Best Bond?

[TheJames101]

That's definitely one of the big changes for this run of Bond, and it totally works. The whole point of the Craig films was to add more depth and realism to the franchise. And him getting over Vespa was the thread that went through (almost) all of the Craig Bond movies. Seydoux was great in both Spectre and this film, in that you can see the connection between her and Bond.

I really liked the Craig era of Bond films. It has a definite beginning and a definite end, and NTTD was a much better way to end his run than Spectre (although I liked that film as well).

I hope when they finally reboot the franchise (again), they go in a similar route with their next Bond and have an actor just as good as Craig was.

Does it totally work though? There's a lot of retconning that went on as this whole "tie all the films together" was never the plan, until they finally regained the rights to use Spectre again. Tying Blofeld to Bond as a "brother" type (even though not literal bros) was an idiotic idea, almost straight out of Austin Powers. Did nobody tell them?
I love the Craig films for the most part (Spectre was pretty awful past the halfway point though - which was the result of chaotic production).

On a side note, why do some people pronounce it "Vespa", as you wrote here? Most don't, but it seems to mostly be americans who do this at times. (her name is Vesper)

 

[Frizbee]

Best Bond.

1) Brosnan

2) Moore

 

[Carmine Falcone]

I liked a lot of Spectre, right up to the last 30 minutes, really, when it kind of fell apart ... which is definitely not the case here.

Controversially, the return of Lea Seydoux's character in NTTD worked well for me and I bought the nearly unprecedented, more 'mature' relationship that she has with Bond - you know, one based on a mutual past full of painful memories, essential distrust & emotional loss. "Why would I betray you!" is a key line.

She's the first primary Bond Girl character to return from one film to the next. And it makes sense for this Bond, who is retired and well into 50s. I know a lot of fans would have liked the Ana de Armas character in a more substantial role, even as the primary Bond Girl. But while she's completely wonderful in her small amount of screen time that was just never going to work here. And so like a great SP, she leaves us wanting even more ...

Oh man so much was wrong with Spectre but I won't relitigate that here.

I found Lea Seydoux more tolerable in NTTD than in Spectre. I'm trying to figure out if it's her performance or the bra and tight jeans lol. The huge character for Bond was him telling a woman he loved her! I don't even think he uttered those words in OHMSS-- and he got married in that movie for crying out loud!! But I think old age has finally softened him. I, too, was surprised about how brief Ana De Armas' role was.

 

[TheJames101]

The huge character for Bond was him telling a woman he loved her! I don't even think he uttered those words in OHMSS-- and he got married in that movie for crying out loud!! But I think old age has finally softened him. I, too, was surprised about how brief Ana De Armas' role was.

He said it to Vesper in CR

 

[Carmine Falcone]

He said it to Vesper in CR

Dammit. So you're telling me I have to go watch Casino Royale again? Guess it just stuck out to me more in NTTD. Go figure. Craig brings back the hard edge of Sean Connery but only after he's done listening to emo.

 

[Meta not Meta]

He said it to Vesper in CR

Dammit. So you're telling me I have to go watch Casino Royale again? Guess it just stuck out to me more in NTTD. Go figure. Craig brings back the hard edge of Sean Connery but only after he's done listening to emo.

... sorry to out-nerd you guys, lol ... but he did say it to Tracy ... in the barn scene of OHMSS!

 

[TheJames101]

... sorry to out-nerd you guys, lol ... but he did say it to Tracy ... in the barn scene of OHMSS!

Right! He did - I couldn't remember if he'd said it in the film (he did in the book) or if he'd just asked her to marry him (without the love you line)

 

[F117]

Daniel Craig in NTTD. Showed a deeply flawed man who is finally unafraid to love and be loved, and give his life willingly so that those who survive him can see another day. Straight from a Greek tragedy, formula still packs a punch today.

 

[EagerBeaver]

No Time to Die is now showing on Amazon Prime. I missed it in theaters, but watched it on Prime. Let me say I enjoyed the film. They came up with an appropriate way to end the Daniel Craig era and it should be interesting to see how and where the series will pick up with the next installment.

I really liked the motorcycle jump scene in the beginning of the movie (did Evel Knievel Jr. do that stunt? it was incredible!) and the Aston Martin scene in which Bond blows away would be assassins who have encircled the vehicle. Finally the way they ended the movie by reaching back to On Her Majesty's Secret Service to retrieve "We Have All The Time In The World" by Louis Armstrong was perfect. Armstrong was one of the great trumpeteers of all time, but he was too ill to play the trumpet when he did that song and just sang. He had a very unique voice and that song was the much needed ironic twist to end the movie:

 

[Carmine Falcone]

Spoilers!! Kidding.

That Louis Armstrong song from OHMSS was criminally underrated before NTTD. I have the theme songs from each movie before NTTD (Billie Eilish one was very unmemorable), but the only Bond movie that I own the movie-specific soundtrack to is OHMSS. There are a lot of Bond movies with great incidental music, but the movie with excellent theme song and in-movie music is OHMSS.

 

[Meta not Meta]

Spoilers!! Kidding.

That Louis Armstrong song from OHMSS was criminally underrated before NTTD. I have the theme songs from each movie before NTTD (Billie Eilish one was very unmemorable), but the only Bond movie that I own the movie-specific soundtrack to is OHMSS. There are a lot of Bond movies with great incidental music, but the movie with excellent theme song and in-movie music is OHMSS.

It's always been my favorite ... the CD reissue from 2003 has almost all of the incidental music. Barry was really on a run in those years. But even as a kid I had "borrowed" the vinyl from my local library for a rather extended period of time (before eventually returning it only years later).

Barry's score was one of the first to feature a moog synthesizer, which really stands out in this rocked-up version with added percussion from the same sessions, but which is not in the movie itself:

 

[TheJames101]

Amazing, I never thought that I’d discover a new bit of Bond music…. Here of all places lol. Thought I’d heard nearly every arrangement and significant remix at this point. Great find!

 

[EagerBeaver]

The OHMSS soundtrack was great, and I liked that they brought back one song from it. However there is another song they could have reached back to grab for the ending of No Time To Die, which would have fit the ending just as well, which is You Only Live Twice. This is one of my two favorite Bond songs:

My other favorite is Nobody Does It Better by Carly Simon, from The Spy Who Loved Me:

 

[TheJames101]

However there is another song they could have reached back to grab for the ending of No Time To Die, which would have fit the ending just as well, which is You Only Live Twice. This is one of my two favorite Bond songs:

Yes, but it would have been a bit problematic... it would have implied (both in the name of the song, but also in the context of what happened in YOLT the movie) that Bond faked his death in NTTD.
I don't think they would have wanted that floating around, even though some people (in denial) did it anyway.

Also they wanted Bond's death to be motivated by love... therefore the love theme from Louis Armstrong. YOLT wasn't really a love song (as beautiful as it is).

 

[Stroker7]

I'm guessing that sometime in the next 6 months they'll name a new Bond. There's a lot of speculation as to who they will chose, but I always thought Idras Elba would be good for the role, but he's probably too old for the part at his age. They usually go with someone in they're early 40's (if not a bit younger) since the hope is they'll perform as Bond for at least a decade.

 

[TheJames101]

I'm guessing that sometime in the next 6 months they'll name a new Bond. There's a lot of speculation as to who they will chose, but I always thought Idras Elba would be good for the role, but he's probably too old for the part at his age. They usually go with someone in they're early 40's (if not a bit younger) since the hope is they'll perform as Bond for at least a decade.

I don't think we're going to hear anything about the new Bond until mid-2023 at the very earliest.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Idris Elba turns 50 next month. He would have been a good choice 20 years ago, but at that time he was playing Baltimore drug dealer Stringer Bell on the Wire, the very role that made him an international star. He is a bit long in the tooth now.

I think they have to get someone early 30s or so to carry on for the next 15-20 years.

 

[Carmine Falcone]

When it comes to Bond theme songs, there are so many great ones that the shitty ones really stick out to me. Like, I hope the person that okayed that Madonna song on "Die Another Day" is currently collecting unemployment.

I don't even remember the Billie Eilish one enough to hate it that badly, but I know there wasn't any part of me that couldn't wait to hear it again.

As for more underrated songs, the Gladys Knight one from "License To Kill" needs more love.

 

[TheJames101]

As for more underrated songs, the Gladys Knight one from "License To Kill" needs more love.

aka Goldfinger 89!

 

[GaryH]

Idris Elba turns 50 next month. He would have been a good choice 20 years ago, but at that time he was playing Baltimore drug dealer Stringer Bell on the Wire, the very role that made him an international star. He is a bit long in the tooth now.

I think they have to get someone early 30s or so to carry on for the next 15-20 years.

Seems you got your wish. Aaron Taylor-Johnson , 33, has been offered the role (according to The Sun british tabloid). Loved him in Bullet Train.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tv/26774029/aaron-taylor-johnson-offered-role-james-bond/