Stephen Seitz

Daniel Craig makes his Bond exit at the top of his game, and Craig has endowed Bond with more humanity than ever. Bond has grown as a human being, he's learned from his experiences, and he has become a better man. Craig will definitely be missed. If all you want from a movie is entertainment, this is your best bet. Have a good time. There are some aspects of this film which will rankle many fans, especially if ominous comments from Barbara Broccoli are any indication. More on that later. Hans Zimmer made a huge mistake in using some of John Barry's music, because it reminds us of the time when the music mattered. Zimmer delivers a standard action movie score, as did Thomas Newman. This is why music executives should never have anything to say about movies. John Barry and David Arnold understood that writing the title song meant that you could weave the main theme into the score, thus giving the film a unique musical identity, and making the film more memorable. Now, we get bland ballads which have nothing to do with the film, and the composer's hands are tied. The pressure to produce a guaranteed Top 40 hit has diminished the scores overall. This is the part where I get into trouble. "No Time to Die" pretty much concludes the run of James Bond as we knew him. The culture Cossacks who make up the "woke" movement make their paws felt here. It's a constant irritant through the whole film. Barbara Broccoli has been quoted as saying that Bond can be any color. I desperately hope she doesn't go there. It's a betrayal of Ian Fleming's vision, not to mention the lifelong fans. We have known Bond for almost 70 years, and he's white, male, heterosexual and British. Change any of those and audiences will stay away, as they have on countless other minority/female reboots. Taking that attitude is commercial suicide. Millions of fans across the world will feel robbed. The next Bond should be a charismatic stage actor in the mold of Timothy Dalton. Anything else would make us feel cheated. Goodbye, James. You've been a true friend, and I'll miss the times we had together.