Bond, James Bond. No Time To Die (spoiler thread)

[Morrus]

I like crepuscular endings.

I just learned a new word!

 

[Marc_C]

I just learned a new word!

Another one of those French words that crept into English. 'crépuscule, crépusculaire'.

 

[This Effin’ GM]

I enjoyed the fact that the plot in this one was relatively simple. There were a few twists but overall I felt they did a great job in making sure the viewer understood what was happening so less time could be spent trying to chew the previous scene and more time could be spent being a part of what was shown in front of you.

 

[Morrus]

So of the Craig films, for me:

1. Casino Royale
2. No Time to Die
3. Skyfall
4. Spectre
5. Quantum of Solace

There's a big gap between 3 and 4.

Also, he's been Bond for longer than any other actor. He did 5 films over 15 years.

Connery did 6 (if you don't include Never Say Never Again) over 9 years. If you include NSNA it's technically 7 over 21 years.

Lazenby did 1, of course.

Moore did 7 over 12 years.

Dalton did 2 over 3 years.

Brosnan did 4 over 7 years.

 

[Marc_C]

So of the Craig films, for me:

1. Casino Royale
2. No Time to Die
3. Skyfall
4. Spectre
5. Quantum of Solace

There's a big gap between 3 and 4.

I'd put Skyfall in second, No time to die in third. NTTD is good but I don't feel like I want to see it again. Skyfall I've rewatched several time on regular tv. Quantum is really the worst.

 

[Marc_C]

Casino Royale is the early career. Skyfall has an origin story and No Time to Die is crepuscular. A nice triptych. The other two are fillers.

 

[Stalker0]

I enjoyed the fact that the plot in this one was relatively simple. There were a few twists but overall I felt they did a great job in making sure the viewer understood what was happening so less time could be spent trying to chew the previous scene and more time could be spent being a part of what was shown in front of you.

I agree. The last two especially were so over the place I just couldn't keep up.

This one the plot was both simple yet powerful. The fact that Bond had true personal stakes in this one was also great for the plot, this wasn't just about the world, it was about his family.

Ending wise, I loved it. What a bitter way for the villain to get his last laugh. I loved after the little monologue, Bond had no words, no anger, no rage....he was just done. Shot the guy a few times and just walked away. I also thought the toast to Bond was very appropriate, they all had a moment.... and then right back to work, for the world is never out of danger.

I found the villain a bit shallow as many bond villains are, but I at least understood this guy, at least got a good sense of where his pain and motivations came from. Now how those motivations got twisted into "I am going to poison the world to control the world"....that's a bit much but for a bond villain it worked fine enough for me.

I really loved the "Bond Girls" in this one.

1) 007 (Nomi) - Badass without being Mary Sue, similar to Bond in certain ways but distinctly different in her own. The fact she gave up the number showed how less her ego was than Bond.

2) Madeleine Swann - Was sultry and had intrigue without being too thrown in your face. Showed a great range of vulnerable to powerful. Sex appeal was never overpowering and was never her primary mover in the plot.

3) Paloma - Character of the movie for me. She breathes such life into her scenes. One of the few people who just actually enjoys spycraft, completely badass but in a mostly humble way. Gorgeous, but never "forced on Bond"..... and I love that she comes in, does her job, and just leaves....no inevitable betrayal, no she's secretly connecting to the master plot, she just is...and that was really refreshing. In the words of Bond himself "You were Excellent".

 

[Stalker0]

So of the Craig films, for me:

1. Casino Royale
2. No Time to Die
3. Skyfall
4. Spectre
5. Quantum of Solace

There's a big gap between 3 and 4.

I would flip 4 and 5.

QoS for me is just a boring Bond movie. It came, it saw....no one went.

Skyfall had its moments, it was a lackluster movie with a few solid and memorable points.

Spectre was actual damage to the brand for me. Spectre is supposed to be this super badass organization, Bond's "true nemesis", apparently the man behind all the curtains..... and it just landed like a sack of bricks. QoS bored me, Spectre actually angered me with how bad it was, and for that it gets thrown to the bottom of the heap. It also gets a -1 for being referenced in NTtD, forcing me to think about it again....where QoS just gets silently forgotten.

 

[Morrus]

Yeah, I didn't really understand the villain's motivations beyond revenge for his father's death.

 

[Morrus]

What I'd love to see them do next, now Craig is gone -- go back to the 1960s. Glamour and gadgets, but with modern film-making. Make the next few Bonds period pieces.