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No Time To Die




*Spoiler Alert* 

An extra long goodbye for Daniel Craig as 007. 

Craig's time as Bond comes to an end in a manner that's most befitting of his era as Bond. Perhaps more now than ever before, No Time To Die firmly shifts Bond movies away from the "saviour of the world" action thriller genre to "an episode in the life of a spy" dramatic entertainer territory... 

Don't get me wrong. All of the global spy thriller staples are here - an impending universal peril brought about by an eccentric antagonist, visually stunning chases through picturesque locales, multiple mini action set-peices leading to a crescendo in some god-forsaken building / island / industrial plant... all of that is present but none of it matters. Really, this movie is made, and seen through the eyes of James Bond, and James Bond only. 

And I honestly could not think of a bigger waste of Talent in recent times than Rami Malek's role in NTTD. 

With the culmination of this tectonic shift in the tone & treatment of Bond, the curtains have been brought down on one of the most charismatic Bond eras, and the franchise will be truly entering unchartered territory with the next flick; whether that will be with a female 007, a return to the true roots of global spy thrillers, and / or a completely different direction, is anybody's guess... 

James Bond is Dead. Long Live James Bond.

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