No Time To Die is the first James Bond 007 movie that I was far from enthused about going to see in a cinema (in fact, I felt entirely disinclined, and not because of Covid), so I didn't. Casino Royale aside (and even it wasn't perfect), Daniel Craig's previous Bond films have failed to score with me, despite one or two good bits in each offering. Craig's Bond is humourless and charisma-free, which isn't necessarily down to the actor, but maybe just the way the character has been written for Craig's tenure in the role.
Anyway, bought the DVD double-disc edition and was appalled on account of it being a 'mumble-fest', with me not being able to make out what the characters were saying throughout almost the whole movie. I turned up the volume, adjusted the various sound-settings on my TV, but all to no avail. Mumble, mumble, mumble. And the movie looked too dark as well. First time I've ever seen Jamaica looking like a wet afternoon in Skegness.
Remember when you could actually understand what actors were saying in movies, and when they were lit in a way which made everything clear and recognisable at first glance? Those days are over it seems. Bond movies once had their own style, what with Ken Adam set designs, John Barry orchestration, and a quick-fire pacing that never seemed to abate. Nowadays, Barbara Broccoli seems to want Bond films to look like almost every other movie out there.
She really needs to take a leaf out of the Mission Impossible cinematic outings, which are imaginative, humorous, action-packed, fast-paced, and far more engrossing and exciting than Bond's recent lacklustre efforts. There are rumours that Bond is going to be rebooted again, with his adventures set in the '60s, but let's hope that now the seemingly dead* secret agent has a daughter, we aren't going to be subjected to 'Jane Bond' - or even a female carrying her father's first name. (Broccoli has dismissed the likelihood of the last part of that idea.)
Anyway, we're assured that James Bond will return, but in what form, shape, colour, or inclination remains to be seen. Let's hope it's the real McBond, and not one from a parallel universe like Daniel Craig's seemed to be.
Verdict? An emotional ending, but far from a memorable journey getting there. There was one 'innovation' this time though; instead of just regurgitating ideas and stunts from previous films, this time out they 'borrowed' one of the songs from an earlier movie in the series. Thankfully, it was a good one. Oh, tell a lie - two innovations. The 'secondary' Bond Girl doesn't get killed as a result of helping Bond fight the baddies. Perhaps three innovations - I don't think Bond even makes love to her. (If he did, I must've dozed off during it. Let's hope she didn't.)
Have you seen the movie? What were your thoughts on this latest offering from Eon Productions - hit or miss, or halfway in between? And could you make out what they were saying?
*Incidentally, despite assurances of Bond's death, it should be remembered that author Ian Fleming killed him off at the end of From Russia With Love (the novel), but relented (no doubt after some pressure from his publisher) and returned him to life in another book. (Same thing happened, more or less, with Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional hero Sherlock Holmes.)
Apparently mumbling is a "thing" in movies these days. It's supposed to be more realistic and less staged. But since real life can be confusing to watch and understand I prefer my constructed narratives to be clear. I long ago have used captions with nearly all my TV and movie watching, not because my hearing is weak, but because my understanding is dim. And no disrespect, but I watch a lot of British TV and the accents get the better of me more often than not. But that said, I've rather enjoyed Craig's tough as nails Bond, a fresh flavor for a brand that was getting a bit stale.
ReplyDeleteRip Off
James Bond this time did not take my interest but yes I watched it. Daniel Craig looked too old for the part and the movie itself was well padded to give it length..The annoying thing is Bond is on the verge of joining Dr Who into the world of political correctness. What will 007 become... not Bond but 007 since Bond is now dead.A transgender female form African American. Heaven help us.
ReplyDeleteThat's the only good thing about Craig's Bond in my opinion, RJ - the fact that he looks good in the fight scenes. However, that's mostly down to choreography - it could be done with almost any actor in the role. I still think that had Brosnan been in Casino Royale with the same fight scenes, he'd have more than carried it off. The last four Bond films have been far too tedious for me, to say nothing of too long. Oh, for the old days when, as well as being tough, Bond was debonair, sophisticated, charming, and suave. Craig looks too much like a monkey in a dinner suit.
ReplyDelete******
Nah, he's passed that point, LH. The female 007 was obviously shoehorned in as part of a woke, feminist agenda. She served no real purpose and was practically surplus to requirements. I found just about the whole movie one big yawn. I suspect that me and Bond have come to the end of the road - apart from rewatching the classic movies from time to time. Cubby must be spinning in his grave. His daughter has ruined the franchise by giving the role of Bond to someone who's too small, and making the films overtly PC. Bond just isn't Bond anymore.
Mumbling in films annoys me too. A few hours ago I was watching a film called 'Lost At Christmas' on BBC iplayer, which was set in the Scottish highlands. I enjoyed the film but at several points I had to rewind because I didn't catch the dialogue due to the mumbling, not the accents. By the way, the film included two Dr. Who stalwarts, Sylvester McCoy and Frazer Hines, as two old codgers staying at the inn where the film is set.
ReplyDeleteAs for Bond - I watched 'Casino Royale' (2006) on DVD but that's the only Bond film I've watched since the days of Timothy Dalton in the late '80s.
Casino Royale, though not without its faults, is the best of the Daniel Craig 007 movies, CJ. As for No Time To Die, I'm not exaggerating just how bad the sound is. I could only make out the odd word here and there, which is far from ideal when you're trying to work out what's going on. Along with the Batman film with Bane in it (and I saw that one in a cinema), it's the worst movie, sound-wise, that I've ever tried to listen to. And there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the TV, as I can hear everything else okay on it.
ReplyDeleteAs were all having to isolate due to someone having tested positive on Christmas eve for COVID ( despite being negative on our PCR tests) we plan to watch the film tonight so will let you know my thoughts. Couldn't agree more on the " mumbling" issue in films .
ReplyDeleteOops! I should've included a 'spoiler' alert, eh, McS? You'd probably already heard what happens at the end anyway. I'm thinking of watching it again on my High Definition laptop with Bang & Olufsen sound system to see if it looks and sounds any better. I'll wear headphones as well, to see if that makes a difference. Yeah, I'd like to know what you think of the film.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember the last time I paid to view a Bond movie in a cinema, here in the US they keep turning up in 'Bond Seasons' where six or more movies get replayed over and over.
ReplyDeleteOn reflection the two Austin Powers movies are my favourite Bond films.
George Lazenby looked the role, Roger Moore sounded the role and Sean Connery acted the role.
Hopefully the franchise will quietly just go away as regards new interpretations of the character.
If they're going to change things beyond recognition (especially in a woke, PC way) then perhaps the franchise should just fade away, T47, but I still think there's a way of doing them if they'd just stop trying to be something they're not.
ReplyDeleteWell I watched “No time to die” a couple of nights ago and I thought it was an enjoyable , exciting and entertaining film with lots of outrageously silly old-fashioned action. On the down side it didn’t feel like a real James Bond film for some reason. I also got the mumbling thing but to be fair I have experiences far worse. I read somewhere that the director had “Marvelised” this film and I thought that as well with all the past villains , songs, flashbacks etc being brought into a “Bond Universe” (the songs, especially “Wonderful world” was a nice touch though) .
ReplyDeleteI thought the idea that Bond was given the virus that meant he couldn’t be with his girlfriend and child was clever and would have meant he would continue as a womanising hard drinking teen hero but was then taken aback that they “killed” him off in the last scenes (it’s always good to be wrong footed though) . I await to see how they plan to return Bond after that ending , will they just start over again and have him escape certain death or have 007 and James Bond just as a codenames to be used for any top spy , which I think is a good idea BUT I can understand that die hard Bond fans will be outraged at that prospect.
I agree 100% I have also enjoyed the “Mission Impossible” films as well (I was not expecting to as I was never a big fan of the show as a kid) which seems more like Bond at times but I have also enjoyed Daniel Craigs more “mature” Bond more than any other since Roger Moore and Sean Connery. Its also worth pointing out I'm not a big Bond fan I just watch these as stand alone films so my interest isn't as strong as yours is a a Bond fan for me its jsut a stand alone movie.
I think you've hit the nail on the head, McS. As 'ordinary' movies, Craig's 007 outings are perfectly enjoyable films, but they just don't strike me as being Bond films. One has a certain expectation from a Bond movie, and that expectation, for me, wasn't met. If Craig were playing a character called 'Fred Smith', I could accept him far better as a secret agent than him as Bond. Incidentally, 'What A Wonderful World' wasn't in the movie, it was 'We Have All The Time In The World'. As Desmond Llewelyn's Q would say: "Oh, do pay attention, 007!"
ReplyDeleteSorry I got my song titles mixed up there but I did nean "We have all the time in the world" a lovely wee song - sadly we don't have all the time in the world only a few decades each, if we are lucky.
ReplyDeleteWell, I think you should sign over some of whatever decades you've got left to me, McS, as should the all the other Crivvies. I'd say I deserve to live forever 'cos I'm so generous and handsome and own a pair of Yogi Bear slippers. Or maybe I should just re-read all my Crivens posts from the very first one. That'll seem like forever at least. I'm talking nonsense again - I must be tired.
ReplyDeleteWell, I saw No Time To Die at the cinema (the only film in a cinema since this COVID business started) at the 12-noon showing a number of weeks after it came out (no-one else in the auditorium) and thoroughly enjoyed it as a wrap-up to Craig's tenure. Aside from some pacing issues, lack of chemistry between Craig and Lea Seydoux, and a lacklustre villain (I think that somehow Blofeld should have had a stronger role in the film), I felt that it was a worthy send-off and an attempt to do something new with a character that's been on film for 60-plus years. I thought that the nods to the previous films (starting with "We Have All The Time In The World") were more subtle than in Spectre, and foreshadowed the final denouement nicely.
ReplyDeleteAs far as where Bond goes from here, personally I don't want an attempt to emulate Bond of the 60s as those films are still there to watch, but any other new take on the character is fine by me. I understand that Chris Nolan would like to direct a Bond film with Tom Hardy, but I doubt that EON would give him the latitude to do what he wants creatively. Similarly, I'd be intrigued by Tarantino's suggestion on doing Bond set in the 1950s.
As far as mumbled dialogue goes, I did not experience that in the cinema, but that is probably due to sound separation of dialogue from a centre speaker. I've not seen it since on disc, although I have it sitting on the shelf, so cannot comment on the home viewing experience yet. But I have noticed that my wife and sons mumble to me a lot more in the past couple of years, so I suspect my susceptibility to missing dialogue is more linked to me barreling headlong into decrepitude than in poor sound mixes.
Well, it just didn't grab me in the way that Bond movies of old used to, B, but that might be down to my 'inner child' slowly diminishing as I head towards that final bedtime. I did consider that perhaps the sound issues might be down to my age, but I can hear TV programmes and films on the telly okay, which is why I suspect it's the way the audio was mixed in the studio. The sound technicians who mix film audio tracks wear headphones, which means they're hearing it a little differently than otherwise, and perhaps if I were to listen on headphones I'd hear the soundtrack a little clearer. One thing I have noticed is that when I switch my TV to mono, generally the sound is much clearer on TV shows, and I suspect there are just too many levels of separation on a lot of movies for TV sound to cope with too well.
ReplyDeleteYou're right about the villain, he was instantly forgettable - and Daniel Craig just seems to have no chemistry and charisma as Bond worth speaking of. I was surprised by his blatant disrespect (if not contempt) for M, as in the books and earlier films, Bond always had the greatest regard for his boss. I think if it hadn't been a Bond movie I'd have enjoyed it more, but it just didn't seem like a proper Bond film to me. And the new 007 just seemed like a waste of space, shoehorned in to make some kind of feminist point, rather than because she was beneficial to the plot.
You are right about him being short. I just saw a photo of Daniel Craig with Kate Middleton and she is looking down on him.
ReplyDeleteI look down on him as well, LH, but mainly socially. (Boom-boom!) That's why Cubby would never have given him the role - he wanted the actor to physically embody the character, and have real 'presence' at premieres and appearances.
ReplyDeleteOh well I guess in today's world of Political Correctness one must have tall women and short men. Quoting Ray Davies ...It's a crazy mixed up muddled up world !
ReplyDeleteIt sure is, LH. The lunatics have taken over the asylum.
ReplyDeleteCraig had the rugged Bond look but did lack the humour and charisma of Connery or even Moore. They really need to cast the ideal actor for the next 4 or 5 films. Any suggestions? What about Matthew Lewis? (Neville in Harry Potter) Or Richard Madden?
ReplyDeleteCheers
TG
Originally submitted 27 December 2021 at 23:58
(Had to cut and paste the above comment so I could reply to it in sequence, as I neglected to respond to it when submitted.)
ReplyDeleteTo me, Craig looked like Scottish boxer Ken Buchanan, and though he's good in fight scenes, just isn't 'classic' Bond. Don't know Matthew Lewis, and I think Richard Madden is probably too short. Suggestions? Chris Hemsworth or Henry Cavell.