Well Well, Bond is Dead, However there was a screen message saying "Bond Will Be Back", but if so in what guise, we'll see.
And onto this film, this is the fifth (and last) one with Daniel Craig playing Bond, but it is his worst, the action is there but little in the way of tension, the drama is mostly focussed around his relationship with Madeleine Swann, and his newly found daughter, so Bond is now a Dad (was a Dad), that's a new one on the storyline, but like his marriage in 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' is short-lived, and its apt. I quote that film, since some of the music and scenes were taken from or similar to the ones in that film, which was a good thing, since it was one of the best, but in this film he didn't get married, acknowledging the modern standards of un-married couples with kids, in the OHMSS days, they would have to get married, to keep up the moral standards in those days. To make the most of the retro feel to that film they could have got George Lazonby, if possible (he was about 80/81 years old when they made this film), to play a cameo role, they could not get any other main actors from that film, since they have all passed away, including Diana Rigg who did so when this was being made (some of the girls from the clinic are still with us, including Catherine Schell and Joanna Lumley - who are now in their 70's).
The main plot of the storyline was the biological device which could be programmed to wipe out however they wanted by selecting their DNA, this is contemporary, however it did not seem plausible, in the film when they wiped out all of Spectre's agents, with almost everyone of them having different DNA, not being related to each other (maybe a few were family), so impossible, that was a major "goof" in the storyline. There are several lesser mistakes, but that was the main plot, so for me, I kinda lost the thread, not only that, but they claimed that the biological strains would all be destroyed when they blew up the Island facility at the end, uh uh, in reality the nanobots would survive and possibly spread from there, the area would have been a no go site for hundreds of years.
The bad guy Lyutsifer Safin, played well by Remi Malek, was good, as was Paloma, played by Ana de Armas, playing the dumb/useless CIA agent, who turned out to be fantastic, the Madeleine character played by Léa Seydoux was also good, better than in Spectre, in this she had a lot more screen time, and used it well, Craig was ok as Bond, but not as good as in the previous four films, and his make up was rubbish, his face almost looked like that of a mannequin at times, even Roger Moore, who played the role when he was 58 did not have that problem. The MI6 team were all as per standard, I felt that Moneypenny (Naomi Harris) did not get enough screen time though, the new '007' was a bit of a let down though, Nomi, played by Lashana Lynch, the action she was doing was great, but she did not have the physique or figure of a 00 agent, more like a 30 ish mum of three, and her dialogue and non action scenes were a bit flat, her acting was a bit average.
The CIA characters were Ok, one turning out to be a bad guy is a bit of a theme, ala 'Never Say Never Again', with Jeffrey Wright recreating Felix Leiter well enough, for the last time. David Dencik playing the mad scientist was a good one, again he could have done with more screen time, also the same with the henchman - Primo, played by Dali Benssalah.
The storyline was a bit poor, but the scenes, scenery and action were all good, along with the links to earlier Bond films, the colouring was a bit grey though, I suppose this is the modern style, but in a bond film, it should be a bit more colourful, the music was good, the opening song was a bit of a damp squib, but the repeating of the end song 'We Have All The Time in The World' by Louis Armstrong, which was also originally in the OHMSS film as well was very good, since it is a classic song and it fit well at the end.
Another theme running through this film was the killing off of characters, obviously the main one was Bond, but they also did for Blofeld (Christophe Waltz, a fine actor who also did not get enough screen time), Spectre as an organisation, and Felix Leiter. The MI6 team was not killed off though, suggesting they will be in whatever new variant the franchise will be in the future. Another thing they killed of was the five episodes series this film ended, starting with 'Casino Royale', basically they had a storyline running through all five Craig films, with this one as the last, maybe they should have given them all the same main title, but added a subtitle, as in the 'Lord of The Rings' The Hobbit' and the 'Harry Potter films, it should have been ended on the fourth.
If there is a new Bond or at least a new 007, if its Nomi, she will need to step up a gear or three, I haven't got a problem with the main character being different, but for me it needs to be a fit bloke, starting out in his late 20's and retiring in his early forties, like an ex SAS soldier type. Its not reality, as the storyline proved, its fantasy and entertainment, they should not be trying to be pander to political correctness, gender or race issues, the character being black is not a bad idea, if Idris Elba had taken the role instead of Daniel Craig, back in the early 2000's I'm fairly sure he would have made a great bond, but 007 looking like a middle-aged mum of three is not one that will be successful. So if they do return with new films, please let Bond be a good, muscular, intelligent bloke in the prime of his life.
I have given this film 6 stars, mostly because of the action and style, the storyline, some acting, roles being short and lack of tension, prevents me from making it more, the (current) 7.3 rating on here seems a bit high for me.
I have created a Bond Girls list on this website, these are all ladies who Bond has had a sexual relationship with in the films, unfortunately I cannot add to that list with this film, since he was monogamous, only having it with Madeleine, who was in the last film, so is already in that list, the only possible addition would have been Paloma, but unlike Bond in earlier films, he does not go there, another modern trait I suppose.
And onto this film, this is the fifth (and last) one with Daniel Craig playing Bond, but it is his worst, the action is there but little in the way of tension, the drama is mostly focussed around his relationship with Madeleine Swann, and his newly found daughter, so Bond is now a Dad (was a Dad), that's a new one on the storyline, but like his marriage in 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' is short-lived, and its apt. I quote that film, since some of the music and scenes were taken from or similar to the ones in that film, which was a good thing, since it was one of the best, but in this film he didn't get married, acknowledging the modern standards of un-married couples with kids, in the OHMSS days, they would have to get married, to keep up the moral standards in those days. To make the most of the retro feel to that film they could have got George Lazonby, if possible (he was about 80/81 years old when they made this film), to play a cameo role, they could not get any other main actors from that film, since they have all passed away, including Diana Rigg who did so when this was being made (some of the girls from the clinic are still with us, including Catherine Schell and Joanna Lumley - who are now in their 70's).
The main plot of the storyline was the biological device which could be programmed to wipe out however they wanted by selecting their DNA, this is contemporary, however it did not seem plausible, in the film when they wiped out all of Spectre's agents, with almost everyone of them having different DNA, not being related to each other (maybe a few were family), so impossible, that was a major "goof" in the storyline. There are several lesser mistakes, but that was the main plot, so for me, I kinda lost the thread, not only that, but they claimed that the biological strains would all be destroyed when they blew up the Island facility at the end, uh uh, in reality the nanobots would survive and possibly spread from there, the area would have been a no go site for hundreds of years.
The bad guy Lyutsifer Safin, played well by Remi Malek, was good, as was Paloma, played by Ana de Armas, playing the dumb/useless CIA agent, who turned out to be fantastic, the Madeleine character played by Léa Seydoux was also good, better than in Spectre, in this she had a lot more screen time, and used it well, Craig was ok as Bond, but not as good as in the previous four films, and his make up was rubbish, his face almost looked like that of a mannequin at times, even Roger Moore, who played the role when he was 58 did not have that problem. The MI6 team were all as per standard, I felt that Moneypenny (Naomi Harris) did not get enough screen time though, the new '007' was a bit of a let down though, Nomi, played by Lashana Lynch, the action she was doing was great, but she did not have the physique or figure of a 00 agent, more like a 30 ish mum of three, and her dialogue and non action scenes were a bit flat, her acting was a bit average.
The CIA characters were Ok, one turning out to be a bad guy is a bit of a theme, ala 'Never Say Never Again', with Jeffrey Wright recreating Felix Leiter well enough, for the last time. David Dencik playing the mad scientist was a good one, again he could have done with more screen time, also the same with the henchman - Primo, played by Dali Benssalah.
The storyline was a bit poor, but the scenes, scenery and action were all good, along with the links to earlier Bond films, the colouring was a bit grey though, I suppose this is the modern style, but in a bond film, it should be a bit more colourful, the music was good, the opening song was a bit of a damp squib, but the repeating of the end song 'We Have All The Time in The World' by Louis Armstrong, which was also originally in the OHMSS film as well was very good, since it is a classic song and it fit well at the end.
Another theme running through this film was the killing off of characters, obviously the main one was Bond, but they also did for Blofeld (Christophe Waltz, a fine actor who also did not get enough screen time), Spectre as an organisation, and Felix Leiter. The MI6 team was not killed off though, suggesting they will be in whatever new variant the franchise will be in the future. Another thing they killed of was the five episodes series this film ended, starting with 'Casino Royale', basically they had a storyline running through all five Craig films, with this one as the last, maybe they should have given them all the same main title, but added a subtitle, as in the 'Lord of The Rings' The Hobbit' and the 'Harry Potter films, it should have been ended on the fourth.
If there is a new Bond or at least a new 007, if its Nomi, she will need to step up a gear or three, I haven't got a problem with the main character being different, but for me it needs to be a fit bloke, starting out in his late 20's and retiring in his early forties, like an ex SAS soldier type. Its not reality, as the storyline proved, its fantasy and entertainment, they should not be trying to be pander to political correctness, gender or race issues, the character being black is not a bad idea, if Idris Elba had taken the role instead of Daniel Craig, back in the early 2000's I'm fairly sure he would have made a great bond, but 007 looking like a middle-aged mum of three is not one that will be successful. So if they do return with new films, please let Bond be a good, muscular, intelligent bloke in the prime of his life.
I have given this film 6 stars, mostly because of the action and style, the storyline, some acting, roles being short and lack of tension, prevents me from making it more, the (current) 7.3 rating on here seems a bit high for me.
I have created a Bond Girls list on this website, these are all ladies who Bond has had a sexual relationship with in the films, unfortunately I cannot add to that list with this film, since he was monogamous, only having it with Madeleine, who was in the last film, so is already in that list, the only possible addition would have been Paloma, but unlike Bond in earlier films, he does not go there, another modern trait I suppose.