YNOT at the Movies

Even though the spying business has drastically changed over the years, it has not changed much in the world of 007, a.k.a. James Bond, the spy from MI6. Equipped with fast cars, fancy deadly toys, designer tuxedos, and often surrounded by beautiful women, this globe-trotting, bullet-proofing, superman-resembling, and liquor drinking spy character has captivated our imagination for two dozen times on the big screen. Billed as Daniel Craig's last film in this role, the director Cary Joji Fukunaga impressively crafted the 25th Bond movie "No Time to Die" (UK/USA 2021 | 163 min.). It's a classic 007 movie that is full of thrilling excitement and dazzling action sequences, and of course, exotic locations.

It's okay if you are not following the 007 series, but if you do, you will certainly feel much easier to understand the plot. For example, you might recognize the name SPECTRE as an evil organization led by Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) who is now incarcerated like Dr. Hannibal Lecter in the "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991), and you might also already know the psychiatrist character Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) whose father is a member of the SPECTRE.

The film opens with a suspenseful assassination when a masked man comes to an isolated cabin where the young Madeleine lives with her mom. After the familiar 007 theme song and stylish credits finish, the adult Madeleine is with the retired James Bond (Daniel Craig) and they are enjoying a leisurely life in Italy. Well, that doesn't last long when bombs and guns go off around them as SPECTRE agents hunt 007 down.

Reluctantly, James is pulled out of his retirement by his CIA friend Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) and a pal Logan Ash (Billy Magnussen), who claims to be a fan of 007. They head to Cuba to retrieve a biochemical weapon from SPECTRE who spectacularly stole it from a laboratory earlier in the film.

It turns out that the extremely dangerous biochemical weapon is secretly developed by MI6. Based on a DNA engineering technology, the chemical compound can poison a specific group of people who is associated with a specific DNA. The project is led by M (Ralph Fiennes) and meant to protect MI6's own agents, but the Russian scientist Valdo Obruchev (David Dencik) turns it into a weapon of mass destruction, and it is produced in a massive scale on an island off Japan by the vengeful villain Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek), whose whole family was killed by SPECTRE years ago.

James Bond's mission now is not just to cover up MI6's secret project, but to save the entire world from Lyutsifer Safin.

For almost three hours, the movie handsomely delivers exhilarating actions non-stop and never taints the reputation of 007. James Bond seems to have a skin that can escape explosions and bullets, but that's the image of James Bond and what the fans expect him to be on the screen. The director terrifically navigates the story as confidently as 007 zaps through the narrow streets in Italy. The camera is almost always in steady motion and finds the best angle for us to follow the excitement.

The humor of the film is often quick and clever. If you are a die-hard fan of 007, you will find many nostalgic references to previous episodes and characters throughout the film. One of the most enjoyable scenes is when James Bond meets a new agent Paloma (Ana de Armas) for the first time in Cuba. It's the style and charisma that have characterized 007 for the past decades.

007 might have no time to die, but the super spy doesn't seem to have time to juggle all the chaos in the world either. Let's see what will happen in the next installment of 007 as it says after the credits: "JAMES BOND WILL RETURN."

"No Time to Die" opens on Friday, October 8, 2021.