No Time to Die

Less is more in the end, but I understand the effort to give the final chapter of an unrivalled era everything. Including two Bond films in one. Because this is a grueling part of the physical period – and yet there is a villain with a megalomaniacal plan that resembles long-forgotten screenplay formulae. At the same time, it is still a series with 007 – and yet dialogue comes up on topics that have never been in it before. No matter which way I look at the result, the spectacle of No Time to Die is different than I expected. And that is precisely the biggest victory and defeat at the same time. It references its own serialization, where it barely matches the finale of Skyfall or the oppressive escalation of Spectre, but even at the end, in the breathless finish on the stairs, it achieves and provides a high point of the last pentalogy. It is a pity that the final threat is Safin, who loses out to the terrifying qualities or abilities of previous villains, but thanks to Daniel Craig standing against him, it is easier to forget about it. Watching his increasingly delicate acting nuances is a joy. So much so that I would repeat this fifteen-year period any time as the most magnificent series. I have all the time in the world for that. (08/11/2021)

One thing is for sure, in a year we won't be seeing many filmed concerts like this one. A few hours after the premiere, I can still hear the reverberations in me, so I know something is very right here. Sufficiently Bond cool, sufficiently suspenseful, visually spectacular, and surprisingly still full of emotion. Plus, it beautifully delivers on the demands of the times without annoying the viewer. (19/10/2021)

The days of going to see Bond for the explosions, gadgets and cleavage are definitely over. Daniel Craig has taken Bond to a time when protagonists bleed, feel and have a finite amount of time. No Time to Die beautifully concludes the arc begun by Casino Royale and, despite a chaotic villain, delivers exactly what I expected: a surprisingly intimate and moving finale for the best Bond of all time, Daniel Craig (29/09/2021)

No time to Breath! If I was an army general, I'd mobilize my entire army of fans and make a mandatory trip to the cinema with everyone. What an exquisite film. I'll freely admit that Bond films have never been my cup of tea, they never earned a star studded full house from me, I’ve always preferred tom Cruise with his Mission Impossible, but once Sam Mendes wass deposed and replaced by Cary Joji Fukunaga, the film took on a completely different dimension, and for me No Time to Die is the best Bond film ever, I can't imagine it could have been done better. Everything here works as perfectly as a Swiss watch and, after three hours in the cinema, I said to myself I want another hour because it's a hell of a ride. From the opening the film rushes from one action scene to the next; PG-13 action, admittedly, but this time I’ll turn a blind eye. Daniel Craig is literally diabolical (the guy deserves an Oscar), Rami Malek and Christoph Waltz are a double villain feature, Ana de Armas doesn’t have much space, but even for that moment she managed to fully grab my attention. The whole story raced incredibly forward, you could tell this was the finale and every single shot and moment was delivered with utter precision and excellence. I hadn’t held my breath for so long as I did here during the dialogue exchanges (maybe the last time was with The Dark Knight), and this is coming from someone who practically can't do without gore. Hans Zimmer’s score once again game me goosebumps. There’s an hour long action opening, an hour long action finale, I couldn't have asked for more. The ending of the film is downright heartbreaking though. The New Bond film put me on the edge of my seat at the end and kept pulling until the final credits. Tears were flowing and the packed cinema hall was blown into space as I was, otherwise I can't explain that three-hour long silence. Together with Suicide Squad 2 the film of the year for me. Story 5/5, Action 5/5, Humour 2/5, Violence 1/5, Fun 5/5 Music 5/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 5/5, Tension 5/5, Emotion 5/5, Actors 5/5. 10/10. (02/10/2021)

The enormous runtime hides one feature-length Bond film, which has great action, works on an emotional level and contains a passage that ranks among the best ever (not only) from the Craig era. The snag is that there's another feature-length Bond film in that runtime, tedious, full of wadding and lame line closures after Mendes, with a dime-a-dozen villain and no hints that lead to anything substantial. A solid farewell, but not memorable. It is absolutely true that less would be more. A lot more. (30/09/2021)