Warning: Spoilers ahead for No Time To Die
The recently released No Time To Die may have put an end to Daniel Craig’s version of James Bond, but the new release also introduced a perfect female 007—and it wasn’t Lashana Lynch’s Nomi. After myriad delays, Layer Cake star Daniel Craig’s final outing as suave super-spy James Bond has finally arrived in theaters. However, despite the late arrival, the film has successfully changed the game for the Bond saga, adding a genuinely innovative story arc to the long-running series.
Director Cary Fukunaga’s biggest No Time To Die twist sees 007 die for the first time in the history of the series, with Bond sacrificing himself to save the world, his love interest, and his young child. It is a bittersweet end to Craig’s tenure in the role and one that ensures the franchise can continue to keep elements of the canon established during his run as Bond while still replacing the actor playing the character. However, some critics of the 007 franchise have argued it is time for a radically different approach to casting the character.
The James Bond franchise cast Lashana Lynch as a female 007 in No Time To Die, but the series has yet to cast a female James Bond and the producers have been reticent about the possibility when questioned. However, despite their reluctance, No Time To Die ironically proves that the 007 franchise could pull off a female James Bond—and it’s not via Lynch’s character Nomi. While Lynch is undeniably superb in the part, it is Ana de Armas’ Paloma whose character is a tonal match for the direction that the Bond franchise needs to take going forward. Paloma may be a CIA agent, but her mixture of lethal efficiency and humorous, tongue-in-cheek charm makes her the best balance of competence and charisma since Pierce Brosnan played the inherent silliness of Bond off a more contemporary, self-aware edge.
Brosnan’s Bond was too corny by his final film, 2002’s fan-despised 007 outing Die Another Day, but in his early outings, the actor took Bond’s silliest excesses in his stride and gave the series a winking sense of self-referential humor. This approach has since been taken by many blockbuster franchises, with everything from the MCU to the Fast & Furious movies taking their tragic, dark elements seriously but ensuring the series are still able to keep an arch sense of humor about their heightened stories and characters. If the James Bond franchise ever does try a female spin-off (despite producers’ misgivings), the character of Paloma proves they could pull it off, and de Armas’ approach to the role shows the series can laugh at itself without losing its dramatic impact.
Whether the next Bond will be Idris Elba, Daniel Kaluuya, Tom Hardy, or Bridgerton’s Rege-Jean Page, injecting levity and humor back into the series will be a necessary corrective after the dour tone of Craig’s early outings. While Spectre was arguably too campy, No Time To Die balanced over-the-top elements with relatively realistic action and believable characters, and de Armas’ Paloma represented an entertaining embodiment of where the franchise could head next if the producers opt to lighten the tone. No Time To Die’s Paloma proves that Bond could be a woman and modern, self-aware blockbuster lead without sacrificing the character’s edge and gravitas.
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/2Z9LAWk
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment