CULTURE
By Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP
Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP
FAVORITE HISTORICAL
FILMS
John Adams (2008) Glory (1989)
The Joy Luck Club (1993) Selena (1997) Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
?
WANT MORE? Visit our website: StAnthonyMessenger.org
F
or viewers, it’s not easy to follow the story line of No Time to Die, the 25th installment in the James Bond film franchise, which is a continuation of the plot started in 2015’s Spectre. It’s more like a thrilling ride. This is actor Daniel Craig’s fifth and final outing as the suave British spy. Bond’s leading lady is, once again, psychiatrist Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), and they are dealing with the imprisoned Blofeld (Christoph Waltz). Though Swann and the retired Bond have been together for some time, he breaks off their relationship when he believes she has betrayed him to the criminal organization Spectre. What drives the story, however, is Madeleine’s memory of Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek), who murdered her mother when she was a child, and now reenters her life. Safin is on a mission to avenge the assassination of his family years before and is creating a biochemical weapon on an island between Japan and Russia. Bond meets his replacement, the new 007 (Lashana Lynch), when he is pulled back into the international mess between intelligence agencies created by his former boss, an embarrassed M (Ralph Fiennes). No Time to Die is an overlong and overwrought action thriller. The cinematography is often stunning, but the action sequences are exhausting. The film is scripted by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Cary Joji Fukunaga, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who was brought on to make sure that the women in Bond’s world were equitably represented (they are). The film proves my contention that too many writers are not good for the finished product, and the editors needed to trim off at least 20 minutes of running time. Though some have questioned the relevance of James Bond for today, one need only compare him to films based on popular comic book superheroes who fight the world’s problems through violence. Like them, Bond has amazing gadgets, he’s extremely intelligent, he survives what no mere mortal could, and he fights enemies to overcome oppression and injustice for the world. I think that somehow the franchise will continue; any continued relevance is yet to be proven. A-3, PG-13 • Pervasive violence, sexual innuendo, some language.
46 • December 2021/January 2022 | StAnthonyMessenger.org
15 MINUTES OF SHAME: COURTESY HBO MAX; THE CRICKETS DANCE: COURTESY V AWAKEN PRODUCTION
Sister Rose’s
NO TIME TO DIE
LEFT: COURTESY SISTER ROSE PACATTE, FSP/MIKE BLAKE/REUTERS; NO TIME TO DIE: COURTESY METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER
Sister Rose is a Daughter of St. Paul and the founding director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies. She has been the awardwinning film columnist for St. Anthony Messenger since 2003 and is the author of several books on Scripture and film, as well as media literacy education.
