The trailer of the new James Bond film is exhilarating and indicative of a time in the near future when we can all go back to the nurturing darkness of movie theatres to experience the exhilaration of a true-blue action-driven eternal franchise with the imperishable James Bond in his,haha, last appearance in Daniel Craig’s persona.
Sure, we believe you. Just like we believe the characters in this magnificent maelstrom of choreographed mayhem are in it to save humanity from extinction.
Humanity, in case anyone hasn’t noticed, is already on the verge of annihilation. No Time To Die reminds us of how much sheer vivacity awaits us on the large screen, and without the coerced complexities of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet.
This is the world according to James Bond: violent and ruthless but nothing that a dry martini and a gin can’t fix, provided they are in the right hand. And the hand can’t get any more right than this. Daniel Craig kills it from the first heart-in-the-mouth shot of the trailer that was streamed from September 3. He is sharp and athletic, lethal and laconic all at the same time.
This time Bond’s adversary is a guy with a chequered face, with a history of violence to match, named Safin, played by Rami Malek a fast-rising Egyptian actor I am not very fond of. His Freddy Mercury was mercurial but self-limiting. Here he is pure menace as he throws glib lines at Bond, like “We both eradicate evil to make the world a better place. I just want it to be tidier.”
Tidiness even in moments of messy calisthenics is a hallmark of the James Bond series. And this one is elegance personified. The chase sequences are classier than in Spectre in 2012. There is an unhurried urgency about the storytelling that is highly tempting and rousing. Craig’s James Bond is still as agile as he used to be when he played Bond in 2006 in Casino Royale for the first time.
Is he really good to go now?
Luckily for us, James Bond hasn’t changed at all. Although the bevy of beauties of every size shape and color (yes black too) flirting in front of us has changed over the years. This is vintage Bond that leaves us more stirred than shaken. And determined. This frigging Corona has to go before November.