There were a few niggles, as with any film, but they did not spoil my enjoyment of NTTD.
I thought they could have got a better actress to play the new 007. To me she was unconvincing, especially in the shooting scenes.
I don't know what I was expecting with NTTD but I certainly was not expecting this and it is perhaps because it was different that made me enjoy it so much.
I usually don't like the other MI6 characters to have too much of a role and in this one I think they got it about right.
Just as a tribute to Ian Fleming, I thought it would have been good if they had used goldeneye as Bond's home in Jamaica.
The only other Craig film I thought was genuinely good was Casino Royale (though I think it was too long), the others I can take or leave - especially Skyfall.
My main issue is how Bond returns now he has been killed? I did wonder if they will do what IF did in DN and have some miraculous cure?! Bond was blown into cover by the shock wave of the initial blast but survives then, after surviving for some time alone on the island is somehow found and brught back to London where they have by now developed a 'antidodte' for the Herocles? I'm sure they have already worked out how they are going to do that anyway.
Concerning Bond’s return, I bet they will do nothing to justify it. The Craig era is an entity with a beginning, a middle and an end. It’s not supposed to have any link with the original series in terms of characters and timeline (Tracy doesn’t even exist here). I think Bond 26 will be a reboot involving a brand new iteration of Bond (like Pattinson’s Batman has nothing to do with Bale’s for instance).
Time lapse footage of Bond's house being built is one of the first things released (before it had a damn title), yet a YouTube video goes up ("Things you didn't know about NTTD or some such) and it claims Bond's house is Goldeneye. The actual Goldeneye is spacious and white and on a cliff - you'd think Bond had become a drug lord if the film found him there. Lovely place but it would have been totally out of place in the film.
I enjoyed NTTD more on my second viewing. Most of my issues with it were straightened out with a better understanding of the story (Safin let Mathilde go because he knew he had Bond with the virus he still carried, for example) and anything left is mostly minor niggles. Knowing the ending was coming made it easier to take, even if it left me with a sad note. It's a great film taken on its own merits, but I'm still unsure how to appreciate it as a Bond film.
I am looking forward to watching NTTD for the second time but I am going to be patient for another couple of months or so as I want to enjoy it as much as the first time which I don't think I'll do if I watched it again now (if that makes sense! It does to me any way!)
I posted this onto another thread yesterday and @chrisno1 pointed out that it may be useful to post here too…so here it is…
NO TIME TO DIE (2021)
Records are meant to be broken, so after months of agonising whether to see NTTD before I’ve seen it in the cinema, I finally succumbed last night as this is now available to stream on Amazon free of charge. So, after 60 years of seeing Bond films in the cinema (I first saw DN aged 6 in 1962) due to the ongoing pandemic and with cinemas still closed here in Cebu, and me not even knowing if it will be shown when they do reopen anyway, I decided to watch it. I knew some spoilers, Bond and Leiter being killed and the new 007, for instance, and I don’t think it spoilt the experience.
There are a lot of faults, it’s far too long, a good 30 minutes could be shaved off to pace it properly. What is it with today’s movies having to be so bum achingly long? All of Craig’s tenure has been spoilt by them being too long, even QOS, which is about 80 minutes too long 😂. The PTS is like a mini movie in itself and becomes boring long before we see the title sequence which is good but embellished with a humdrum song. The premise is ok but the emphasis on Bond’s personal life is overdone and it’s pretty much all we’ve had over the 5 films and it’s become boring, boring, boring. The death of Leiter should have been poignant but it wasn’t, as the relationship hadn’t had time to develop into a proper friendship. Where the film scores is the island base, this is proper Bond stuff and what we have missed over Craig’s tenure. The ending is kind of sad, but because this Bond MkII, or Earth-2 Bond, has only been around for 5 films it doesn’t really have that OMG factor, Craig’s Bond hasn’t got into my heart like the Connery-Lazenby-Moore-Dalton era did. And to use the OHMSS music is sacrilege 🙁
Now that the 5 film reboot is over it’s time for a reassessment. CR is a brilliant film and stands alone as a genuine top Bond film in any era. QOS is a terrible movie, best forgotten. SK and SP are ok but too long and too much emphasis on Bond’s personal life. When I first saw SP I thought it was a fantastic entry but on further viewings it has paled somewhat. I think it was an experiment gone wrong. How much was influenced by Craig, I don’t know, he’s a decent actor but there has been far too much angst, I felt devastated for Lazenby’s Bond In OHMSS but cannot feel anywhere close to that for Craig’s Bond.
Was it worth the wait? Probably not. It’s ok, and aside from CR, that’s all it is for what followed.
I want Bond to have single missions, I want the villains to have nefarious plans to destroy the world, I want bases to be blown up at the end, I want Bond discarding lovers left right and centre, I want some fun back into the movies. Unless Amazon take it over I don’t think we will get it.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
I share you feelings in many aspects, that I imparted on the threads after my first viewing upon it's release, so won't repeat myself.
But I do love QoS😊👍️
I do hope they just get over the continuation awkwardness of death of Bond in the opening of Bond 26. Just use the "This never happened to the other fellow" again, and be done with it and move on.
I'd agree with that, The Red Kind. I don't think the producers need to be clever about bringing Bond back, they don't even need to refer to a code name, or insert an incompetent reference to past times, or to Craig-Bond or any other Bond. They just need to start all over again: no back story, no origin story, no wife, nothing: just Bond on a mission handed out by M in the office, a beautiful girl, a dastardly villain and a whole roster or fights and stunts with a few caustic asides and contemporary allusions. It isn't hard. Jason Statham made low-brow examples of this kind of fare three times a year for goodness sake. We should be enjoying OO7, not intellectualising the poor fellow.
Despite buying the NTTD blu ray on release day I’ve still only watched it once. That’s a record for me and not a good one. I really disliked Spectre but still bought the blu ray and watched it several times. I can’t quite put my finger on it, not sure if it’s the silly ending, the whole 007 code nonsense, another weak villain or the impression that DC was running the show.
CR was sublime, just a wonderful film. I like QoS a lot. SF was good until Silva arrived. Spectre was dreadful and NTTD ultimately a disappointment. I can’t help but look back at the DC era as a brilliant start and then slowly downhill from there.
I finally got the No Time to Die dvd a few weeks ago, and last weekend watched it for the first time since seeing it in the theatre. For the last six months I've had all our debates more clear in my mind than my memory of the actual film, and then the Shakespear-ified version confused my memory further. So, as of last weekend, once again my memory of the real film EON gave us is relatively clear.
I watched it over three nights:
Night 1: precredits and Cuba (mostly very enjoyable)
Night 2: London and Norway (a helluva a lotta blablabla)
Night 3: the villains headquarters (good set for a Bond movie, pity about the story that unfolds there)
I never did a formal Review in thisthread, and can’t organise my thoughts into essay format like all of you can, so prefer to use the Pros n Cons format to collect all my scattered thoughts into one place. I have collected various scattered thoughts inspired from my fresh viewing over in the Pros and Cons: No Time To Die thread.
Comments
Cue the usual handful of people that will try to convince you it was sh1t 🤣
There were a few niggles, as with any film, but they did not spoil my enjoyment of NTTD.
I thought they could have got a better actress to play the new 007. To me she was unconvincing, especially in the shooting scenes.
I don't know what I was expecting with NTTD but I certainly was not expecting this and it is perhaps because it was different that made me enjoy it so much.
I usually don't like the other MI6 characters to have too much of a role and in this one I think they got it about right.
Just as a tribute to Ian Fleming, I thought it would have been good if they had used goldeneye as Bond's home in Jamaica.
The only other Craig film I thought was genuinely good was Casino Royale (though I think it was too long), the others I can take or leave - especially Skyfall.
My main issue is how Bond returns now he has been killed? I did wonder if they will do what IF did in DN and have some miraculous cure?! Bond was blown into cover by the shock wave of the initial blast but survives then, after surviving for some time alone on the island is somehow found and brught back to London where they have by now developed a 'antidodte' for the Herocles? I'm sure they have already worked out how they are going to do that anyway.
They actually used Goldeneye for Bond’s house.
Concerning Bond’s return, I bet they will do nothing to justify it. The Craig era is an entity with a beginning, a middle and an end. It’s not supposed to have any link with the original series in terms of characters and timeline (Tracy doesn’t even exist here). I think Bond 26 will be a reboot involving a brand new iteration of Bond (like Pattinson’s Batman has nothing to do with Bale’s for instance).
They actually used Goldeneye for Bond’s house.
Sorry to dampen your enthusiasm @SeanIsTheOnlyOne , but Bond's house was an especially constructed set built on San San Beach in Port Antonio.
Goldeneye was the location for prepublicity press jaunts regarding filming in Jamaica, but they never used it's not in the movie.
Time lapse footage of Bond's house being built is one of the first things released (before it had a damn title), yet a YouTube video goes up ("Things you didn't know about NTTD or some such) and it claims Bond's house is Goldeneye. The actual Goldeneye is spacious and white and on a cliff - you'd think Bond had become a drug lord if the film found him there. Lovely place but it would have been totally out of place in the film.
I enjoyed NTTD more on my second viewing. Most of my issues with it were straightened out with a better understanding of the story (Safin let Mathilde go because he knew he had Bond with the virus he still carried, for example) and anything left is mostly minor niggles. Knowing the ending was coming made it easier to take, even if it left me with a sad note. It's a great film taken on its own merits, but I'm still unsure how to appreciate it as a Bond film.
8. TMwtGG 9. AVtaK 10. TSWLM 11. SF 12. LtK 13. TND 14. YOLT
15. NTtD 16. MR 17. LaLD 18. GF 19. SP 20. DN 21. TB
22. TWiNE 23. DAD 24. QoS 25. DaF
I am looking forward to watching NTTD for the second time but I am going to be patient for another couple of months or so as I want to enjoy it as much as the first time which I don't think I'll do if I watched it again now (if that makes sense! It does to me any way!)
I posted this onto another thread yesterday and @chrisno1 pointed out that it may be useful to post here too…so here it is…
NO TIME TO DIE (2021)
Records are meant to be broken, so after months of agonising whether to see NTTD before I’ve seen it in the cinema, I finally succumbed last night as this is now available to stream on Amazon free of charge. So, after 60 years of seeing Bond films in the cinema (I first saw DN aged 6 in 1962) due to the ongoing pandemic and with cinemas still closed here in Cebu, and me not even knowing if it will be shown when they do reopen anyway, I decided to watch it. I knew some spoilers, Bond and Leiter being killed and the new 007, for instance, and I don’t think it spoilt the experience.
There are a lot of faults, it’s far too long, a good 30 minutes could be shaved off to pace it properly. What is it with today’s movies having to be so bum achingly long? All of Craig’s tenure has been spoilt by them being too long, even QOS, which is about 80 minutes too long 😂. The PTS is like a mini movie in itself and becomes boring long before we see the title sequence which is good but embellished with a humdrum song. The premise is ok but the emphasis on Bond’s personal life is overdone and it’s pretty much all we’ve had over the 5 films and it’s become boring, boring, boring. The death of Leiter should have been poignant but it wasn’t, as the relationship hadn’t had time to develop into a proper friendship. Where the film scores is the island base, this is proper Bond stuff and what we have missed over Craig’s tenure. The ending is kind of sad, but because this Bond MkII, or Earth-2 Bond, has only been around for 5 films it doesn’t really have that OMG factor, Craig’s Bond hasn’t got into my heart like the Connery-Lazenby-Moore-Dalton era did. And to use the OHMSS music is sacrilege 🙁
Now that the 5 film reboot is over it’s time for a reassessment. CR is a brilliant film and stands alone as a genuine top Bond film in any era. QOS is a terrible movie, best forgotten. SK and SP are ok but too long and too much emphasis on Bond’s personal life. When I first saw SP I thought it was a fantastic entry but on further viewings it has paled somewhat. I think it was an experiment gone wrong. How much was influenced by Craig, I don’t know, he’s a decent actor but there has been far too much angst, I felt devastated for Lazenby’s Bond In OHMSS but cannot feel anywhere close to that for Craig’s Bond.
Was it worth the wait? Probably not. It’s ok, and aside from CR, that’s all it is for what followed.
I want Bond to have single missions, I want the villains to have nefarious plans to destroy the world, I want bases to be blown up at the end, I want Bond discarding lovers left right and centre, I want some fun back into the movies. Unless Amazon take it over I don’t think we will get it.
Thanks for the review @CoolHandBond
I share you feelings in many aspects, that I imparted on the threads after my first viewing upon it's release, so won't repeat myself.
But I do love QoS😊👍️
I do hope they just get over the continuation awkwardness of death of Bond in the opening of Bond 26. Just use the "This never happened to the other fellow" again, and be done with it and move on.
I'd agree with that, The Red Kind. I don't think the producers need to be clever about bringing Bond back, they don't even need to refer to a code name, or insert an incompetent reference to past times, or to Craig-Bond or any other Bond. They just need to start all over again: no back story, no origin story, no wife, nothing: just Bond on a mission handed out by M in the office, a beautiful girl, a dastardly villain and a whole roster or fights and stunts with a few caustic asides and contemporary allusions. It isn't hard. Jason Statham made low-brow examples of this kind of fare three times a year for goodness sake. We should be enjoying OO7, not intellectualising the poor fellow.
And I too have warmed immeasurably to QOS 😁
Despite buying the NTTD blu ray on release day I’ve still only watched it once. That’s a record for me and not a good one. I really disliked Spectre but still bought the blu ray and watched it several times. I can’t quite put my finger on it, not sure if it’s the silly ending, the whole 007 code nonsense, another weak villain or the impression that DC was running the show.
CR was sublime, just a wonderful film. I like QoS a lot. SF was good until Silva arrived. Spectre was dreadful and NTTD ultimately a disappointment. I can’t help but look back at the DC era as a brilliant start and then slowly downhill from there.
I finally got the No Time to Die dvd a few weeks ago, and last weekend watched it for the first time since seeing it in the theatre. For the last six months I've had all our debates more clear in my mind than my memory of the actual film, and then the Shakespear-ified version confused my memory further. So, as of last weekend, once again my memory of the real film EON gave us is relatively clear.
I watched it over three nights:
Night 1: precredits and Cuba (mostly very enjoyable)
Night 2: London and Norway (a helluva a lotta blablabla)
Night 3: the villains headquarters (good set for a Bond movie, pity about the story that unfolds there)
I never did a formal Review in this thread, and can’t organise my thoughts into essay format like all of you can, so prefer to use the Pros n Cons format to collect all my scattered thoughts into one place. I have collected various scattered thoughts inspired from my fresh viewing over in the Pros and Cons: No Time To Die thread.