No Time to Die (2021)

**A -{ _F I N A L E_ }- So Stunning, And Poetically GRANDIOSE ⚘ . . . . . . . . . . " That You Will Simply -{ _N E V E R_ }- See What's Coming ".**
This Is A **-_B I G_ -** Screen MINI Review ; Film Viewed On September 30, 2021, At "VOX CINEMAS" , UAE.
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Q : "Can I just have one nice evening please . . . . before the world explodes". { Taken from one of the many -official - previews for No Time To Die; which I'll refer to as **"_N.T.2.D_ "** in this review }.
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**1. " The Overall Calibre Of Acting Here, Given That This -_Is_ - , At The End Of The Day , A -_Blockbuster Popcorn Flick_ - Is Well & Truly BREATHTAKING " :** Spearheading -{ DAZZLING 💎 }- array of world-class talent in _N.T.2.D_ are : A : Hollywood veteran Léa Seydoux ...arguably best known for 'Blue Is The Warmest Colour' | 'Ghost Protocol' | 'Spectre' ...who plays the deeply damaged yet very independent, & ravishingly Lovely psychotherapist 'Madeleine Swann' ; rendering a delicate & impassioned performance that is nothing less than **MESMERIZING.** B : Rami Malik, a.k.a 'Lyutsifer Safin', the movie's -primary- ( of two ) "Classic" Megalomaniacal Bond-Villains, who unquestionably provides a most "_DELECTABLY **IDIOSYNCRATIC** PORTRAYAL_ " { on account of his having been ( -Very- ) badly scarred as a vulnerable, young boy ; as it is entirely incumbent on me to point out }. C : 'The-Man-Of-The-Hour' himself of course, Daniel Craig, who -_Did_ - actually catch me a bit off guard . . . managing to completely 'Wow', with _both_ his utterly stupendous physical performance . . . **- _A N D_ - , HIS GENUINELY SUPERB EMOTIONAL & DRAMATIC 🌠 DELIVERY.**
**2. " FUKUNAGA . . . . . . . WHO ? " :** You could -_very_ - easily be forgiven for NEVER having heard of **Cary Joji Fukunaga,** the { formerly } -_relatively_ - unknown, yet "MULTIGIFTED" Actor-Producer-Writer-Cinematographer-Director ; who, in the September of 2018 was officially -and publicly- awarded the globally "Mega-Coveted" job of not only **-DIRECTING-** _N.T.2.D_ , but of co-writing its whole script & screenplay, _As Well_. And it's no wonder, frankly, given the fact that only the very -_SECOND_ - complete picture that he -_ever_ - Directed, executive produced & co wrote { '_Victoria Para Chino_ ' | 13 minutes | 2004 | New York University | Student-movie } . . . went on to not only win the 'Best Student Narrative Short' **OSCAR AWARD 🏆** for the year 2005 . . . but -_also_ - pretty much "_Sweep The Deck **C L E A N**_ " by winning 4 of the 5 _other_ ( Major ) awards that the said short was nominated for, in that very same year.
**3. " FINAL ANALYSIS " :** Every now and then, along comes a film with the capacity to altogether, and most _U N E X P E C T E D L Y_ **. . . . - _M O V E_ -** THE VIEWER TO THEIR VERY CORE. For me, this was such a picture, & yes **. . . . IT'S PERSONAL.** And in that vein, I want to say a Deep & Heartfelt **THANK YOU** to you, Cary Joji Fukunaga, to your 'viscerally beautiful' movie's ENTIRE -{ _E N S E M B L E_ }- CAST, your uber-talented crew ; and most of all to your leading-man, **DANIEL CRAIG 🙏 💜** ; for so successfully having enthralled us 'to this degree', _even_ in the throes of what is _very much_ ( -Still- ) a raging, vicious, global, pandemic. **_Y E S_ ,** I shan't deny that I would have loved to see a _LOT_ more screen time given to -Both- **The Completely Tantalizing Ana de Armas,** _As Well_ as the **Ever Endearing Jeffrey Wright** { 'Paloma' & 'Felix Leiter', respectively } . . . . but hey, I am no less grateful for the undeniably mind-blowing experience that I just had. **A Full-Blown, Unabashed 25 Marks Out Of 10 . . . AND , YES MY WORD IS MY " _B O N D_ " 😅 💥❗** .

I guess there was time to die, and as so many predicted, be replaced with a female Bond of color. Because... woke.
But it is fitting that Craig went out like that, he seemed to be the only man in the world that didn't want to be James Bond. There was nothing playful about him...
... he was just miserable, and miserable from start to finish. I don't see the draw in watching a depressing 007, and I don't see the draw in watching the inevitable new Politically Correct 007 either.
Neither seem to fit with the franchise.