No Time to Die

A lukewarm sendoff to Daniel Craig’s James Bond. - 6/10

by The Movie Inspector

Daniel Craig’s fifth and final outing as the charismatic 007 has been delayed for quite a while now but it’s finally here! Was it worth the wait? Well, yes and no. Hear me out now James Bond fans, as I too am a Bond fan and have a bunch of reservations regarding this movie. In this review, I will point out each and every one of them because I felt rather disappointed. ‘No Time To Die’ follows a now-retired Bond whose tranquil life is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up for help and leads James onto the trail of a mysterious villain.

First, let’s start with the positives. For starters, the score is great, kudos to Mr. Hans Zimmer who is having a very busy year. The action is stellar and oh, Ana de Armas absolutely kills it as Paloma. I would honestly watch a Bond film that solely follows her character, she’s just so charming! The film also provides a proper sendoff to Craig’s 15-year stint as Bond and I won’t lie, it does get pretty emotional. Now, let’s talk about what goes wrong. In short, ‘No Time To Die’ is overstuffed, overlong, and shockingly underdeveloped.

How come? There are numerous plot conveniences present thanks to some lazy writing. Subplots and side characters that add no value to the film and unnecessarily add weight to an already lengthy runtime. A disposable villain whose existence is never really justified, nor his motivations that seem trivial at best. The female 007 replacement was totally unlikable and in fact was so undermined and underutilized, that in a way this decision backfired on Hollywood’s political correctness (Hollywood will be Hollywood). The mission itself is also half-baked, with loads of illogical plot devices and some very poor dialogue. As you can see, I’ve got numerous issues with the film but deep down in there, ‘No Time to die’ is still a watchable Bond flick that’s certainly not on the level of ‘Casino Royale’ or ‘Skyfall’ but still worth watching!

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