Monday, December 15, 2025

James Bond Movie Review: ***** No Time to Die: (2021)

 James Bond (Daniel Craig) is back, after taking a long hiatus.  He is with Madeleine (Léa Seydoux) until he feels like she betrayed him, and puts her on a train.  We then pick up the story some five years later.  The CIA recruits James Bond to investigate the Project Heracles, a bionic weapon that can be manipulated through DNA to attack only select people.  Bond agrees.  He attends a party in Cuba with Sceptre, who has stolen the virus and the scientist Valdo Obruchev (David Dencik) who created the virus.  Sceptre thinks the virus will kill Bond, having his DNA.  However Obruchev has switched the DNA signature.  When Bond is suppose to die, all the Sceptre operatives die instead. Bond escapes with Obruchev.  He had been helped by CIA operative Paloma (Ana de Armas).  He delivers Obruchev to the CIA aboard a sail boat.  Bond is betrayed by one of the CIA agents, Logan Ash (Billy Magnussen).  Ash kills Bond's CIA friend Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) and blows up the boat they are on and escapes via sea plane with Obruchev.  Ash and Obruchev are double agents for Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek) who has it in for Sceptre because they killed his family and left him scarred with their poison.

Somehow Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) the head of the CIA attended the meeting in Cuba from prison.  Bond is determined to visit him.  Blofeld insisted he would only talk to Madeleine, so Bond sees her after five years and discovers she has a baby.  She comes with Bond to see Blofeld, but also brings the virus with Blofeld's signature.  Blofeld dies.  Bond is now again working with MI6, M (Ralph Fiennes).  M and MI6 was involved in the Hercales virus.  He also encounters Q (Ben Whishaw), Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), Tanner (Rory Kinnear) and a new 007, Nomi (Lashana Lynch).  

Bond while protecting Madeleine and her daughter is attacked by men of Safin.  Bond is able to kill most of them, including Ash, but not bfore the kidnap Madeleine and her girl.

They determine Safin intends to kill millions with the virus as he has many DNA signatures.  They determine he must have his manufacturing operation on his family island.  Upon arrival they discover he also has a rocket to deliver the virus.  He has a large scale manufacturing operation.  Bond and Nomi attack the facility, but only a large scale bombing will butn off the toxins.  Bond has to open the doors so the bomb will be effective.  They rescue Madeleine and the daughter (who is actually Bond's daughter.  Nomi takes them to safety while Bond confronts Safin he is able to kill him, but not before being infected with a strain of the virus that would kill those he loves.  He orders the missles to strike the island, and doesn't get off.  We assume he has perished.  

This is the last, and I think the bet of all the Bond films.  The action is intense, as are the emotions.  When Bond allows a truck to crush Ash he reminds him that his brother was Felix who Ash had killed.  We also have a complicated love relationship, and a Bond baby as a result.  



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