Bond......
Man...that was fun. When you do a 25th film, there's gonna be some reusing of materials but this honestly didn't feel like that. It was fresh, probably because we knew coming in, for the first time, there is no tomorrow.
Bond ALWAYS lives. There's ALWAYS more.....and then there wasn't. And I won't lie, it hit me pretty good.
It's a beautiful film, as usual, it has insanely hot women, incredible action shots, great nods to the books like "we have all the time in the world" but this time it added power. Hurt. Loss. I think the reason Casino Royale hit so well was the loss of Vespar. The "turn" of Bond. The thing that changed who he was and would be. This brought that back. I think Royale was better because it was first, because it was bold and new and Craig was so different from the Brosnan corny jokes franchise after Goldeneye. But this was a tremendous "5th" film. Everyone nailed their roles. Malek was creepy as hell. Smart and menacing and crazy, yet real enough to spare a child, twice. (Tho kinda of a trap the 2nd)
Moneypenny, M and Q we're real(er) this time, they all knew the stakes. It showed. They truly respected Bond even tho he was thought of as the rogue rule breaker.
Felix.....
Such a hard scene to watch man. I loved how M was even affected by it.
Bond's girl is fine as hell. My goodness she's fun to look at and she was terrific.
Ana de Armas........my God. She is unbelievable and God I hate Ben Affleck. JLo, Jen Garner and Ana. Not even counting the dozens of randoms he's gone thru, those are some elite talents he's pulled.
She was spectacular and I prayed she'd get another scene later, but oh well.
The whole end scenes I was picturing a Nintendo 64 video game of this, every shot, every faceless villain they even used proximity mines!!!!!
I'm very curious where they go next. Female Bond? A different nationality? Someone in the theater said he wished they'd change eras and do a 50's style instead of current day. (That would be interesting honestly) I heard Robert Pattinson mentioned. Edris of course, Tom Hardy etc etc. But Craig came out of nowhere, I'm sure they'll pick a solid choice.
But what now? Rehash Spectre? Go back to the beginning, again?
I know Connery is the OG, but the Craig 5 nailed both M's, Moneypenny, Felix, Vespar, Madeline with villains being Javier Bardem, Malek, Waltz, and Mads.....
That is a SERIOUS resume. People need to put respect on the work they did.
Casino Royale
Quantum
Skyfall
Spectre
No Time to Die
@darthska mentioned the other day he never watched a single one, well, you have, just with other names. EVERY spy-action-cool dude comes from James Bond. Jason Bourne, John Wick, Indiana Jones, Fast and the Furious, Taken, all of em, they all originate from this character. 60+ years, 25 films.
One thing I forgot to add in a different thread, the Score by Hans. Bond music is as classic as it gets but it was FLAWLESS in this one.
7.5/8