No Time to Die (2021) Review

Title: No Time to Die
Year: 2021
Director: Cory Fukuda
Country: UK
Language: English 

Prior to seeing No Time to Die I had only heard two opinions about the film; it's either the best Bond in its 50+yr franchise, or the worst. I have to admit, ever since Quantum of Solace (2008) I've had a considerable lack of interest in these movies. Daniel Craig, I initially thought, could never live up to the Bond of my childhood, Piece Brosnan (Goldeneye). The combined enthusiasm of Dr. Michael W. Boyce (film professor) & Dr. Lisa Funnell (author of Geographies, Genders, and Geopolitics of James Bond ) brought my interest back from the depths. I had to see this picture, especially after it had been delayed time and time again. 

James Bond (Daniel Craig) has left active service. His peace is short-lived when Felix Leiter (Jeffery Wright) , an old friend from the CIA, turns up asking for help, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.

In No Time To Die Craig's Bond has been molded to fit with our modern audiences' sensibilities. Gone are the sexist quips & attempts to make our hero the invulnerable poster-boy for toxic masculinity. What we get in return is a more intimate look at a man who is far more emotionally vulnerable than we've seen in previous ventures. I suspect this is where the divide is; a lot of people see this as a woke, sjw, neo-liberal take on a franchise that catered to men. Personally, I see it as a refreshing perspective. There's only so many times we are hand-fed the same uber-masculine 007 agent before we get bored with it.

Part of the film was a little hard to follow because I had not seen the the last few Craig films and that may be No Time to Die's biggest weakness;  it expects you to already know many of these characters.  I suspect, especially with how things played out, the days of the standalone Bond film are long gone. I appreciate that I didn't need to have seen Goldeneye to watch Die Another Day. This may also be where there's a divide; many people like that the films are a continuing series like the Marvel Cinematic Universe rather than episodic. 

No Time to Die is the longest Bond film to date, but it didn't feel that way for me. I was captivated by Director Cory Fukunaga's. at times, poetic version of Bond that blew me away with its beautiful cinematography. The film even made me re-consider my dissaproval of Billie Eilish's theme song.