No Time to Die
{4/5} “It’s just a number.”
No Time to Die, released in 2021
James Bond has retired after years of serving his country, and he and Madeleine are living happily ever after. But then he finds that people are still trying to kill him. Blofeld is locked up, but Spectre is still active. His old friend Felix Leiter asks for his help, and Bond eventually agrees. Leiter and the new 007 are after the same person, a Russian scientist.
Daniel Craig will convince you within minutes, if he hasn’t already, that he is the toughest guy around. But he will also show you, in a way that didn’t happen before he played Bond, that he has a heart.
It was very nice to see our old friends Leiter, M, Moneypenny, and Q. There are some very funny moments.
James Bond has been in more car chases than any other person — but the ones in this movie are still good. Although I liked large parts of this movie, it was also a bit clunky.
Filmed in Jamaica, Italy, Norway, Scotland, England, and the Faroe Islands.
Stars Ana de Armas, Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch, and Billy Magnussen. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (Beasts of No Nation).
The music by Hans Zimmer is glorious, including of course the classic James Bond theme, and also themes from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service including the beautiful song “We Have All the Time in the World.” As for Billie Eilish’s song, it’s OK.
The previous movie in the series is Spectre.