No Time to Die - A Satisfying Finale of Daniel Craig's Era as The Iconic British Spy

My wife and I had not been to the cinemas for > 1.5 years due to Covid-19 pandemic. But sadly even though we had tried our best by following health protocol and keeping our outside activities to the very minimum, we still got infected. After our recovery and when the theaters re-opened, we decided to see movies in the cinemas again while our immunity was still very strong. However, due to some restrictions, only few cinemas that we could choose from. And finally we got the chance to see this movie in one of the cinemas, which I got to say was an unforgettable & emotional experience. OK, without further ado, here's more on the movie.

Brief Story Line

Few years after his retirement, Commander James Bond (Daniel Craig - Knives Out, The Girl in the Spider's Web etc) was asked by his friend from CIA, Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright - Westworld TV series etc) and his colleague Logan Ash (Billy Magnussen - Made for Love TV series etc) to retrieve a scientist Valdo Obruchev (David Dencik - The Chestnut Man TV series etc). Despite his reluctance, Bond decided to help Felix where he would be assisted by Agent Paloma (Ana de Armas - Blade Runner 2049, The Informer etc).

After that "assignment", Bond realized that there were more to it than just a kidnapped scientist and went to his former superior M (Ralph Fiennes - Official Secrets, Harry Potter movies etc) for more info. With the help from agent Nomi (Lashana Lynch - Captain Marvel etc), Ms. Moneypenny (Naomie Harris - Rampage etc), Q (Ben Whishaw - Mary Poppins Returns etc) and also Bond's old love interest, the psychiatrist Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux - The Grand Budapest Hotel etc), they finally found out that the person behind all the scheme was a ruthless terrorist leader, Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek - Bohemian Rhapsody, Mr. Robot TV series etc).

So how would the story conclude? Find them all in this awesome action movie.

End of Brief Story Line

James Bond films have been one of my favorite movie series aside from many others. It has a special place in my heart because of my childhood experience watching A View to A Kill in the theater with my family. But when Daniel Craig was appointed as the next James Bond, I was actually one of those who was very skeptical. And not until I saw Skyfall and then Spectre that I finally appreciate what he has done to the series. Knowing that this movie would be the final one where Craig became the famous 007, it surely became one of my must see movies. However Covid-19 totally ruined all the plans where we could have seen this last year but got delayed to this month. I was fortunate to be able to experience this one in the cinema with my wife. 

The film started off with a fantastic opening that was full of action and drama. It also has the classic stylish opening credits accompanied by the song with the same title sung by Billie Eilish & Finneas O'Connell which won the 63rd Grammy in the category of Best Song written for Visual Media. And throughout the whole 2 hours 43 minutes, there were tons of well crafted action sequence, once again proving that Daniel Craig was really awesome in portraying the full action Bond. Credits have to be given to the director Cary Joji Fukunaga (1st season of True Detective TV series, Beasts of No Nation etc) who managed to make them really interesting.

Like in all other Bond movies, there would definitely be the crazy car chase scenes, unique gadgets and Bond girls. This time though, the gadgets were not really abundant like in the past but looked convincing & realistic enough. Experiencing this on the big screen with awesome sound system was definitely a big plus, especially during those action scenes. Madeleine Swann was the classic European Bond girl whose character was first introduced in Spectre and she was played nicely by Léa Seydoux. Her romance with Bond was good as they seemed to have a good chemistry. Meanwhile Ana de Armas seemed perfect as the playful Bond girl (btw my wife likes her character a lot). Rami Malek was also the typical Bond villain, icy, ruthless & megalomaniac. Agent Boni was an interesting character and the rest who reprised their roles were decent as well.

One thing that surprised me was there were some brief dry humor which provided a light sense at certain times. But there were some parts where the drama was a bit long resulting to slower pace and lessen the intensity. Overall though, I really like this film. In term of action, I thought it was not as full action like Craig's previous Bond movies, however the finale was absolutely amazing. It was intense and even gave a shocking conclusion. Personally I already had a feeling, though the outcome was still unexpected. Some might be unhappy with how things ended (my wife was one of those, though she could still understand and appreciate it). I myself felt it was a satisfying finale to Daniel Craig's era as James Bond. And to be honest this film made me have the strong urge to watch all again from Casino Royale to Spectre. So if you have seen the previous Bond movies, this one definitely a must. Happy watching!

Mike's movie moments rating: 4 out of 5 stars