No Time To Die: 21st Century Double-Oh-Seven

Ok, one of my guilty pleasures while growing up was seeing the James Bond movies made in the 80s and 90s. It was so fascinating how one man could kill the bad guys, visit the most exotic places in the world, bed the sexiest women you could only touch in your wildest dreams and still […]

Ok, one of my guilty pleasures while growing up was seeing the James Bond movies made in the 80s and 90s. It was so fascinating how one man could kill the bad guys, visit the most exotic places in the world, bed the sexiest women you could only touch in your wildest dreams and still maintain beauty while looking drop-dead gorgeous in those sexy 007 custom-made suits. Kinda rings a nostalgic bell, doesn’t it?

Over the years, there have been conspiracy theories surrounding Bond movies. There have been speculations on the next 007 being a Black man. Others have reasoned that it ought to be a woman. Well, to answer your question, this movie honoured neither of your requests.

Fast forward to 2021, 007 is retired and is quietly living out his retirement in Jamaica. He gets a call from the CIA to get back into action. This time, a deadly villain armed with new technology is holding a kidnapped scientist. In trying to save this scientist. Bond subsequently goes on a journey of self-discovery, projecting his hidden vulnerabilities into his life and family and eventually, some sacrifices had to be made.

Here, I will dwell for a bit on 007 himself. Daniel Craig used to be smooth and suave! What happened to this one? He lacked charisma, he was sloppy and he got his hands (and suit) dirty too often. He only wore the custom 007 suit once in the movie. What point were the producers trying to make? And why were they trying so hard to be politically correct with the story line? Why paint a charming tale of male chauvinism, shameless patriotism and double entendre? Seriously, maybe this was because 007 was retired or he was getting soft; there was little or no chemistry between him and the other female cast members. I mean, for some reason, a man who, over the years had loved and bedded so many women you suddenly saw women became a wet blanket!

Make it make sense please!

Nevertheless, there were elements of the old 007 that were retained in this one. For example, the old Aston Martin returned, so also was Louis Armstrong’s ‘All the Time in the World’. So also were the thrilling car chases, intriguing all-action scenes and stunts that showed ingenuity on the part of the special effects crew. Daniel Craig as 007 was… Daniel Craig.

Other cast members included Ralph Fiennes (who I wouldn’t still help but love even if he jumped into a fat suit and played Professor Klumps the Nutty Professor), Ana de Armas (a classic Bond girl whom, I hope will do one more Bond movie before retiring), Lashana Lynch, whose speculative status as the next 007 is befuddling (or is she just floating??), Rami Malek, who played the weakest villain in the history of James Bond movies (I mean, what is a James Bond movie without a mean villain?), and Ley Seydoux whose chemistry with Daniel Craig was… bleh. Their poor chemistry got me like WHAT IS A BOND MOVIE WITHOUT A SMOKING HOT BOND GIRL??

This movie was too long! Damn!

For an action movie, there was too much drama. Especially when Bond and the villain went into a back-and-forth tirade of words for about 10 minutes! Yes, I know that Bond movies tend to go on for about 2 hours, but this one went for about 2 hours 30 minutes! It became tedious to watch at some point.

Let me drop one question though… what was brewing inside the pool? If you know what it was, kindly reply in the comments.

Watch it if you are a die-hard 007 fan, but don’t expect too much.

I rate it 4/10 stars