JAMES BOND: NO TIME TO DIE starring Daniel Craig (2021) 2 2

[Bosco685]

[Bosco685]

 

[Bosco685]

 

[Bosco685]

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Daniel Craig’s swan song as James Bond is set for a record-breaking overseas opening.

 

After a long series of delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, “No Time to Die” exploded at the international box office on Friday, grossing $27.2 million across 54 markets to reach a running total of $51.4 million. Industry projections predict a weekend total of $112.9 million, which would give the latest 007 entry the biggest global box office debut of the pandemic era without China (the film opens in China on Oct. 29).

 

While MGM and EON Productions partnered for the 25th James Bond film, Universal Pictures International is handling distribution in many overseas markets.

 

[▫️]

No surprise there, its the last outing for Craig and the end of a Bond era. In my opinion Casino Royale was the best film and it went downhill from there. Despite that, I still find Craig exhilarating to watch as Bond. The next actor is really going to have to bring it. 

[Bosco685]

Turns out Bond was higher than estimated.

 

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Didn’t therealsilvermane predict that James Bond would save the theater industry? I’m pretty sure it was that guy. 

[Bosco685]

On 10/5/2021 at 11:18 AM, Oddball said:

Didn’t therealsilvermane predict that James Bond would save the theater industry? I’m pretty sure it was that guy. 

Via a Screen Rant article referenced

[Bosco685]

Very interesting! Had never read of this before.

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When Daniel Craig's era started as James Bond the producers invented Quantum as the narrative lynchpin for his arc, but dropped them when the rights to SPECTRE were obtained, hurting 007’s overall story. Craig's 5 outings as the super-spy have been markedly different than any previous Bond film. Rather than being stand-alone adventures as had been the case for the preceding 20 movies, each new installment continues the story, as Bond grows and changes as a character.

 

As a threat, it's tailor-made for James Bond's historic literary and cinematic nemesis Blofeld and his villainous organization SPECTRE. However, at the time Quantum of Solace was made the film rights to SPECTRE were embroiled in decades of litigation. When the rights were finally settled in 2013, the idea of bringing both SPECTRE and Blofeld back was too tantalizing an opportunity to pass up. Spectre was released in 2015 and Quantum as an organization was quickly and quietly forgotten, given a passing reference by Q and a fleeting computer graphic showing them to be merely one tentacle of SPECTRE’s octopus symbol.  The efforts to make them an all-powerful threat are completely undermined with the knowledge that Quantum is simply a subsidiary of SPECTRE.

 

[Bosco685]

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After an 18 month release date delay due to the pandemic, the anticipation for MGM/EON/United Artist Releasing’s 25th James Bond movie, No Time to Die, is no doubt huge: Fandango is reporting that the advance ticket sales for Daniel Craig’s swan song as 007 are already outstripping Universal’s F9 and Sony’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and it’s target to become the online ticket seller’s best ever for a Bond movie.

 

Fandango reports that already hundreds of showtimes are sold out across the U.S. with theater owners adding new showtimes to meet fan demand.

 

No Time to Die is the first Bond movie to be shot in Imax 15/70MM cameras with 40 minutes of expanded ratio in the large format exhibitor’s auditoriums. It’s the first 007 title to be shown in RealD, 3D, Dbox, 4DX, and ScreenX. No Time to Die gets all the PLF and Imax screens over the next two weeks before Warner Bros./Legendary’s Dune opens.

[Get Marwood & I]

Just back from seeing it. Visually stunning, beautifully filmed and Craig is Bond like Capaldi is Who. There will be others, some great even, but he'll never be matched. And I loved the nods to previous themes.

As for the film, I need to dwell on it for a while......

[▫️]

On 10/6/2021 at 4:12 PM, Bosco685 said:

Very interesting! Had never read of this before.

 

Quantum and SPECTRE were definitely the weakest of Craigs run but I think the Mexico City opening for SPECTRE was fantastic. And the aircraft jump scene was the only memorable one for Quantum. I see No Time to Die has leaked copies online but I’ll wait to buy it legit in 4K for my spoiled American eyes. I can’t watch this in 1080p like an animal.

[Gatsby77]

On 10/6/2021 at 9:12 AM, Bosco685 said:

Very interesting! Had never read of this before.

 

The whole Thunderball saga is one of my favorite things about the whole Bond mythology.

Wikipedia summarizes it well, noting that Fleming's novel was based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham, which itself was based on a story by Kevin McClory, Whittingham and Fleming.

It's the only original Bond story not really written by Fleming.

The initial problem? It was *good.*

1) Thunderball created SPECTRE, arch-nemesis Blofeld, SMERSH, and other elements that became indelible parts of the Bond mythos - both in Fleming's later books (esp. On Her Majesty's Secret Service) and throughout the Connery / Moore era Bond films; and

2) Thunderball was *by far* the most financially successful of the original Bond films, and (inflation-adjusted) was the most watched Bond film theatrically well into the Daniel Craig era.

And yet - McClory and Whittingham owned the story - and the characters.

So the litigation went on for literally 20 years and was ultimately resolved in the early '80s.

In retaliation - knowing they'd lost the rights to SPECTRE, Blofeld, etc. and that McClory & co. would try to launch an independent remake of Thunderball, the Broccolis killed Blofeld off in the pre-credits sequence of For Yours Eyes Only.

Only - he was never named, because EON didn't have the rights to use him even then. It was just clear to audiences - from the wheelchair, etc. - that *of course* it was Blofeld. He "died" in 1981 - all to undercut his reappearance by a rival studio.

Which happened in the Thunderball remake, Never Say Never Again, in 1983.

Because this wasn't a Broccoli / EON production, it's not considered an official Bond film. But the producers' genius?

They brought back Sean Connery to star. It ultimately got trounced at the box office by Roger Moore's Octopussy that year, but Never Say Never Again is the better film, even with Connery's laughable toupee.

Fast forward another 20 years and EON *still* didn't have the rights to SPECTRE or Blofeld, hence "Quantum."

[Larryw7]

On 10/6/2021 at 3:27 PM, Gatsby77 said:

The whole Thunderball saga is one of my favorite things about the whole Bond mythology.

Wikipedia summarizes it well, noting that Fleming's novel was based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham, which itself was based on a story by Kevin McClory, Whittingham and Fleming.

It's the only original Bond story not really written by Fleming.

The initial problem? It was *good.*

1) Thunderball created SPECTRE, arch-nemesis Blofeld, SMERSH, and other elements that became indelible parts of the Bond mythos - both in Fleming's later books (esp. On Her Majesty's Secret Service) and throughout the Connery / Moore era Bond films; and

2) Thunderball was *by far* the most financially successful of the original Bond films, and (inflation-adjusted) was the most watched Bond film theatrically well into the Daniel Craig era.

And yet - McClory and Whittingham owned the story - and the characters.

So the litigation went on for literally 20 years and was ultimately resolved in the early '80s.

In retaliation - knowing they'd lost the rights to SPECTRE, Blofeld, etc. and that McClory & co. would try to launch an independent remake of Thunderball, the Broccolis killed Blofeld off in the pre-credits sequence of For Yours Eyes Only.

Only - he was never named, because EON didn't have the rights to use him even then. It was just clear to audiences - from the wheelchair, etc. - that *of course* it was Blofeld. He "died" in 1981 - all to undercut his reappearance by a rival studio.

Which happened in the Thunderball remake, Never Say Never Again, in 1983.

Because this wasn't a Broccoli / EON production, it's not considered an official Bond film. But the producers' genius?

They brought back Sean Connery to star. It ultimately got trounced at the box office by Roger Moore's Octopussy that year, but Never Say Never Again is the better film, even with Connery's laughable toupee.

Fast forward another 20 years and EON *still* didn't have the rights to SPECTRE or Blofeld, hence "Quantum."

The other reference to the bald guy being Blofeld was that the sequence was set at the cemetery where Tracy was buried, where Bond is placing flowers on her grave. The producers apparently ignored Diamonds Are Forever, where Charles Gray's Blofeld is healed of his neck wounds, grew hair, and seems to be killed in that films climax(though it's not entirely clear). 

[jaybuck43]

Just got back from seeing it. Awful. Absolutely awful. How a film studio green lit this -script I will never understand. There are holes in it you can drive a Mac truck through, the most egregious of which is, what is the main villain actually doing?!?! An absolute disgrace to the bond legacy and a shame Mr. Craig goes out on such a lackluster film (I truly enjoyed casino royale and skyfall)

[Get Marwood & I]

On 10/8/2021 at 5:50 AM, jaybuck43 said:

Just got back from seeing it. Awful. Absolutely awful. How a film studio green lit this ----------script I will never understand. There are holes in it you can drive a Mac truck through, the most egregious of which is, what is the main villain actually doing?!?! An absolute disgrace to the bond legacy and a shame Mr. Craig goes out on such a lackluster film (I truly enjoyed casino royale and skyfall)

I understand that reaction. I'll be honest, the film stayed with me - I still find myself thinking about it - which is a good sign, as most films nowadays leave my mind as I leave the theatre. But I found it to be a patchwork sequence of 10 to 15 minute segments, only some of which were undeniably superb. The cinematography was beautiful. And I found Craig to be mesmerisingly watchable, whatever the scene. But the story behind it all just did not feel strong enough or cohesive enough for me to feel satisfied by the film overall, or as the end of a five film arc. I found the first three individually satisfying as films (even the quirky QOS). Spectre I didn't rate, and this film, I'm sorry to say, did not do the character justice as a finale. I was aching for it to be brilliant, aching for it to move me. And the ending was.....un-Bond-like. The theme, whilst not disagreeable, is too reminiscent of Skyfall's but without quite achieving the melodic punch of that song's chorus. 

There is much to love, much to admire, much to be thrilled by. But only in segments I felt, and not overall. Huge plot holes, and a curiously underused lead villain. The biggest lump in my throat came with the end credits song. But was it the ending of the film that prompted that, or was it just the song itself?

One thing I will say though, I wonder if I am just at a jaded phase of my life where I find myself struggling to be wowed by anything. I haven't been to the pictures for nearly two years. I used to go weekly. I didn't feel that it was 'great to be back'. And I watched, I think, eight trailers. Ghostbusters, The Matrix, Kings Man, Dune. Is there anything new out there? Every one of them, crash, bang, wallop, with huge bits of land going up in the air. Even a trailer for a film about two Spidey villains - and me, a one time Spidey completist - left me bizarrely cold. There was not one story telling 'film' on offer, I thought. Just a load of loud, special effects heavy, fighting laden video game looking extended advert feeling smash ups. I know they set the trailers to suit the film, but the majority of the audience were my age, having grown up with Bond. Is that what they think will appeal to us? I came home last night and caught the end of Day of The Jackal. 1973. You know what I'm going to say, don't you.

Is it me then? Do I expect too much?

[jaybuck43]

On 10/8/2021 at 5:21 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

I understand that reaction. I'll be honest, the film stayed with me - I'm still find myself thinking about it - which is a good sign, as most films nowadays leave my mind as I leave the theatre. But I found it to be a patchwork sequence of 10 to 15 minute segments, only some of which were undeniably superb. The cinematography was beautiful. And I found Craig to be mesmerisingly watchable, whatever the scene. But the story behind it all just did not feel strong enough or cohesive enough for me to feel satisfied by the film overall, or as the end of a five film arc. I found the first three individually satisfying as films (even the quirky QOS). Spectre I didn't rate, and this film, I'm sorry to say, did not do the character justice as a finale. I was aching for it to be brilliant, aching for it to move me. And the ending was.....un-Bond-like. The theme, whilst not disagreeable, is too reminiscent of Skyfall's but without quite achieving the melodic punch of that song's chorus. 

There is much to love, much to admire, much to be thrilled by. But only in segments I felt, and not overall. Huge plot holes, and a curiously underused lead villain. The biggest lump in my throat came with the end credits song. But was it the ending of the film that prompted that, or was it just the song itself?

One thing I will say though, I wonder if I am just at a jaded phase of my life where I find myself struggling to be wowed by anything. I haven't been to the pictures for nearly two years. I used to go weekly. I didn't feel that it was 'great to be back'. And I watched, I think, eight trailers. Ghostbusters, The Matrix, Kings Man, Dune. Is there anything new out there? Every one of them, crash, bang, wallop, with huge bits of land going up in the air. Even a trailer for a film about two Spidey villains - and me, a one time Spidey completist - left me bizarrely cold. There was not one story telling 'film' on offer, I thought. Just a load of loud, special effects heavy, fighting laden video game looking extended advert feeling smash ups. I know they set the trailers to suit the film, but the majority of the audience were my age, having grown up with Bond. Is that what they think will appeal to us? I came home last night and caught the end of Day of The Jackal. 1973. You know what I'm going to say, don't you.

Is it me then? Do I expect too much?

I saw it in IMAX. We had SO MANY trailers. I will agree the cinematography was beautiful. One of the things I always loved about bond films was that it was always a glorious mix of beautiful locations. Gene, who is a massive bond fan, cannot stand the Craig bonds and derisively refers to them as Jason Bond films because they’re more Jason Bourne than James Bond. I was totally ok with it in casino royale, given that it was an origin type film, so I expected bond to be more rough and tumble instead of the suave super spy. Wasn’t a fan of QoS because it just didn’t feel like a bond film, it was more of a revenge film more than anything else. Like sure Greene is evil because he’s bad and wants to dominate the control of water in South America. But he wasn’t threatening Great Britain. Hell if it wasn’t for Mr. White Bond wouldn’t have had anything to do with Mr. Greene, nor would MI6. Skyfall was fantastic because it was basically Bond vs Evil Bond. It told a tight story, and felt more like a finale than anything in No Time to Die. 

[@therealsilvermane]

On 10/5/2021 at 11:18 AM, Oddball said:

Didn’t therealsilvermane predict that James Bond would save the theater industry? I’m pretty sure it was that guy. 

I predicted Black Widow would save the U.S. movie theater industry. Really that the MCU would. However, the day and date streaming on Disney+ of that film really killed its numbers at the BO the following weeks (and a general disappointment in the film to be honest). But maybe ScarJo's lawsuit put a damper on Studios considering the day and date streaming plan. Maybe Black Widow, in a way, did help save the U.S. movie theater industry.

But as far as raw numbers and direct effect goes, it was the MCU's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings that saved the U.S. movie theater industry. Because of its success, Studios were reminded that audiences still want to go to the movies. Venom v Carnage moved up two weeks because of Shang-Chi's success to its own success last weekend. The domino effect I talked about, that good feeling that the movies are truly back, is happening now because of Shang-Chi.

[@therealsilvermane]

On 10/8/2021 at 5:21 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

One thing I will say though, I wonder if I am just at a jaded phase of my life where I find myself struggling to be wowed by anything. I haven't been to the pictures for nearly two years. I used to go weekly. I didn't feel that it was 'great to be back'. And I watched, I think, eight trailers. Ghostbusters, The Matrix, Kings Man, Dune. Is there anything new out there? Every one of them, crash, bang, wallop, with huge bits of land going up in the air. Even a trailer for a film about two Spidey villains - and me, a one time Spidey completist - left me bizarrely cold. There was not one story telling 'film' on offer, I thought. Just a load of loud, special effects heavy, fighting laden video game looking extended advert feeling smash ups. I know they set the trailers to suit the film, but the majority of the audience were my age, having grown up with Bond. Is that what they think will appeal to us? I came home last night and caught the end of Day of The Jackal. 1973. You know what I'm going to say, don't you.

Is it me then? Do I expect too much?

Outside of a handful of Bond films, were the 007 movies ever really that good? The main actors like Connery, Moore, etc. were great, but as far as the movies themselves, I think it was a few hits, lots of misses critically.

[Bosco685]

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United Artist Releasing/MGM/Eon’s No Time to Die clocked $6.3M from Thursday previews which began at 4PM, making it the best Bond domestic preview number ever, 19% ahead of Spectre‘s $5.25M six years ago.

 

The figure also exceeds the preview nights of previous 007 Daniel Craig movies Skyfall ($4.6M off midnight shows) and Quantum of Solace ($2.5M off 8PM showtimes0.