I saw No Time to Die...

No Time to Die is a cinematic epic in the truest vein and therefore a sensational sendoff for Daniel Craig's 007.

In this chapter, the "retired" James Bond becomes the object of contempt, courtesy of the devilish Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek), who embarks on a hits-home, plague plot. Because of his facial blemishes (the result of an old, contentious incident), Safin sometime wears a mask, invoking a Phantom of the Opera vibe, though this phantom holds none of Erik's anguished compassion, just his impassioned pain. (As to whether Safin ties to a Connery-era adversary, I won't reveal, but the similarities can't be denied.)

Much of the almost-three-hour melee caters to direct and indirect battles between protagonist and antagonist, with various entities buffering the obligatory chases and explosions, in addition to buffering the concept with credible interactions and on certain occasions, copious warmth. 

The primaries include the expected: Jeffry Wright as Felix Leiter; Ralph Fiennes as M; Ben Whishaw as Q; Naomi Harris as Miss Moneypenny; and Spectre's Lea Seydoux as Madeline Swan; Chistoph Waltz also grants a weaving cameo as the latter film's paternal Blofeld. On the newbie end, we get (in addition to the aforementioned Safin), Lashana (Captain Marvel) Lynch as Nomi, the first female 007, and Ana (Blade Runner 2049) de Armas as femme fatale Paloma, who looks quite fetching fighting in a revealing, black dress.  

Cary Joji Fukunaga's direction is swift and eye-candy sweet, harnessed by a movie-serial-styled screenplay (with plenty of Ian Fleming to spare), which he conceived with Neal Purvis, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Robert Wades. Hans (the Dark Knight) Zimmer's reverberating, Norman/Barry-esque score and Billy Eilish's smoky, opening tune spark the stream with substantial fuel, thus elevating the impetuous, exotic dream.

No Time to Die doesn't pretend to be thought-provoking at every level, but rather acts as a extravagant exercise in style. It's also a necessity in an age when the forced adage is "Don't Be Manly" (and yet such comes even after the movie's reputed, SJW rewrite--ha, ha). I hope this new (and for Craig, final) Bond chapter is a box-office bonanza, inspiring other such virile, spy exploits (007 and beyond) to flood cinemas across the globe.