NO TIME TO DIE (2021) - First Reactions vs. Current Reactions

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  • edited November 2021 Posts: 2,161
    The main problem with Christmas Jones is that her appearance immediately puts up flags that Elektra isn’t the main Bond girl, and so undermines the reveal that she’s the villain

    Am I the only one that finds Sophie Marceau far more beautiful and sexy than Richards?
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited November 2021 Posts: 12,480
    In a few years, No Time To Die will still be discussed strongly by more than a few. And I do think recognition and appreciation of it will increase rather than diminish. If people want reheated leftovers, there are several older Bond films in this series that fit that bill. Some as candy or popcorn, perhaps; and a few reheated plots, sure.

    What we have here, folks, is a true smorgasbord of movies. Delivered to us over our lifetime. We're lucky; admit it. And choose which ones you like to enjoy. I won't tell you your Christmas turkey is reheated or a cheap gag. You go enjoy it, and I'll enjoy plenty of other moments in all 25 Bond movies. :)>-
  • imranbecksimranbecks Singapore
    Posts: 984
    Bond fights Safin eventually after a speech where Bond mouths Safin’s words on camera (cringe and horrendous editing).

    Glad I'm not the only one that spotted that poor editing.
  • Posts: 207
    In a few years, No Time To Die will still be discussed strongly by more than a few. And I do think recognition and appreciation of it will increase rather than diminish. If people want reheated leftovers, there are several older Bond films in this series that fit that bill. Some as candy or popcorn, perhaps; and a few reheated plots, sure.

    What we have here, folks, is a true smorgasbord of movies. Delivered to us over our lifetime. We're lucky; admit it. And choose which ones you like to enjoy. I won't tell you your Christmas turkey is reheated or a cheap gag. You go enjoy it, and I'll enjoy plenty of other moments in all 25 Bond movies. :)>-

    I agree. That’s what makes the franchise so great. I’ve seen DAD at #1 on a couple of lists before. I’ve seen films like FRWL or CR near/at the bottom on others. I highly doubt any two rankings will ever be an exact match.

    I was hesitant before seeing NTTD after the ending was spoiled. But it turns out I that actually enjoyed it.
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    edited November 2021 Posts: 8,400
    B25 falls into the same category as QoS and SP, mixed to favourable reviews upon release that quickly sinks into obscurity within six months, after which a band of Craig fans continue to fight its corner as an "underappreciated classic". I never see any general youtube critic or movie fan reference QoS or SP anymore, the movies are distant memories for the casual cinemagoers, and yet mad max fury Road, the recent mission impossible films, and even john wick are regularly mentioned, showing they have staying power in the collective consciousness. From the Craig era, people only remember CR and SF, those films have stuck, the others haven't. And B25 won't stick either, because besides Bond being killed off, nothing much else of note happens in the movie. Felix Lieter and Blofeld dying doesn't have any lasting impact for the general audience. I only saw the film for the first time less than a week ago, and I am already starting to forget stuff that happened. There was lots of stuff I liked in the movie but in a "oh, that's neat" kinda way, nothing that will stick with me for years to come like many Bond films of the past have done. I like lea seydoux performance in these films very much, but the Bond/Madeline relationship just seems so perfunctory, and only exists to give Bond something to keep fighting for (because he doesn't care about completing a mission for its own sake anymore). We've had the same reheated premise 3 times in a row now. M and Silva having a secret history and connection, then Bond and Blofeld, and now Safin and Swann. For heavens sake, think of something original please! I hope the next movie (when they finally get around to it) will be a complete breathe of fresh air after we've been served up the same stuff the past decade. They can finally go back to the drawing board and work from the ground up, and we might actually get something that feels as contemporary as CR did way back in the day. Because B25 feels very dated even upon release, and not just because the footage has been sat on a shelf since 2019.
  • DraxCucumberSandwichDraxCucumberSandwich United Kingdom
    Posts: 208
    I couldn’t disagree more Mendes4lyfe
    This film will be discussed appreciated for as long as the Bond franchise continues. And not in a OHMSS / LTK way whereby they slip into relative obscurity and then get their appreciation and moments in the sun years later. This will probably be the film most associated with Craig going forward

    And I believe there are many memorable elements to this film that make it stand out
    .
    Great performances across the board;
    A unique 2 for 1 PTS;
    a brilliant roster of henchmen in Ash and Primo;
    beautifully crafted action scenes, both classic Bondian in style (Matera) and fresh and new to the series (stairwell fight);
    a movie that puts female characters front and centre but still lets Craig shine with his best performance as Bond;
    a fascinating remake of OHMSS . We’ve effectively had remakes before - YOLT, TSWLM, MR - but nothing this radical;
    Stunning cinematography;
    Beautifully paced;
    Extreme Iconoclasm killing off Bond, Felix and Blofeld;

    That’s just off the top of my head
  • Posts: 526
    Birdleson wrote: »

    So, just because Bond survied in the 24 previous movie (how hideous it might have been), he cannot die in the 25th movie? Sorry, mate, that's not a valid argument. You have to do that better. Like, "I never had a cold in my life, I can't have it now?"

    I’d put it as the fact that Bond movies are the ultimate escapism, and part of that is embodied in the fact that he always, literally, escapes.

    That’s no longer true. So for many fans Bond is no longer the same escapist fantasy that it once was. I love the movie but can’t deny that it has taken something away

    Very nicely put.

    Bingo! Thank you @DraxCucumberSandwich !
  • Posts: 7,431
    Birdleson wrote: »
    The main problem with Christmas Jones is that her appearance immediately puts up flags that Elektra isn’t the main Bond girl, and so undermines the reveal that she’s the villain

    Am I the only one that finds Sophie Marceau far more beautiful and sexy than Richards?

    You're definitely not alone there!
    For me, Marceau is the only reson I can sit through this movie!
  • DraxCucumberSandwichDraxCucumberSandwich United Kingdom
    Posts: 208
    I know some aren’t fans of her performance but Sophie Marceau and her character Elektra are far and away the highlights of TWINE for me. Christmas Jones appearing on the scene completely undermines the Bond / Elektra arc.

    Is Bond killing Elektra the coldest kill in the franchise? He straight up executes her. There is Dent in DN that comes to mind. Louque in FYEO often gets highlighted (and I suppose going forward Ash in NTTD) but I think it’s memorable partly because it’s so unMoore like
  • Posts: 387
    That's correct NTTD will regarded with CR as the pinnacle of Craig's era.
    Skyfall is over-estimated. It's good, but it lacks Sean Connery as the gatekeeper.
  • DraxCucumberSandwichDraxCucumberSandwich United Kingdom
    Posts: 208
    Skyfall is actually my favourite Craig movie, by some distance. I am a huge fan of CR and NTTD though, and accept that they are maybe better films than Skyfall.

    Skyfall was where I felt we had the closest in Craig’s tenure to a traditional ‘Bond on a mission’ caper, but with so many fun call backs and interesting inversions (eg the villian assaults Bond’s lair at the end rather than the other way round). It’s a beautiful film, crafted really well, and we had s Bond villain for the ages
  • matt_umatt_u better known as Mr. Roark
    edited November 2021 Posts: 4,343
    Mathis1 wrote: »
    Birdleson wrote: »
    The main problem with Christmas Jones is that her appearance immediately puts up flags that Elektra isn’t the main Bond girl, and so undermines the reveal that she’s the villain

    Am I the only one that finds Sophie Marceau far more beautiful and sexy than Richards?

    You're definitely not alone there!
    For me, Marceau is the only reson I can sit through this movie!

    I find TWINE as the Bond film with the hottest Bond girls ever. :D

    ShallowIllinformedHamadryad-max-1mb.gif
  • DraxCucumberSandwichDraxCucumberSandwich United Kingdom
    Posts: 208
    For me it would be TMWTGG
  • DraxCucumberSandwichDraxCucumberSandwich United Kingdom
    Posts: 208
    TMWTGG+76.jpg

    TMWTGG+04.jpg


  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,217
    Birdleson wrote: »
    The main problem with Christmas Jones is that her appearance immediately puts up flags that Elektra isn’t the main Bond girl, and so undermines the reveal that she’s the villain

    Am I the only one that finds Sophie Marceau far more beautiful and sexy than Richards?

    Beautiful? Absolutely, yes. Sexy? That's a bit harder to call. But sex appeal is a strange thing.
  • Jordo007Jordo007 Merseyside
    Posts: 2,641
    Birdleson wrote: »
    The main problem with Christmas Jones is that her appearance immediately puts up flags that Elektra isn’t the main Bond girl, and so undermines the reveal that she’s the villain

    Am I the only one that finds Sophie Marceau far more beautiful and sexy than Richards?

    Absolutely. Although my judgement is clouded by "Wild Things"...

    The fights with Ash and Primo were fantastic. I love how they felt life and death, also how brutal Bond was in combat in this film was perfect
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited November 2021 Posts: 3,152
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Am I the only one that finds Sophie Marceau far more beautiful and sexy than Richards?
    No, sir! Sophie Marceau was a goddess. I know I've got brunette tunnel vision, but even so...

  • AceHoleAceHole Belgium, via Britain
    Posts: 1,731
    ...I like lea seydoux performance in these films very much, but the Bond/Madeline relationship just seems so perfunctory, and only exists to give Bond something to keep fighting for (because he doesn't care about completing a mission for its own sake anymore). We've had the same reheated premise 3 times in a row now. M and Silva having a secret history and connection, then Bond and Blofeld, and now Safin and Swann. For heavens sake, think of something original please! I hope the next movie (when they finally get around to it) will be a complete breathe of fresh air after we've been served up the same stuff the past decade. They can finally go back to the drawing board and work from the ground up, and we might actually get something that feels as contemporary as CR did way back in the day. ...

    I have to agree here, especially with the bold parts.

    Though I am no NTTD hater - first 80 or so minutes was the most fun I've had watching a Bondfilm since CR - I do think that many fans' judgement is being clouded by the novelty effect, and this temporary state will fade.

    Seems it's easy to get Slated ( ;) ) on this thread for criticizing NTTD, but I do feel we need to balance out some of the (imo) unwarranted 'wow' factor of this movie's promotors.
    Its... fine, but other than the fact 007 gets a family and snuffs it it's not going to live long in the memory, surely?
  • DraxCucumberSandwichDraxCucumberSandwich United Kingdom
    Posts: 208
    A really interesting scene is when Bond is begging to Safin. Obviously he’s only pretending to beg, playing for time with distraction so as to get his weapon. But it is still really disconcerting to see Bond supplicating towards his enemy like that.

    It’s just not what we are used to seeing and I’m sure some fans hated it for seeing their hero on his knees begging like that.

    I’d compare it to the William Tell shooting competition scene in Skyfall. Many were touting this as evidence of the lingering misogyny in Bond, as he is so seemingly unperturbed by Severine’s death and even makes a quip. But I never saw it like that. It’s all distraction and misdirection by Bond. He probably felt guilty and miserable about her fate, but he had to play it differently to get the upper hand

    The same is going on in NTTD. Bond isn’t a simpering supplicant in this scene anyone than he is a cold heated women hater in the Skyfall scene. He’s just playing it. But it’s still very discomforting to watch

  • Jordo007Jordo007 Merseyside
    edited November 2021 Posts: 2,641
    Jordo007 wrote: »
    Birdleson wrote: »
    The main problem with Christmas Jones is that her appearance immediately puts up flags that Elektra isn’t the main Bond girl, and so undermines the reveal that she’s the villain

    Am I the only one that finds Sophie Marceau far more beautiful and sexy than Richards?

    Absolutely not. Although my judgement is clouded by "Wild Things"...

    The fights with Ash and Primo were fantastic. I love how they felt life and death, also how brutal Bond was in combat in this film was perfect

    Double post sorry
  • matt_umatt_u better known as Mr. Roark
    Posts: 4,343
    If Safin wasn’t threatening his 5 year old daughter he would’ve never act like that. The way he kills the four henchmen around him is impressive tho.
  • AceHole wrote: »
    Seems it's easy to get Slated ( ;) ) on this thread for criticizing NTTD, but I do feel we need to balance out some of the (imo) unwarranted 'wow' factor of this movie's promotors.
    Its... fine, but other than the fact 007 gets a family and snuffs it it's not going to live long in the memory, surely?

    Well there’s criticising NTTD and then there’s making predictions about how it’s going to be forgotten, that’s the thing. We don’t know how it’ll be remembered. If I had to guess I’d say where I am (the UK) will remember it pretty fondly, because it’s still making tons of money and people seem to be enjoying it. But ultimately, we won’t be able to tell for years, and does it matter? Do we need to try and predict how it’ll live in the public consciousness to prove that we’re right/wrong for enjoying it/not enjoying it?

    I enjoyed the film but I’m fine with criticism of it. I’ve criticised it plenty myself (check my initial review in the members review thread). But as I was saying when people were posting about how they were just following trends/copying Marvel/etc, I think we should just stick to judging the film as a film, rather than judging it for things we have no idea about. Basically, I think saying “I don’t like it and here’s why” is one thing. But when people start calling it a flop or predicting that nobody will like it in five years time (based off what? Some mixed reviews on message boards?) then fans of the film are naturally going to think “well no, hang on, where are you getting that from” and may get defensive over it. If we just stuck to talking about the film, then I think the atmosphere in this thread would be more civil.
  • Posts: 1,078
    It feels like there's a sway towards a more negative appraisal of NTTD on here now. Perhaps there was a cinema-related honeymoon period?
    Although I was very disappointed with what they did at the end, (it actually starts unravelling for me about an hour and a half in), I'm surprised that people found it an overall 'poor movie'. It's really stylish and snappily directed, and the nanobots storyline completely works for me. I think it's ingenious.
    I think the movie would have been a truly great James Bond movie if they'd kept away from the whole dad/dead Bond thing. Saving the world would have been enough, (it always used to be!). It would have been a very fitting end to the Craig run to have him emerge victorious from the flames, because it would have been his biggest victory yet.
    I suppose they didn't want to end it the same as SP, with him driving off into the sunset.
  • Posts: 526
    I’ve looked at social media/ aggregate voting sites thoroughly the last week or so. It appears that this board is the exception and not the rule. Most comments are saying they did not like the film. And the biggest issue overall has been the ending. This site has had the most popular opinion that NTTD is good/great etc. And there are definitely those in the negative column here including myself. Don’t take my word for it, just go out there and look around. That’s why imo this movie will be in the forgotten heap over time. In contrast, go back and look at the reactions, votes, etc. of CR and Skyfall. You will see a glaring difference.
  • Posts: 12,473
    It’s true because of its story beats NTTD is the least escapist Bond, but I just appreciate it being a different kind of movie in that respect. I still got all those exact same Bond highs through all the action scenes. And it’s still one of the only ones of 25 films to have a downer ending; OHMSS is really the only other one as definitively so, with QOS up for debate and CR and SF still more bittersweet than down.
  • donnydracodonnydraco America
    Posts: 16
    I’ve looked at social media/ aggregate voting sites thoroughly the last week or so. It appears that this board is the exception and not the rule. Most comments are saying they did not like the film. And the biggest issue overall has been the ending. This site has had the most popular opinion that NTTD is good/great etc. And there are definitely those in the negative column here including myself. Don’t take my word for it, just go out there and look around. That’s why imo this movie will be in the forgotten heap over time. In contrast, go back and look at the reactions, votes, etc. of CR and Skyfall. You will see a glaring difference.

    But if the primary concern lies with the ending (i.e., Bond's death), there's just as much a chance that the film will rise in estimation once a new film/timeline is released. The present discontent could very well stem from the trauma of a still-raw wound, so to speak.

    Mind you, I don't care for the movie myself--I'd rank it somewhere in the mid-tier of the franchise--but my qualms concern larger flaws (e.g., the jarring tone, the numbing JOHN WICK-style action, an underwhelming villain). Walking into NTTD, I actually expected Bond to die. I'm frankly surprised that it took EON 25 movies before going through with it.
  • Posts: 1,078
    donnydraco wrote: »
    I'm frankly surprised that it took EON 25 movies before going through with it.

    From how I understand it, 'timelines' are a relatively new cinematic thing. If they'd have done it at the end of, say, License to Kill, or A View to a Kill, the audience would just be confused.
    And even now, there's some people having trouble with the movies now being about a character called James Bond, rather than the character, James Bond. Me included.

  • DoctorKaufmannDoctorKaufmann Can shoot you from Stuttgart and still make it look like suicide.
    Posts: 1,261
    Birdleson wrote: »
    The main problem with Christmas Jones is that her appearance immediately puts up flags that Elektra isn’t the main Bond girl, and so undermines the reveal that she’s the villain

    Am I the only one that finds Sophie Marceau far more beautiful and sexy than Richards?

    But what abiut Safin shooting about 5 bullets oin Bond, which (unlike in the other moves) hit and hurt him? He needed to reopen the blast doors, and, even if he had not been poioned with nanobots, how was he supposed to öleave the island, esepcially with the missiles approaching fast? The jetpack from THUNDERBALL? Little Nelly? The Union Jack parachute? All I'm saying is, that when you write, he must have survived, how? Would mean a complete rewrite of the third act. And Bond does not have a bullett-proof skin...
  • DoctorKaufmannDoctorKaufmann Can shoot you from Stuttgart and still make it look like suicide.
    Posts: 1,261
    Apart from that, I feel irritated, how some users here are happy and hoping, that NTTD fails at Box Office. I believed, this is a forum for Bond fans. But then there are people, who put their personal disliking (which is alright) as high as "Look, I told yo, the movie is a failure! Did I not say so? I was RIGHT and you were WRONG!" (followed by an orgasmic laughter). Actuallya I will take a longer time out of this forum, and the good thing is, I will not be missed.

    Hasta luego, Pajeros!
  • Posts: 387
    If someone gets offended by Bond dying, then they never got Fleming in the first place, didn't they?
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