NO TIME TO DIE [Bond 25] - SPOILER Talk

[Eric W.]

Hopeless.

[Paul MacLean]

Nothing gets you stoked about the new Bond movie than stories like this.

[AndyDursin]

Hilarious watching these people freak out over spoilers when there's no way to contain them when a movie opens overseas over a week in advance.

But more importantly, Danny Boyle spoiled this movie YEARS ago -- it's one of the reasons he walked off.

[AndyDursin]

Did a quick listen to the score -- kind of like WW1984, Hans is definitely on his best behavior again. It's much more in the big brassy/melodic Arnold Bond tradition than Thomas Newman, and I do prefer this to both of his scores. The peppy action scoring and omni-present use of the Bond theme is much more in-line with the classic franchise "sound" and probably works very well under the film, even if I didn't detect really any original thematic material of note.

The song absolutely sucks (and it's not his fault), but what can you do? At least Zimmer seems to found a melodic pulse again after years of writing Nolan-styled drones. To give him credit, Hans wrote a "James Bond score", whereas Newman's work sounded like Thomas Newman doing Thomas Newman -- with lots of dense, uninvolving action scoring -- with the occasional Bond riff here and there. Zimmer's approach is much more like Arnold's -- and it's not subtle at times -- but it's mostly "fun", and the brief homages to Barry and such -- the quick use of We Have All The Time in the World and the main OHMSS theme especially -- are a nice added touch.

As much as I crapped on his hire, he did a more than respectable job here. And the "Cuba Chase" may be the best use of the Bond theme within an action cue in many years, certainly since a couple of Arnold's best efforts ("Backseat Driver") back in the Brosnan era.

[Monterey Jack]

^ That's heartening to hear. Zimmer's always been a "stopped clock is right twice a day" composer for me, but I always feel guilty for crapping on him relentlessly and groaning when he or one of his underlings gets another high-profile assignment, and he does have talent when properly applied. I got the day off from work next Friday, so I'll be rolling out for this, and maybe can convince my Dad to come along (as he got me into Bond back in the day when he took me to Octopussy when I was nine ).

[mkaroly]

Did a quick listen to the score -- kind of like WW1984, Hans is definitely on his best behavior again. It's much more in the big brassy/melodic Arnold Bond tradition than Thomas Newman, and I do prefer this to both of his scores. The peppy action scoring and omni-present use of the Bond theme is much more in-line with the classic franchise "sound" and probably works very well under the film, even if I didn't detect really any original thematic material of note.

The song absolutely sucks (and it's not his fault), but what can you do? At least Zimmer seems to found a melodic pulse again after years of writing Nolan-styled drones. To give him credit, Hans wrote a "James Bond score", whereas Newman's work sounded like Thomas Newman doing Thomas Newman -- with lots of dense, uninvolving action scoring -- with the occasional Bond riff here and there. Zimmer's approach is much more like Arnold's -- and it's not subtle at times -- but it's mostly "fun", and the brief homages to Barry and such -- the quick use of We Have All The Time in the World and the main OHMSS theme especially -- are a nice added touch.

As much as I crapped on his hire, he did a more than respectable job here. And the "Cuba Chase" may be the best use of the Bond theme within an action cue in many years, certainly since a couple of Arnold's best efforts ("Backseat Driver") back in the Brosnan era.

As one who is hyper-critical of how horrible Zimmer is as a film score composer, I am glad to hear he dug deep and wrote something that is worth listening to.

[AndyDursin]

Just to be clear -- it's not John Barry. It's like something Arnold would do, minus his thematic material...like a modern hodgepodge of classic Bondian tropes. Typical modern action scoring. Not something I'd recommend someone go out and buy -- but it's much better than I anticipated. It's more Barry than Bourne, so I give Zimmer credit for that.

[mkaroly]

I gotcha...I do like the David Arnold scores, so if Zimmer is in that vein then I will not have reservations about listening to the score (or purchasing it).

[AndyDursin]

*SPOILERS*

5/10

The long-delayed conclusion to the Daniel Craig/James Bond era is a huge disappointment. Droning on for a 2½-hour plus run time that’s never justified, this 25th Eon 007 film – Craig’s fifth – is marked by routine, forgettable action, a lack of wit, and finally, an ending that’s intentionally “controversial” and seems to confirm what director Danny Boyle hinted years ago when he walked off the picture: that this was less a James Bond movie than a Daniel Craig vanity project.

That, without divulging all the details (sorry in advance folks, but you’d better see this quickly as there’s no way around spoilers), sums up director Cary Joji Fukunaga’s bloated affair. The story line — credited to Fukunaga, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and the veteran Eon duo of Neil Purvis and Robert Wade — is so convoluted that portions of it still make no sense at the end (if anyone can explain why the “bad CIA guy” wants to kill Bond and his girlfriend, have at it) — but it’s the entire tone of this movie that’s just odd. It’s still a “Bond movie” to a degree but mostly plays like a wholly different type of dreary spy thriller that’s in-tone with what Craig likely wanted – one featuring a softer, more domesticated 007 than the tough-as-nails creation of Ian Fleming that Craig embodied at the start of this cycle. That evolution ends up being an entirely unconvincing one, especially within the context of the four films that preceded it, and also as far away from its source material as one can possibly imagine.

What’s worse, “No Time To Die” is anchored in being a “Spectre” sequel that carries on its (equally unimpressive) predecessor’s formula of tedious action shot in dingy confines, with much of the set-pieces involving Bond running up and down stairs and claustrophobic corridors, marked by bland sets and desaturated cinematography. Remi Malek may be billed here as the movie’s official “bad guy,” yet he’s mostly wasted and relegated to the movie’s finale, wherein Fukunaga tries to evoke classic Bond endings where villains take an eternity to spell out their plans and set up shop on a secluded island. Unfortunately, while you might feel like he’s paying homage to classic Bond formula, someone forgot to include “fun” in this picture’s equation as the movie laughably concludes with a teary-eyed finale that sends Bond to the same big-screen hero graveyard that Han Solo and Luke Skywalker have recently been buried in (look out Indiana Jones, I’m guessing you’re next!).

Despite the overall let down one feels at the end, “No Time To Die” isn’t unwatchable and stays afloat with minor pleasures — Lea Seydoux manages to be even more attractive and fetching here than she was in “Spectre,” and Ana De Armas is fun for a few, very fleeting minutes while Bond heads to Cuba (sadly, she exits the film as quickly as she enters it). 007 fan-service can be felt in Daniel Kleinman’s opening titles, which offer a few “Dr. No dots,” and Hans Zimmer’s surprisingly deft score, which boasts brassy Barry flourishes and smart callbacks to Bond movies past. Those ghosts, though, eventually haunt a film that can’t seem to make up its mind as to what it wants to be — a Bond movie that doesn’t seem like it actually wants to be one, right down to the blaze of glory finale that’s likely to irritate portions of its fanbase, which may have been its star’s point in the first place.

[mkaroly]

Sounds like a pass for me.

[AndyDursin]

SPOILERS AGAIN

Can't speak for Paul but he was here and saw it with me...and he liked it less than I did!

There are other spoiler components that are worthy of discussion. Mainly how Bond is here "domesticated", doesn't bed another woman, and finds out he has a toddler! I mean...the hell. It's like a Craig therapy session.

[mkaroly]

Well, hopefully people will not support the film and speak with their wallets. Even then I doubt the Hollywood establishment will understand, but they don't want to understand anyway.

[AndyDursin]

Trying to recall now but does Bond even go to bed with anyone in this film?

Like Paul told me, it's a sad day when a Hans Zimmer score is the best part of a movie!

[Eric Paddon]

As far as I'm concerned, the entire Daniel Craig era of Bond-dom is memory-holed out of existence for me.

[AndyDursin]

The great irony is Craig started off with CASINO ROYALE which was one of the closest to Fleming at least in terms of tone and mood of ALL the films -- yet he ends here with something resembling a social statement (a domesticated, monogamous Bond with a toddler!) that's as far astray from its source as imaginable. But this is what happens when you give a star with creative aspirations control over the material -- the Broccolis let him produce and basically script this film himself, paid him a ton of money AND let him kill off the character at the same time.

It's just such a dreary, self-important movie, too connected for SPECTRE for my liking also. Oh and Bond isn't the only one Craig kills off here either.