Apparently some people are seeing the latest Bond movie, “No Time to Die,” for the first time, now that it’s available on Amazon Prime. I watched it again myself and, provoked by some of the Twittering, thought it would be fun to write this.
I haven’t opened an Ian Fleming novel since the 60s. As a spy novel aficionado, I am strictly in the John Le Carre camp. Some time ago, I also devoured Len Deighton.
Over the decades I have seen almost all the Bond movies, some quite a few times. Watching some of the oldest ones recently, the off-hand violence towards women by Bond was a surprise. I hadn’t remembered that. Otherwise the more recent ones have the usual catchphrases, wiseacre dialog, and unbelievable action sequences. In that sense they are no different.
The quality of the Bond films really depends on the villains, because when it comes to Sean Connery or Roger Moore or Pierce Brosnan, they can’t fucking act. Connery was a pleasure to watch because he is such a hunk. Moore was a giant pantload and Brosnan a pipsqueak, totally unconvincing when it comes to romance or the physical stuff. Moore could be amusing. I can’t think of an excuse for Brosnan.
The latest Bond, Daniel Craig, is also a good actor. Unlike the other Bonds, he actually falls convincingly in love. He can project anguish.
Of the older villains, my faves were Yaphet Kotto, Christopher Walken/Grace Jones, and Gert Frobe (Goldfinger). Rosa Kleb, Scaramanga, Hugo Drax were played by good actors. The Blofelds were forgettable. Craig has had the benefit of some great villains – especially Javier Bardem, but also Mads Mikkelson and Rami Malek. His running buddy Jeffrey Wright is also a good actor, actually better than Craig. The other Bonds had nobody to compare.
The idea of Idris Elba as Bond is fun to contemplate. I don’t know who else could bring something interesting to the role. In any case, I’ll inevitably be watching the next one, and the one after that. A good bad movie is better than one that sincerely tries to be good and fails.
I was touched by the Louis Armstrong song in the closing credits for “No Time to Die.” It really matched up with prior Bond themes musically, which it long preceded. I missed it during my first viewing, but you can find it on YouTube.