This film is the twenty-fifth James Bond movie and
Craig’s final movie starring as Bond. It’s a worthy, but not very remarkable,
finale of the famous character, giving what every Bond film must have, that is,
fast car and motorcycle chases, high-flying stunts, beautiful scenery, plus
futuristic technology and gadgets: watches, cars, and planes.
Diane Carson said in her review, “As usual, all of
this must deter an evil psychopathic man, or, in this case, two men from
destroying the world through lethal, highly contagious DNA (with a nod to our
pandemic tragedy, perhaps). Lured back from retirement to save civilization, if
I may call this mayhem that, is, of course, James Bond, spy extraordinaire
though everyone knows who he is. I won’t detail the script. Just ride the
roller coaster, never looking too far around the next bend.”
Every addition must help the success, and for the most
part, everything does. Let’s start with the casting of Rami Malek and Christoph
Waltz as the main villains. They handle their roles differently and well. Equally
great because they play their roles without displays: Ralph Fiennes as M,
Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, Ben Whishaw as Q, and Jeffrey Wright as Felix. As
love interest Madeleine Swann, Léa Seydoux does a great job, despite her crying
and acting like a damsel in distress, which could have been downplayed.
Get this: Lashana Lynch plays Nomi, Agent 007. That’s
right, without spoilers since she’s introduced as that early in her appearance.
Her presence brings a confident strength to every scene, despite way more could
have been developed with her qualifications. Credit also is given to Daniel
Craig who previously did not want to play Bond by calling the character a
misogynist. Craig playing him improved on that previous remark and also
humanized the character.
At two hours and 43 minutes, the film may feel like it
is too long, but that’s a small complaint. Carson credited, “Hans Zimmer’s
music is, especially in the romantic scenes, unimaginative, but serviceable.
Tom Cross and Elliot Graham’s editing intensifies the action (though I still
consider Christopher Rouse’s, Saar Klein’s, and Richard Pearson’s editing for
the Jason Bourne trilogy the best action film editing ever.)” Director,
co/screenplay writer Cary Joji Fukunaga knows what we came to see and how to
deliver exactly that.
Since the studio never said anything about ending the
famous franchise, now everyone must be thinking who will be the next actor to
play Bond. Carson mentioned, “I’d love to see Idris Elba, though he may be too
cool for that role or, introduced already as 007 here, the charismatic Lynch.
Whoever takes the helm, count me in for another theme park ride.” The movie is
playing in every cinema, but I’m not sure how it looks on IMAX since I never saw
it there.
As the final film of Craig playing Bond, I’d say he
literally went out with a bang. After watching the film, I was thinking this
might be the end, but I don’t think that will happen. This is an engaging film
with gripping action scenes, like car chases, fist fights, gun fights, etc.
However, when I got to the end of the film, I was shocked by what happened. I’m
not going to give anything away, but if you’re a fan of the Bond franchise,
this is one that you should not miss. I don’t know if this will play on any
streaming service later on, but go to the theater and be safe. This is, hands
down, the best Bond movie starring Craig.
Thank you for joining in on my review tonight. Stay
tuned next Friday for the finale of “The Addams Family Month.”
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