User reviews

Undoubtedly intended as a homage to the Bond franchise. Entertaining overall, but agree with other reviewers that it felt more like a typical and cliched action movie, particularly in the second half - more of a parody than a homage. Above all, while it's reasonable to modernise the Bond character, we may have now reached a point of no return for the spirit of Fleming's real Bond. The next movie will be make - or I fear break - to the substance of what has made Bond movies distinctive and great.

It felt as though we were never going to get to see this, but finally it's here, the question is, was it worth the wait?

The answer, yes, really not what I was expecting, of course it's action packed, dramatic and high octane, but it actually boasts a good story, and perhaps shows us a slightly different side to the character.

Plenty of action, plenty of style, and a real twist.

I thought Daniel Craig was awesome, and here he shows what a great Bond he has been, it's fascinating now to know who'll take over.

On the downside, it was a bit long, and it did lull a little in parts, but the action was enough to halt any dozing.

Overall, very watchable, 8/10.

In 2006 the first Bond movie with Daniel Craig - the wonderful reboot 'Casino Royale' - was supposed to show us how Bond became who he is. But they didn't stop there. Three Bond movies followed that exploited the character, showing him as vulnerable, dealing with his past, quitting the service several times and having a hard time figuring women or life out: 'Quantum of Solace' (2008) - a fast-paced hard-to-follow shakycam thrillride, 'Skyfall' (2012) with its ludicrous plot and a villain's scheme that made no sense and the heavily graded 'Spectre' (2015) with its clumsy script.

Now, in 2021, No Time to Die, the longest Bond movie ever, is finally here after being delayed three times and oh man...this was actually great!

No Time to Die is really a real treat. It is beautifully shot (IMAX cameras were used in many scenes) and wonderful to look at. The three big setpieces work fine. But they are much, much too short. The Hans Zimmer score is the best James Bond score, since David Arnold composed 'Casino Royale', meaning bombastic and melodic, with a couple of unexpected nods to earlier Bond movies.

No Time to Die is well acted, and I have to say that Ana de Armas steals the show away from all other than Craig. Sadly her part was very small. Great chemistry between her and Bond. I hope to see her back as the half-drunk agent!

The pacing is also mostly fine, there's a fair amount of thrilling edge-of-your seat moments and the locations are varied and put to good use as they should be (especially the Italy and Norway scenes). It is also the most emotional and bold Bond movie ever attempted.

As a die-hard Bond fan, I have been pretty much disappointed with the last three, and after Terminator and Star Wars going woke I was a bit afraid that the Bond franchise would suffer the same fate. And yes...wokeness is certainly here to some extent, because in these times you can't have a suave unethical gambling self-assure single masculine womanizer roaming the silver screen. So they turned James Bond into a feminist family man who can't figure women or life out. This "alternative" take on the James Bond character may put some people off. It's not a huge issue for me though. The glamourous larger-than-life character WILL return one day. And I do miss THAT guy!

The massive team behind this last Bond movie should be very proud! Much to my surprise, and against many odds, they actually nailed it!

The story is really engaging. It didn't feel like 2.5 hours! I enjoyed every second of it. I like the bond between Daniel Craig and Lea Seydoux. The ending got me tearful. Who would have thought James Bond would make someone cry?

Where to start... from the poor acting (apart from de Armas who was astonishing and only got a few minutes on screen??). From the poor, unimaginative plot? From the forced and pathetic inclusivity attempt to include a black female 007 that offered literally nothing to the story? Completely disappointed once again with the bond franchise.

Great ending, but would have liked a different ending. I always thought Daniel Craig was great as James Bond, and don't understand the haters at all. I liked the way Casino Royal was done. (The last film with Pierce Brosnan was just ridiculous, and more of a comedy). The five films with Daniel Craig fit completely into today's time, and his realization of James Bond was special. Harder, but also more human and emotional. It's a pity that it's over now.

A great film all around, not Craig's best appearance as Bond but still an enjoyable ride. I personally didn't enjoy the ending, Malek's villain wasn't particularly eye catching either.

I am a hardcore Daniel Craig bond fan. For me "Casino Royale" is the best Bond movie ever made and I have seen multiple times. The only good part in this entire movie is the 10-15 mins Ana de Armas appears, completely lights up the screen, rest of the actresses are nothing to write about.

They force a god awful love story in a franchise which is about a secret agent and his missions. Unfortunately there is zero chemistry between the lead pair unlike the sheer magic between Vesper and Bond in Casino Royale. You cried when he cries for her in Venice but here you can't understand why is Bond indulging in stupidity for this lady. I felt more for Felix.

And the lesser said about the token black 007, the better. If you have no intention of building a wholesome character stop adding characters just for the sake of diversity.

And the dialogues, cringeworthy sermons running for minutes which make no sense or connection. Rami Malek could have been replaced by a marble statue and that would have acted better. We needed a better finale to the best Bond ever and what we got a bad memory of a great actor.

One of my guilty pleasures as a moviegoer is watching James Bond movies and I have no intention of apologising for that. Thus, I watched as soon as I had the opportunity 'No Time to Die' directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, the latest film in the series, whose release has already been postponed several times and which finally meets the screens and its viewers this cinematic fall of the year 2021. The James Bond film series is approaching the age of 60. All Bond movies start from the same premises and have the same hero, but the way he looks and behaves and the structuring of the story have evolved over time. This says a lot about how cinematic entertainment was and is perceived and accepted in the movies of the big studios.

A lot has happened during these years. The hero evolved from the nonchalant and humorous commander in Fleming's books and played by Sean Connery to the complex and gloomy character in the last series, played by Daniel Craig. The original 007 had gone through the experience of World War II and was active during the Cold War. He was excused for his womanising as many things are excused to war heroes, and there was no room for moral doubt concerning his actions because he lived in an age when it was clear who were the good guys and who were the bad guys. Thee 21st century James Bond lives and acts in the turbulent era after the fall of communism and after the novels of John Le Carre were written. Today's enemies are not ideological, and screenwriters of such films (not just those in the Bond series) often prefer not to identify them politically, ethnically, or religiously. On the other hand, the romantic implications of the character are no longer devoid of substance. James no longer conquers but falls in love. From Bond the Don Juan we now (almost) get Bond the family man. One of the qualities of the script in 'No Time to Die' is that it manages to describe at this stage of the character's evolution a story that is acceptable by today's standards of the big studios and is somewhat credible in terms of character psychology. Craig's James Bond has been throughout this series and is in this film also a real character, not just a two-dimensional comics book figure.

What I liked about 'No Time to Die'? Daniel Craig. Action scenes, car chases and stunts that show ingenuity in a few moments (just when we thought we saw everything in this area) and use the landscapes spectacularly, especially in Italian villages. Humour and self-humour. The presence of Ralph Fiennes, an actor who can do anything on screen and I will like it. Ana de Armas, a classic Bond-girl who I hope will survive until the next series. What I liked less? Rami Malek, an actor who constantly disappoints me and who plays a mediocre bad guy here. Lea Seydoux is OK, but her relationship with Bond lacks chemistry. The dose of melodrama introduced in the script towards the end. The scientific pretext, which is thin and I could not understand what they were brewing in those pools (not that it would be important).

'No Time to Die' honorably concludes the Daniel Craig chapter of the Bond epic. It's not the best Bond I've ever seen, but it's above average. I look forward to the next reincarnation.

No Time To Die

I would love to say this movie was another Skyfall or Spectre but it just was not, it really was a great disappointment.

Overly long at 2 hours and 23 mins, it needed a serious edit, it was saggy and baggy and really quite tedious, it lacked style, panache and humour, I will now detail the problems as I see it:

There was a 17 year age gap between James Bond and Madeleine Swann, his love interest, this didn't work.

The touchy-feely script was miserable and tedious. I have pinpointed the moment a reasonable movie thus far sunk into turkeyville, it was the moment Mathilde was introduced in Norway, look out for this and you will see what I mean.

The scene with the "evil genetic scientist" was repeated no less than three times.

The plot was simplistic and yet it was never explained why Safin wanted to eradicate sections of populace.

Vast swathes of the movie were shot in a grey blue murky tinge it was awful!

I counted three jokes and a few sarcastic asides, when humour is a key element of our hero.

James Bond and children does not go and we all know why.

Styling and gizmos were present but dumbed down when this is a key element of Bond!

The replacement 007 couldn't act her way out of a paper bag, hammy and stiff as a stick!

At best this is a weak 6 outta 10, but nearly everyone I spoke to was putting on a brave face without highlighting a single good bit, but I thought the American agent in the black dressed, "trained for 3 weeks" was really great.

Don't understand the early complaints. This is big-time Bond entertainment that reflects our era. Misguided projects, disinformation, selfish villains who think they're doing something important when all they're really showing how small they are inside. Terrific acting, cinematography, production values, and nods to previous films while pointing forward.

Will definitely go see again.

Firstly it seemed to me that it'll be another entry in the Bond franchise... I thought it'll follow the example of the 2015's "Spectre" which I didn't like at all, but as I found out later, "NT2D" is nothing of the kind! The movie is simply full of the overwhelming scenes which give you a lot of pleasure thank to Cary J. Fukunaga's directing , who made all the bravest fans's wishes come true!!

Daniel Craig's performance could possibly be an oscar-worth one. It is diabolicaly brilliant!!

I've never been so entertained since the 2012's "Skyfall"!!!

Best villains since Skyfall, not quite on Bardems level, but devilishly close. It's surprisingly funny, which I did NOT expect, given the more serious nature Craig's series has had. It's also surprisingly emotional, which is fitting given the circumstances. I won't talk about plot because it's pointless. You're seeing it anyway, let's be honest. My personal favourite of the series. 10/10.

Best bond film after casino royale. The action sequence are breathtaking the score by Hans Zimmer is awesome but the best part about this film is cinematography by Linus Sandgrenhe he has outdone himself.

I alway liked Daniel Craig but in this film Rami Malek and Léa Seydoux stole the show but as they say great villan makes a great film and no doubt this is great film Go watch it without a doubt.

Craigs films peaked with Casino Royale and have slowly been depreciating from there. However, this film nicely finishes his tenure as bond and left me slightly emotional at the end, not because of the ending but saying goodbye to the best Bond ever (in my opinion).

Few key things to mention:

• Film is 30 mins too long and they could easily cut some scenes.

• It is clear the screenplay writers kept getting to late stages in the film then realising they need to adjust earlier plot lines to accommodate the storyline. Most significantly the main antagonist has a key piece of collateral over Bond and simply gives it away for no apparent reason.

• Ana de Armas character is completely pointless, which is a shame as she is a good actor. She is simply put in as eye candy and to push forward a scene.

• The plot line and how it linked to Spectre was not well devised and fell flat, which great acting and interesting fight scenes managed to keep afloat. It felt like a shoddy mission impossible rip off with the Bond style overlaying.

• Rami Maleks character was underwhelming and a shame for how good an actor he is.

Overall, Daniel Craig deserves a lot of credit for what he's done for the franchise and was a pleasure to watch him as bond.