No Time to Die - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

No Time to Die



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:

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Movie
All things that have a beginning must have an end. Unless you’re James Bond, then you’re simply recast with another actor and live to fight another day, even if you seemed to have died at least once. At least that’s how it’s been for decades and decades as the titular special agent makes his way from one prolific actor to the next, seducing women, and capping bad guys with his Walther PPK (or in the case of the Brosnan films, his Walther P99). Back in the early 2000s James Bond was officially considered “dead” after the last two Brosnan films turned into comic book movies and the box office audiences had finally gotten enough of the series getting more and more ludicrous. It was less about gadgets, babes and guns, and more about near science fiction with plot lines that could have been from a Marvel comic book. Thus they decided to reboot (in a way) the franchise by casting Daniel Craig, and going back to the roots of Bond in a grittier, dirtier, and more brutal Bond than we had seen before. The franchise would unfold with many of the same villains and story points over the years, but with a decidedly more modern flair and with Daniel Craig playing one of the best Bonds I’ve ever seen.

HOWEVER, the 007 series started to falter a bit with its sequels. Quantum of Solace was widely disliked for being a slower character study, and then Spectre sort of dive bombed, even with the inclusion of the incredible Christoph Waltz playing the infamous Ernest Blofield and giving rise to the most famous anti-Bond organization ever. It was pretty good, but definitely faltered a bit. Then it was made known that Daniel Craig was retiring as bond (he had a good run, I will admit) and No Time to Die would be the final one with him as the titular character. Then there came the rumors of turmoil behind the scenes, leaks about Bond no longer playing 007 in the movie, it became politicized, and the internet basically broiled with “this is gunna stink” and “you guys are crazy, it will be awesome”. So I was a bit leery when it turned out be the lowest box office producing Bond film of the new “Craig” era. Still, I had some hopes it would still be a decent movie, but was sadly proven wrong.

The film opens up with a mysterious masked man coming in and killing the family of a known hitman, but ends up saving the life of their young daughter. Fast forward to the modern era and this woman (even though they don’t say it, you know it) is now married to James Bond (Daniel Craig) who is finally getting over the pain of losing Vesper Lynd from Casino Royale. Fully intending to give up his ghosts and move on with Madeleine (Lea Seydoux), only for Spectre to drop a bomb on him at Vesper’s grave. Thinking that Madeleine HAD to be behind it because she was the only one who knew he was there, he forces her on a train and walks away from everything 007. Now 5 years later he’s called into action when M (Ralph Fiennes) has lost a powerful biological weapon that can target a person’s DNA called “Project Heracles” and only he can stop it. Now it’s up to Bond to blow things up, reunite with his wife Madeleine, and stop the mysterious Lyutsifer Safin from using Project Heracles to remake the world as he sees fit with a biological agent that can target ANYONE.
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I heard a lot from people about 007 going “woke”, as 007 is no longer Bond. While I’m as right wing as they come, I didn’t find the movie to be “woke” (to use the term) that much. Instead of it just felt slapdash and edited by someone who didn’t have much experience. Sure, the number 007 is now taken up by a woman named Nomi (Lashana Lynch), but that’s to be expected when someone retires. Your Jersey is handed off to the next player. However, her inclusion was a gigantic mess. Nomi’s character is generally just there to get grumpy over Bond not taking her seriously or self conscious about him being the OG 007, and could have been completely cut out of the story with zero ill effects. Another 1/3rd of the movie is taken up by soap opera drama scenes with Bond crying over his lost wife and the two of the them having huge dialogs about their love for each other and the past. It just felt like this wasn’t a BOND movie anymore, or the people behind the movie didn’t really understand the character of Bond. It made some sense with Vesper because he was not truly coming into his own as the hardened spy, but this just felt sappy and soapy without any real handle on what makes Bond tick. The inclusion of Madeleine seemed out of left field, and just crammed in there as “yeah, Bond hooks up again and is totally in love, don’t worry, it doesn’t need to make sense”. Lastly, the film just really felt like it didn’t have a competent editor at all. The flick just shifted from one scene to the next with nary a jump and many times I found myself rewinding wondering just where the association from one scene to the next came from.

I would have given the film a 2 or 2.5 out of rating if it was just that, but there are one or two really fun points that elevated the movie just a bit, the main one being the action scenes. Holy cow, there were some utterly fantastic action scenes in the film that had me clapping my hands with glee. That opening fight with Bond girl #1 in the party (Paloma, played by Ana de Armas was an INCREDIBLE Bond babe that was so under used in the film) was jaw dropping. The choreography was near impeccable with Paloma and Bond both just destroying the room. The battle in the woods of Norway is a close second with some of the best tactical moves by Bond in the series. Also, Craig is still on top of it as Bond (when he’s not getting soap opera emotional) and both Naomi Harries and Ralph Fiennes and Ben Whishaw revitalize their infamous roles as Moneypenny, M and Q with warm and comforting ease. Rami Malek was solid, but I felt he just wasn’t given much to worth with. He was sort of the Dr. No of the movie, and he was deliciously creepy as the emotionless villain, but the writing just didn’t really allow him to stretch his wings and feel like a true villain. Which is sad as I love Rami Malek.

This paragraph is going to be a HUGE spoiler if you haven’t watched it, so please skip to the next one if you don’t want a major plot point spoiled……………………………………….Yup, I’m going to talk about the much talked about and much hated killing of James Bond. I know he died once early in the series as they considered ending the franchise there, but the typical story of Bond was that as one actor stopped playing the role, another one just picked up where he left off. Instead of doing that, the powers that be decided to actually KILL James Bond off to go along with the huge dramatic soap opera that they had crafted for film. Personally I’m not a fan of this at all, as it once again goes along with my theory that the writers obviously didn’t have a handle on what made the 007 franchise work. They are already confirming that “James Bond is going to be back!” but with how the world is nowadays, it wouldn’t shock me if they tried to pass off the name of James Bond as another code name like 007, and cast a new actor as a new character, USING Bond’s name. That’s just me speculating, but my cynical nature kind of feels that they’d do that. Either way, I feel like even Craig feels stretched a bit thin in this movie, and I really hope that they can revitalize the series once more with another actor (that's kind of the status quo for the series, as one actor starts to run thin, the Broccoli's move on to another and the yoyo cycle continues)




Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images, brief strong language, and some suggestive material




4K Video: Video:

The 007 movies have looked great in Blu-ray and 4K for the most part (Casino Royale was an earlier film with a wonkier look, so it wasn’t AS fantastic as the later ones) and No Time to Die is no different. The Blu-ray looks amazing, but this 4K UHD disc just takes it to another level. The film starts out with a dusty and sandy look that Bond film in the Craig era have always had, but shifts to more of a cool blue and natural look for most of the rest of the film. There’s some mild tweaks to black levels where things can look a bit milky, but that’s a unique aesthetic to the image that Craig Bonds have always had. Fine details are nothing short of INCREDIBLE, showing off Craig’s lines and creases, Madeleine’s tears dripping down a dirty soaked face, and wonderful color representation with the Dolby Vision and HDR application. Blacks are much blacker with NO sign of crush or banding, and the slightly more brightness toned down image on the 4K seems more natural. Picture perfect in every way.








Audio:

Luckily Universal keeps the Dolby Atmos track on both the 4K UHD and the Blu-ray, so either format will net you the same incredible audio track. Bond movies are known for their incredible audio, and this one is no different. The film starts out quiet enough, but soon blasts you into the stratosphere with kinetic action sequences (the first fight in the club with Paloma is so incredibly immersive. The mix is not one to have over bloated bass and crazy kinetic energy that draws attention to itself, but instead thrives off of fantastic balance with great bass, great surrounds, and and picture perfect dialog. It’s not overly flashy, but the track meshes so perfectly that you can’t help but revel in how organic it feels. Fantastic mix from beginning to end.







Extras:

• ANATOMY OF A SCENE: MATERA – In true Bond fashion, there is an incredible pre-credit sequence featured in No Time To Die. A breathless chase shot in Matera that starts on foot, then motorcycle, then car. Not just any car either – the iconic Aston Martin DB5! Through interviews with Daniel Craig and director Cary Joji Fukunaga, plus on-set interviews with key members of the crew, we discover how the filmmakers shot this breathtaking sequence.
• KEEPING IT REAL: THE ACTION OF NO TIME TO DIE – In a world full of CGI-heavy action films, the Bond franchise proudly stands out from the crowd for always shooting practical stunts, without the use of special effects. In this piece we see how No Time To Die continues with this tradition with its amazing action sequences.
• A GLOBAL JOURNEY – Exotic locations are synonymous with all Bond movies and No Time To Die is no different. As well as returning to Bond's spiritual home, Jamaica, for Daniel Craig's final outing, we also go on a global journey taking in Italy, Norway and Scotland. We'll hear from Daniel Craig, Cary Fukunaga, other key cast and filmmakers, on what it was like filming at these spectacular locations.
• DESIGNING BOND – Production designer Mark Tildesley and costume designer Suttirat Anne Larlarb, along with cast and other filmmakers, discuss the inspiration, challenges and trials of concepting and making such remarkable sets and costumes for the iconic Bond franchise.
• BEING JAMES BOND* – In this special 45-minute retrospective, Daniel Craig candidly reflects on his 15-year adventure as James Bond. Including never-before-seen archival footage from Casino Royale to the 25th film No Time To Die, Craig shares his personal memories in conversation with 007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, in the lead up to his final performance as James Bond.

Final Score:
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Now, spoilers gone, No Time to Die has some fun moments, but it is an extremely bloated film with a meandering story that spends as much time talking about feelings as it does blowing stuff up. I honestly thought that they couldn’t do much worse than Spectre in terms of playing the series out a bit past its prime (in regards to Daniel Craig’s run), but they did so in spades. The one thing that elevated this way above it’s paygrade was some excellent action sequences, and some bit parts (Ana de Armas and Jeffrey Wrights for one) to draw the audience in. Otherwise this was probably the most forgettable James Bond experience since Pierce Brosnan nearly tanked the series. The 4K UHD disc is an incredible disc with great video and perfect audio, but the movie itself is much more geared towards a rental than anything.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Daniel Craig, Ana de Armas, Rami Malek, Lea Seydoux, Lashana Lynch, Ralph Fiennes, Bet Witshaw, Naomie Harris
Directed by: Cary Joji Fukunaga
Written by: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Cary Joji Fukunaga
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), French, Spanish DD+ 7.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Universal
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 163 minutes
Blu-Ray Release December 21st, 2021

Recommendation: Rental

 

[Epoxy1]

Michael,

As a fellow right-winger I completely concur with your review. This was a fitting end to the Craig films and frankly, it's the best A/V disc from 2021. It looks and sounds amazing!

Great review.

David

 

[Michael Scott]

Michael,

As a fellow right-winger I completely concur with your review. This was a fitting end to the Craig films and frankly, it's the best A/V disc from 2021. It looks and sounds amazing!

Great review.

David

They certainly outdid themselves with the audio and video.

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I never expected the ending. Not typical bond movie ending that is for sure.

However, I must say, if Ana de Armas picks up the series as a new staring 00, I will definitely watch.

 

[Epoxy1]

Thanks for the review. I never expected the ending. Not typical bond movie ending that is for sure.

However, I must say, if Ana de Armas picks up the series as a new staring 00, I will definitely watch.

She is one lady and is drop dead gorgeous. I think I could watch her read the phone book for two hours and have no complaints.

 

[Epoxy1]

It's weird...the forum software edited out s e x y before lady

 

[Michael Scott]

She's certainly easy on the eyes not to mention her scene in the movie was one of the highlights of the film