Matt’s Movie Thoughts
No Time to Die is the long-awaited final installment in Daniel Craig’s tenure as the actor of British Agent 007. In addition to Mr. Craig, the film also stars actors Rami Malek, Ralph Fiennes, Naomi Harris, Lashana Lynch, Lea Seydoux, and Christoph Waltz. After many months of delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was finally released in theaters on October 8, 2021.
As with all James Bond films, the first thing one should review is the theme song. This film’s theme song, “No Time to Die,” was written and sung by Billie Eilish. While (arguably) not living up to the likes of “Skyfall” by Adele or “Writings on the Wall” by Sam Smith, this song does provide a good take on the James Bond soundtrack through Billie Eilish’s quiet, whisper like voice that is well complemented by a dramatic orchestra. I must say, Ms. Eilish succeeded at making this song sound like a “James Bond song” that does not feel out of place in the film, as well as the franchise as a whole.
As for the film itself, the acting is great, especially regarding Daniel Craig, who demonstrates the usual “mysteriously charming” acting style as the titular character. Rami Malek, who plays the villain, Lyutsifer Safin, also delivers a strong performance in a very “quiet but deadly” manner. In addition, the action scenes are all well filmed and choreographed, especially in two scenes involving a car chase and a sinking boat. Furthermore, the ending, while sad, does provide a satisfying end to the movie by allowing Bond to rebuild his relationships with others and finish what he set out to do.
Despite all of this, I do have some issues with the film. First, this movie is 2 hours and 30 minutes long, much of which felt unnecessary. I think that around 20 minutes could’ve gotten shaved off the film. The film is still fun to watch regardless. Also, I was somewhat dissatisfied with how the film depicted the spy meant to replace Bond: in certain scenes (like the scenes in Cuba), it felt like she was slowing Bond down, which was mildly frustrating to watch. In my opinion, the film should have portrayed her better. Furthermore, the film didn’t really make it clear as to why the bad guys are trying to kill Bond in the first place — they kind of just start attacking him out of nowhere.
This film relates to Bellarmine through the value of being a man for others, and No Time to Die certainly exemplifies this value by having James Bond help others by saving the day.
On the Mateo-Movie-Meter, I give No Time to Die a 7 on a scale of 1-10. Despite its flaws in pacing and plot issues, the stellar performances and great action scenes provide a satisfying conclusion to Daniel Craig’s James Bond era. I would lightly recommend you to watch this movie if you have the chance.
