Well, it only took six years including a year-and-a-half delay thanks to a global pandemic, but the newest James Bond has finally arrived--and the final one for Daniel Craig. Which is what we thought last time around, but this time it is pretty definitively the end. Though I liked Spectre a lot more than most, that last installment was a bit divisive--so the question is, in the actual finale, if MGM can stick the landing with this iteration of Bond.
When we last left Bond, he had retired from MI6 and had run off with Madeleine for a happier life (hence why Spectre could've served as an ending for this iteration of Bond if it had to). This film initially picks up where that one left off, but when an incident leads Bond to believe Madeleine betrayed him, he strikes off on his own. Years later, he is approached by his old CIA friend Felix (who was missing from the last two movies), who is looking for his help in finding a missing scientist. This ultimately kickstarts a plot that leads Bond to cross paths with both Madeleine and MI6 again, as well as pit him against a new villain with world-threatening plans. And of course, despite being in jail, Ernst Stavro Blofeld and SPECTRE are still in the picture...
This is an unusual recent case of a movie having a quite troubled production and still managing to overcome it. They had an abrupt director switch, writers who were initially allegedly at a loss for ideas for political reasons, a bunch of script rewrites even as filming began... and somehow this managed to not be a failure.
However, this does feel like a bit of a different Bond movie. It kind of is purely by nature, seeing as this is the first iteration of Bond to have any serious continuity between movies and to actually have a conclusive "ending." But it also feels a bit more dramatic, as Bond finally wrestles with the cost of not trusting anyone. It has a bit more in common with Casino Royale than it does Skyfall or Spectre.
This does kind of lead in to one of the bigger flaws of the movie--the villain Safin (Rami Malek) and his plan. It's never made completely clear what exactly the full scope of his plans and motivations are. He has a connection to Madeleine, but the "reveal" there turns out to be underwhelming, especially when compared to Silva's past with M in Skyfall or Blofeld's past with Bond in Spectre. Malek is appropriately creepy at times (an early flashback involving him invokes some jump scares, of all things), but his character is not fleshed out well enough for him to truly stand out.
The issue there is that this movie seems to be wrestling between being a little more character-focused like Casino Royale was, and being the usual spy action flick we're used to. The difference is that the villainous plot/characters in Casino Royale, while convoluted, could still be followed. Here, the best we get is a vague monologue from Safin about how he sees himself and his "mission" which leads directly to one of the catchphrases used most heavily in the trailers from Bond: "History isn't kind to those who play god." Considering that Safin still plays an important role in the course of the plot, this lack of clear explanation does bring down the movie a notch.
There is still plenty to like about this movie, however. There's both some great car chases and gunfight sequences, and some of the hand-to-hand fights are quite well filmed due to the camera not cutting constantly. Daniel Craig also turns in possibly his best performance in the series, and Lea Seydoux seems a bit more comfortable in her role as Madeleine this time as well. Hans Zimmer predictably gives us a great soundtrack which fits pretty well for a less traditional, more serious Bond movie.
This movie also has some serious daring; in the pursuit of being a definitive conclusion to a saga of Bond, it takes the franchise to places it has never gone before. As a result, the stakes do truly feel like they are truly high and that anything could happen--and thus, it's an unexpectedly brutal watch at times.
And while previous Daniel Craig Bond movies hinted at times at a less cold, more thoughtful Bond, this one finally seems to fulfill that ambition. If Casino Royale was the story of how Bond's heart was broken and thus turned him into the cold and sometimes ruthless secret agent we all know, No Time to Die is the story of him finally confronting his issues; and while the execution isn't perfect, the result is a pleasant and satisfying turn for his character arc.
The film can admittedly feel bloated at times with its 163-minute runtime, even without shoving a ton of side plots at us (and this again makes one wonder why Safin's character is not more fleshed out). And the different tone of this movie might throw some off looking for a typical Bond adventure--but this is not that. This is a definitively concluding chapter that resolves the story and character of this series of Bond movies, and it does so on its own terms. The results aren't quite classic, but they do leave an impact. It's anybody's guess what lies in store for the future of the Bond franchise, but the legacy of the Daniel Craig saga will be very difficult to top.
No comments:
Post a Comment