Category: Spy action-drama
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I'm going to say it - Daniel Craig is the best Bond to date. I simply love the gritty realism and the emotional vulnerability he brings to the role. Sean Connery is a close second in my book, and yes, this is the hill I will die on.
The Bond films up until DC's time in the suit have mostly been caricatures of what we think a smooth, suave British spy should look and act, and while Sean Connery and Roger Moore may have been great Bonds for their time, DC has added something not seen in the previous Bond films - and I love him for it.
Now, onto the film itself: the basic premise is that Bond is (yet again) retired, but he gets coaxed back in to action (yet again) after he finds the world is in danger (yet again) from a powerful bad guy with a grudge (yet again) so Bond and co hatch a plan to infiltrate the bad guy's secret lair (yet again). In other words, it's not anything that hasn't been done in other Bond films.
This time around, the danger is from bad guy #1 who is after revenge after his dad was assassinated under order of bad guy #2 by the dad of a woman Bond was shagging years ago. Bad guy #1 somehow steals a top secret nanobot weapon from the British government that can be programmed to target people by their DNA.
And then in one of those famous Bond oh-so convoluted twists that definitely hasn't been done before in some way, shape or form in any of the previous Bond films, bad guy #2 is in a maximum security prison and only speaks to his psychiatrist…who just happens to be the woman Bond was shagging years ago!
Then a plot is hatched to infiltrate the secret lair of the big bad guy to take him out (definitely an original idea), but then as a way to write DC out of the series, Bond orders MI5 to destroy the secret lair with him on it to prevent him from possibly killing his former lover and possible daughter with the DNA nanobot weapon he became infected with while fighting Freddy Mercury…I mean, Rami Malek!
However, there are a couple of nods to more modern times - in one of the early sequences, Bond expresses hesitation in getting jiggy with Ana de Amas, and as an even bigger shock, Bond finds that in retirement, a black woman has filled his shoes/suit/pants/role.
Now, Lashana Lynch as the new 007 wasn't the worst thing in the world. She carried herself kinda well, though I thought some parts of her performance were a bit wooden. However, what killed it for me was the scene when she asked MI5 for Bond to take back the 007 title - I may be unware of the significance of that moment or title, but to me, the title is hers so she should damn well keep it.
Anyhow, if you like Bond films, you'll enjoy this. And even if Bond films aren't your cup of tea, if you love awesome cinematography, cool special effects, slightly convoluted storylines with more than a hint of deus ex machina in them, No Time Do Die is a roller-coaster of a movie.
FINAL STAR RATING: 4/5
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