No Time To Die - James Bond (2 Viewers)

[tdubel]

Short review - SUCKS in my opinion, worst James Bond movie I ever saw and that is saying a lot considering that On Her Majesty's Secret Service is among them. Good riddance to Daniel Craig.

I think sometimes what directors/producers forget is that the majority of film goers are there to be entertained. It is not supposed to be some deep statement on whatever, the Bond series is a classic example, long time fans of the books and films want a secret agent who entertains them the entire film. The Bonds who have shown emotional sides are the ones who go down like the Titanic with long time fans of this series. I don't want emotion - I want James Bond. Nuff said.

TD

 

[nysoldiers]

I was turned on to James Bond/Ian Fleming while at summer camp in the late 1950's. When I read "Dr. No" and "From Russia with Love" I tried to imagine who could play the part in a movie.
We ran to see Dr. No when it was released in 1963 and all my friends thought Sean Connery was the "man". I never really took to the next few generations of James Bond actors. Too much special effects
and unrealistic scenarios, the same reason I am not crazy about Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible.
The early Sean Connery movies had an air of realism that I could relate to and put myself into the role. True he was a chauvinist but it seemed ok at the time. The car chases, weapons and fights seemed real
and plausible which made it much more relatable.
Just my two cents......

 

[King & Country]

Short review - SUCKS in my opinion, worst James Bond movie I ever saw and that is saying a lot considering that On Her Majesty's Secret Service is among them. Good riddance to Daniel Craig.

I think sometimes what directors/producers forget is that the majority of film goers are there to be entertained. It is not supposed to be some deep statement on whatever, the Bond series is a classic example, long time fans of the books and films want a secret agent who entertains them the entire film. The Bonds who have shown emotional sides are the ones who go down like the Titanic with long time fans of this series. I don't want emotion - I want James Bond. Nuff said.

TD

Totally agree Tom…I went to see this movie last Thursday night with the Missus and a few friends and was very disappointed…and bored too!

One long succession of car chases, totally unbelievable stunts and a multitude of villains who can’t seem to shoot straight but are themselves shot down in their dozens by casually aimed return fire…

Then there is all the ‘political correctness’…Who knew MI6 was so racially diverse..? And then there’s ‘Q’…Who seemed a little queer to say the least.

Finally, there is the ‘Finale’…a top secret island, somewhere between Russia and Japan where some vast underground bunker is hiding a massive manufacturing plant and the Russian, Japanese and U.S. intelligence services fail to notice some strange activity going on right under their noses!?!

This is penetrated, with amazing ease, by Bond and his Black sidekick in a very expensive, experimental flying mini sub which is then casually abandoned…And to put the cherry on the cake…One of Britain’s latest Royal Navy destroyers just happens to be cruising in the vicinity and shoots off a bunch of missiles that destroys the ‘Villain’s Poison Factory’…any remaining henchmen and Bond himself!!!

Good riddance to all of them…Just a pity a couple of those missiles hadn’t landed on the producers and scriptwriters of this very expensive fiasco first and spared us all the time and trouble.

For what it’s worth…The ‘Bond’ movie I enjoyed the best was the very first one and the most straight-forward one…’Dr. No’… with that big guy from Edinburgh in it.
All the best,
Andy.

 

[lancer]

To steal a line from another film series...There can be only one. And that one is, and always will be, Sean Connery. He IS Bond. Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, and Thunderball are just unequaled in the whole series. One can argue as to which film is best, but not who played Bond the best. -- Al

 

[The Military Workshop]

Looks like Andy just saved me a few dollars!

Connery was the best but Craig was a close second. Some of the Bonds got a bit ridiculous but my "favourite" was the movie when Bond / Brosnan got into the invisible car. Silly in the extreme.

Tom mentioned On Her Majesties Secret Service but clearly forgot it did have a major positive in Diana Rigg.

Now we can look forward to multiple articles about who is going to be the next Bond. That will decide the type of movies for the next few in the series. A couple of years ago the news was Christopher Nolan would be directing and his preferred Bond would be Tom Hardy. Hopefully that still happens. If Bond becomes "diverse" then game over for me. Read many of the books as a kid and too late for me to change my views.

Talking of Tom Hardy hopefully he can get back on track to make the movie about the Brit war photographer in Vietnam.

If Bond is dyng of wokeness time for a Flashman series for the anti woke cinema fans.

 

[tdubel]

One quick comment - honestly the diversity or today's political correctness was not the major killer for me in this film. Does it seem forced, sure, but it is easy to look past believable or not, just not a major factor.

The major killer was a lot of what Andy already said in the one long car chase, unbelievable scenarios, etc, it just wasn't a good movie no matter how you slice it and at 2hrs 40 minutes or thereabouts, it still seemed rushed, disjointed and outright boring. I would maybe call this a Greatest Hits swan song that failed. Too much, too much, too much. For me, I do look forward in a way to another Bond, I just hope they go back to the books in a way. John Gardner wrote a ton of Bond Material and books that have never been filmed, may be time to try that out.

I am just going to forget I ever saw this one and the ending. Whoever wrote this screenplay should be fired from his/her next adventure. Holy Smokes, you just can't make it up. I actually subsequently read an Ebert review (which I never do before going) and this one I am in a lot of agreement with.

TD

 

[The Military Workshop]

After Andy and Tom's reviews I am feeling the urge to watch it just to see if it is as bad as they say{sm2}

Surely Robin has seen it by now and can confirm ? Any Down Unders seen it yet ?

My wife won't mind as at 2hrs 40 mins she will get value for money. She has a habit of dozing off in the comfortable chairs no matter how exciting the movie and despite my occasional nudges{sm4}

 

[Desertkiwi]

Guys we're still in a ridiculous lockdown here in Auckland (NZ) so no movie theatres been open for 3x months now or pubs etc.......would love the opportunity to go to the movies but alas not going to happen anytime soon.

I was sooo looking forward to seeing this flick but now seems a waste of time......still looking forward to 'Dune' though. :salute::

 

[Nicholas V Hall]

Not seen it, but am surprised at the general thumbs down because in the UK it seems to get rave reviews, which I suppose is hype. I have a theory that that Connery was too big in the role for the producers liking ,giving him too much clout. He was known to be quite a difficult bloke to deal with. So ever since they just got a stereotype to slot in thereby making the films less reliant on the enormous charisma of one man. Even Roger Moore probably had too much charisma for them although he did it tongue in cheek. Having said that actors don’t seem to have the charisma they used to I.E. Nicholson, Pacino, De Niro, Brando ect,ect . Where have they all gone?

 

[villagehorse]

Well I respect your opinion, so I will give this a miss unfortunately. Will have to hold out for “Dune” December 2 to for fill my Big screen experience. Robin.

 

[Terp152]

Well I respect your opinion, so I will give this a miss unfortunately. Will have to hold out for “Dune” December 2 to for fill my Big screen experience. Robin.

Saw Dune this past weekend, one of my sons wanted to go (first time to go to a movie since Midway). Haven't read the books but thought the movie well done. Part two is not due out until 2023.

BTW, agree with what others have posted regarding the interminable car chase scenes, boring. Although there are a few that are classic, Bullet, French Connection, Blues Bros. Chris

 

[jazzeum]

I enjoyed the Bond movie because they’re not supposed to be true to life or realistic, just harmless escapades. The early movies with Sean Connery were probably a bit more realistic, but not much more. They entered the range of silliness with Roger Moore. If you’re looking for realistic spy stories, watch movies made from John Le Carre’s books like The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (but not the movie version of Tinker Tailor!) and the various television series that have been made from John Le Carrey’s books.

I found Dune boring. I much more enjoyed the 1984 David Lynch version.

 

[The Military Workshop]

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT ^&grin

Went to watch it. Good news was using a cinema loyalty card and no idea how it works but informed our tickets would only cost $5 and $1. Naturally I told my wife that since her ticket cost 5 x more than mine she better not fall asleep{sm3}.

Lucky for Bond Her Majesty's Secret Service must have gifted him or he stole the very useful Aston Martin. In one of the opening scenes he is driving it along a scenic road with his girlfriend. The background music was All the time in the world which is the theme from On Her Majesty's Secret Service. This only served to remind me that in that movie the bad guy, Telly Savalas, kills Bond's wife. That was a sure sign not going to end well for the relationship {sm2}


I did not mind the movie overall although there are some obvious issues with the plot some of which Andy mentioned. A big one was how Blowfeld able to communicate with his mates outside whilst in an ultra secure facility. Another for me was how did the bad guy become so rich and I could not get his motivation that drove him towards his dastardly plan.

It did seem to be designed as a farewell to the Craig version of Bond and I suppose that is fair enough. Good luck to him for the millions he was able to get for making this last one.

Would not rate it the worst Craig Bond movie as my reaction to Quantum of Solace was worse. I think Casino Royale was his best but that was probably because his version of Bond was more "gritty" than the previous few Bonds and it was a welcome change of pace. I remember the opening chase amongst the buildings which was inspired by parkour.

So the obvious question is how do they continue the Bond franchise ? Hopefully not going down the route of the using the new 007 agent. I guess wont be too long before producers let us know what direction going.

Interestingly two of the preview clips were slightly related. One was the upcoming Kingsman movie which is a "new" Bond like agent. Looks good as a lot set in WW1. Other was Venom 2 starring Tom Hardy. Cant say it enough but Hardy for the next 007 {sm4}

 

[Terp152]

I enjoyed the Bond movie because they’re not supposed to be true to life or realistic, just harmless escapades. The early movies with Sean Connery were probably a bit more realistic, but not much more. They entered the range of silliness with Roger Moore. If you’re looking for realistic spy stories, watch movies made from John Le Carre’s books like The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (but not the movie version of Tinker Tailor!) and the various television series that have been made from John Le Carrey’s books.

I found Dune boring. I much more enjoyed the 1984 David Lynch version.

The series with Alec Guiness was great. The movie not so much. Le Carre's Cold War books are suspenseful with well designed plots. The later books miss the mark, except maybe The Night Manager IMO. I've read most of his novels.

Interesting you like the '84 version of Dune more than the new release. Most of what I've read reviled the earlier movie but I never saw it. Chris

 

[jazzeum]

The series with Alec Guiness was great. The movie not so much. Le Carre's Cold War books are suspenseful with well designed plots. The later books miss the mark, except maybe The Night Manager IMO. I've read most of his novels.

Interesting you like the '84 version of Dune more than the new release. Most of what I've read reviled the earlier movie but I never saw it. Chris

Have you read his last and latest one, Silverview. Maybe not his best but I liked it.

The most recent book adapted to the screen, The Little Drummer Girl, was well done.

I saw the Lynch version of Dune years ago but it somehow left a better impression on me than the current one. I suppose I should re-watch the old one to see if I was mistaken.

 

[lancer]

Having been a Dune fan since first reading it in 1975, I find both the 1984 film version and the new film version very entertaining, though flawed, as one might expect from trying to adapt a book as complicated and multi-leveled as Dune. The 1984 version tried hard but ultimately strayed too far from the book in certain important aspects, thus it's rather suspect reputation among Dune fans. It did attempt to cover the whole book, which many feel was the reason for the main problem with the film, large key pieces left out. The new film attempts to rectify that particular problem by covering only the first half of the book and leaving the rest to a second (or third) film. I found many of the new films interpretations of the book, such as the weapons, vehicles, mood, to be very close to what I imagined in the book. I liked it. It did lack character development and a clear motivation for actions that viewers unfamiliar with the book would need. Found the soundtrack to the 1984 film far superior to the new film. -- Al

 

[jazzeum]

Having been a Dune fan since first reading it in 1975, I find both the 1984 film version and the new film version very entertaining, though flawed, as one might expect from trying to adapt a book as complicated and multi-leveled as Dune. The 1984 version tried hard but ultimately strayed too far from the book in certain important aspects, thus it's rather suspect reputation among Dune fans. It did attempt to cover the whole book, which many feel was the reason for the main problem with the film, large key pieces left out. The new film attempts to rectify that particular problem by covering only the first half of the book and leaving the rest to a second (or third) film. I found many of the new films interpretations of the book, such as the weapons, vehicles, mood, to be very close to what I imagined in the book. I liked it. It did lack character development and a clear motivation for actions that viewers unfamiliar with the book would need. Found the soundtrack to the 1984 film far superior to the new film. -- Al

I never read the book so there you have it. I though I read somewhere that the book has something like 19 parts. What I remember about the 1984 movie was that the cinematography was very well done.

 

[Terp152]

Have you read his last and latest one, Silverview. Maybe not his best but I liked it.

The most recent book adapted to the screen, The Little Drummer Girl, was well done.

I saw the Lynch version of Dune years ago but it somehow left a better impression on me than the current one. I suppose I should re-watch the old one to see if I was mistaken.

Brad, I liked the novel, film and tv series of Little Drummer Girl. Have not read Silverview, last book read was The Tailor of Panama. Stopped reading his books after that one.
Have you read Night Manager or seen the series? I enjoyed both.
Chris

 

[Nicholas V Hall]

Best ever Le Carre Tinker,Tailor, BBC adaptation with Alec Guinness as George Smiley. Compelling and subtle. Makes the film with Gary Oldman look like a box of bolloxcks.

 

[jazzeum]

Brad, I liked the novel, film and tv series of Little Drummer Girl. Have not read Silverview, last book read was The Tailor of Panama. Stopped reading his books after that one.
Have you read Night Manager or seen the series? I enjoyed both.
Chris

Chris, yes, I read and saw the Night Manager.

You might like a Legacy of Spies. It looks back at the events in The Spy Who Came in From the Cold from Peter Guillam’s perspective as a retiree. Smiley even makes a brief appearance.