6. Welcome back Felix! And no, they killed Felix! This was the second moment that had me really worried in the movie (the first being when Bond says, "We have all the time in the world" during the pre-title sequence, which I then know was a sign of death for somebody). I have loved Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter. I really struggle in each viewing with this scene because it is hard to see him killed off. Maiming Felix is normal as it has happened in the books and films, but death was not an expected outcome. In my first watch I think my mouth was agape for about 7 minutes straight as I didn't know how to process it.
7. I've never been a fan of the MI6 crew being the Scooby gang during Craig's tenure. I like them making brief appearances and helping where they need to, but the last three movies have overutilized M, Moneypenny, Q, and Tanner. However, with that being said, the folks playing these characters are incredible actors and give phenomenal performances. When Ralph Fiennes came on board as the new M and had that final scene in Skyfall I went crazy because it was alluding to the type of relationship Sean Connery had with Bernard Lee. This ended up being a little more adversarial than I thought it would be, but it was still a great iteration of the character. Ben Whishaw and Naomie Harris were excellent in their roles of Q and Moneypenny. We haven't seen much of Bill Tanner previously (with the exception of Pierce Brosnan's tenure and a no-named appearance in For Your Eyes Only), but Rory Kinnear's realization of the character has been the best so far in the series.
8. The reveal that Bond had a kid was ... interesting. Even after a year I am still on the fence about whether it was a good idea or not. However, that kid is freaking cute!
9. So let's talk about the elephant in the room. They killed off our hero. For nearly 60 years James Bond has gone to the brink of death saving the world. Audiences knew what they were going to get when they went to see the latest James Bond adventure: girls, guns, action, cars, gadgets, and James Bond living at the end to have one last bit of romantic time (normally in a sea transport of some kind). This one didn't live up to that expectation. Like the introduction of the child, killing off Bond is not something I thought would ever happen and I'm not sure how I feel about it. However, the music that goes along with that scene is some of the best in the entire series. I love John Barry's music, but what Hans Zimmer did to pull on my unemotional heart strings was a thing of beauty.