NO TIME TO DIE
6 long years after his last foray in SPECTRE, James Bond is finally back in NO TIME TO DIE (trailer here), which hits U.S. theaters this weekend after years of creative and COVID-related delays. If you haven’t returned to the cinema since the world started reopening earlier this year, I can’t think of a better occasion to make the trip. I’ve always admired the Bond films for their aspirational, global escapism, and this chapter is no exception, featuring stunning sequences shot in Italy, Jamaica, Norway, and of course, the U.K. And truthfully, above all, I really just missed the experience of sitting in an IMAX theater and watching a movie of this scale; Hans Zimmer’s operatic score rattled my seat so hard I nearly dropped my popcorn—and it was life-affirming. Clocking in at nearly three hours, NO TIME TO DIE certainly does take its time, but it’s an absolute spectacle nonetheless and wraps up Daniel Craig’s run as Bond with an unexpectedly emotional finale. And while a number of familiar faces reprise their roles from previous films, it’s Ana de Armas and Lashana Lynch who steal the show as quick-witted operatives who hold their own and then some alongside Craig. Between the action, the verve, and all the melodramatic ruminations on “time” and “revisiting the past,” NO TIME TO DIE exemplifies just about everything I love about Bond. Run, don't walk!
—Neal Mulani, Development Assistant
