25 Days of Bond (Day 23)

We are so close. Only two days to go and we will have a new Bond movie in the franchise. After seeing the first trailer for No Time to Die I was expecting it to be the best film in the series since From Russia with Love. I've since decided to temper my expectations and then I started believing it to be the best since Casino Royale. If it turns out to be anything as good as Skyfall I will be a happy fan (but in reality it could be the worst in the series and I'll still just be glad to have a new entry in the series).

1. We haven't had a pre-title sequence that tries to make the viewer believe Bond has died in a long time. I think the last one was You Only Live Twice.

2. The title song from Adele is exactly what you would expect. It has the classic bombastic musical tones of a Shirley Bassey/John Barry style from the Goldfinger days, but modernized for a 21st century audience. It is incredible and absolutely deserved the Academy Award for Best Original Song, a first for the Bond franchise to win.

3. "Then why do you need me?" "Every now and then a trigger has to be pulled." "Or not pulled. It's hard to know which in your pajamas."

4. Sam Mendes is one of the more famous directors to ever helm a Bond movie and his aesthetic traits can be seen in certain shots throughout the movie. One of these that is a real standout is the footage of the city of Shanghai as it combines with the music to make a great union of sight and sound.

5. My favorite sequence is the silhouette fight between Bond and Patrice in the skyscraper office. Even the buildup to the fight is great as Bond is trying to sneak up on the assassin by staying in the shadows and reflections of the glowing neon outside the building. Even though you cannot really tell which character is which since it just two black figures in hand-to-hand combat, you still can't help but be impressed with what is on the screen.

6. And another beautiful combination of visual and artistic style is when Bond is floating into the entrance of the Macau casino. The fireworks going off above, the floating lanterns, and the illuminated dragon make for a compelling location that I wish existed in real life. Unfortunately, the Golden Dragon Casino is only a creation of the production team at Pinewood Studios.

7. Berenice Marlohe is just stunning. I don't know if there are any other half French, half Cambodian and Chinese women in the world, but if there are I can't imagine they are as gorgeous as Miss Marlohe. Her character Severine doesn't last long in the film, but while she is onscreen your gaze is likely fixated on her.

8. What an entrance Silva makes. His opening monologue, and even the one later when he is imprisoned and explaining why he has done the things he's done, is compelling and one of the most memorable introductions to a Bond villain we've ever had.

9. Although a lot of people have complained about the convoluted plot and story conveniences when it comes to Silva's escape, it still gives us a great sequence of Bond chasing him through the London underground as Q helps. This scene is particularly useful as it not only is a fun action/chase moment, but it gives us some interplay and team building for Bond and the new Q. It sets up the development of a relationship that viewers had enjoyed where Q was always annoyed by Bond and Bond just kept at annoying him. Now we've seen the first hints at how this interrelation began.

10. While the silhouette fight between Bond and Patrice is my favorite scene, the shootout at the government inquest is Joanna's favorite, and honestly I can't say I blame her. The tension mounts, the music builds, Judi Dench reads poetry, and Bond comes in to save the day with some help from a few allies. Even the ingenuity of how he frees the hostages is quite original.

11. The return of the Aston Martin DB5! I don't care that it's featured too much in the Brosnan and Craig eras. I love that car and all of its magnificent toys.

12. Another complaint for some critics of this film is the Home Alone climax. I don't care that it feels like a ripoff of the Macaulay Culkin holiday classic. It shows 007's ingenuity and resourcefulness as he outwits Silva when outmanned and outgunned. Plus, who doesn't love watching Albert Finney blast away some faceless henchmen as he quips, "Welcome to Scotland."

13. This is a really small moment, but I have always enjoyed it. When Bond is running across the field of his ancestral home and he jump kicks a henchman in stride, it always makes me smile.

14. Javier Bardem's death scene is so freaking great.

15. The final scene of the new M and Bond in an office harkens back to the classic films where Bond is given an assignment as he sits across from his boss. Once Craig retires and we do another reboot of the franchise, I want to get back to Bond being given an assignment in M's office and we start off on our adventure.