THAT SONG! THAT POSTER! BOND IS BACK.
OK let’s start with the song. It’s a grower. At first? It sounds too EMO, not enough ELO. Billie too young to pull off the big bounder broody smoky vocals and it just comes off as terribly self indulgent. The lyrics have moments of poetic genius, only to be obscured then by random rhyme from what sounds like the Robbie Williams school of post Chambers partnership lyrics in a rush? It’s also VERY similar in tone and patterns to both Skyfall and Writing’s on the Wall. Only not as distinctive. Oh for a more upbeat fairy tale jazzy blast of old school Bond. A Goldfinger /ThunderBall/Licence to Kill/You Know my Name. Or even an unashamedly unconnected yet somehow still 007 sound: View to a Kill, Living Daylights..
And YET. Times change. So do sounds. Like I said, just because this is not a fun song about Bond being the best lover /fighter in the world or a baddie who turns minions into cheese..does not mean it fails to be good. A Bond song is by its nature of its time, much like the film it accompanies. And this latest song is of the zeitgeist. I also mentioned it’s a grower. The more you listen to it, the more enticing its lyrical connection to potential plot point becomes.
It has benefited already from a Hans Zimmer underscore at the BRIT awards and will no doubt look and sound sublime when matched to the opening title visuals. Can you sing it in the shower? No. But you can enjoy, appreciate and get the butterflies / goosebumps / thrills and chills. And it does therefore suit both Bond and the closure of the Daniel Craig era. Fool me once, fool me twice..;)
Speaking of Daniel, he is often compared to Steve McQueen. Cool, nonchalant, masculine, talented, multi competent, charismatic. Blonde. So it is VERY encouraging to see a VERY Great Escape style IMAX poster at work in the promotion for No Time to Die. Frankly, I’d pay to just watch the poster!
The clock is ticking. Viral content to match: notice the Land Rover campaign. Exciting times for Bond fans and anyone who just enjoys a value for money good night out at the Pictures.
