No end to espionage!

No Time to Die (2021)
Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga

In my youth, I used to think, "with the collapse of the Berlin Wall, soon these espionage movies will all be passé." How wrong I was. And here I am in the 21st century, and the Russians are still posing a threat to the Western capitalist world, so we are told.

The Slavs, dressed in Red Soviet uniform then, have changed into their sharp suits, digital devices, and oligarchic money to play the same espionage and political manipulation game to portray a rosy picture of communism to the world. World domination, it seems, is high on their agenda. 

But frankly, let it be vulture capitalism and Red ideology; they are merely just two sides of the same coin. Think US election, think Bashar al-Assad to usurp power, think despotic leaders trying to suppress dissidents, you will find American and Russian handiwork in action. It is all about world domination, absolute power and total control by the powers that be. So, come the 21st century, or 25th century, the story of one group trying to dominate the others stay relevant. It is the story of mankind. 

So, it is no surprise that the Man with a Licence to Kill is still relevant today. In keeping with the changing times, however, the writers had altered some characters to appease members of the woke generation. As Daniel Craig was said to be doing his last appearance as James Bond in this film, the filmmakers are dangling the prospect of the next 007 to be a black female. Earlier, they had also introduced Miss Moneypenny as black. Q is possibly gay too. 

As I see it, the movie will be remembered as one generic offering that flew us by. Frankly, I was looking for a grand opening as I did in Casino Royale, but sadly many, if not all, of the action scenes had a sense of deja vu in each of them. Let it be a car chase, bike ride or massive island hideout destruction, the familiar feeling of 'haven't I seen that' kept coming back. 

After seeing Rami Malik perform brilliantly as Freddie Mercury is 'Bohemian Rhadsody', his talent is really wasted here. He just appears as an expressionless baddie with a puckered face. He does not make us hate him (or pity him).

The screenwriters must have tried to infuse emotion into Bond as it is Daniel Craig's swansong. But the idea of carrying a child in a car chase with the crooks shooting at the car is disturbing, to say the least. And the idea of a Bond illegitimate child?! We have all seen Bond escaping from more death-defying feats; why not this? Verdict: 2.5/5.

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