Too Much Time to Die

So last weekend I finally, finally, FINALLY got to see the latest James Bond film. In an alternate universe, we’d have watched it back in 2019, but it was delayed by a change of director, then delayed by – ahem – The Thing We Try Not To Mention.
So was it worth the wait?
Personally, speaking for myself, and being honest, I have to say No, it wasn’t.
For a start, its just too bloody long. By about 45 minutes. You could have pressed PLAY on the projector on Day 1 of the pandemic and still be watching the end credits when the vaccine was produced. It’s TOO LONG. They seemed determined to make it the longest Bond film ever, regardless of whether they had anything worthwhile to put in the runtime. WARNING – this next joke works better if you read it aloud…
I know they want to give people value for money, but when it comes to Bond (as we all found out from the 1972 – 1985 era) more is not always better.
I never thought I’d say this about a 007 offering, but I found it boring. I really didn’t like it. Lots of things happened that I just don’t think should happen in a Bond film, and the ‘ordinary man with extraordinary capabilities’ persona seemed to have given way to a ‘superhuman superhero with almost Godlike status and importance’ one. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has a lot to answer for, and I think this franchise is another one of its victims.
They made a big thing about the fact that Phoebe Waller-Bridge was brought in to spruce up the script and give the female characters better dialogue, but I’m not really sure what she did. Lashana Lynch’s ‘new 00’ was feisty, spunky and interesting, but ended up being a fawning Bond fan who stepped aside to let the experienced white man take over proceedings, and I can’t imagine that’s what they were originally aiming for. Ana de Armas is a superb actress and featured heavily in the promotional material, but she only seemed to be on-screen for 10 minutes, and didn’t do much while she was there. She will go on to have a great career, but I doubt this film will be seen as a highlight.
I’m not going to go on and on about it, because then this blog posting will be displaying the same faults and failings as the film it is reporting on – too much of too little – but I guess my one-word review would be ‘disappointing’.

RC 18-11-21