No Time To Die: The Traditional Cut

I went to watch the original cut in theatres upon its initial release. To say the least I wasn't too happy with the inconsistent plot, phoned-in acting, and subpar writing. Some years later, ScottCrane makes an edit that fixes a VAST majority of the issues the theatrical release had. I would highly recommend this cut to anyone who wasn't sold on Craig's final outing as Bond. The editing, pace, and even the untouched scenes are significantly better to watch in this cut. I give it a solid 9/10.

No Time To Die is a decent thriller, but a pretty lacking Bond film for several obvious reasons. This edit seeks to excise some of the original’s more egregious faux pas, with considerable success.

The two most obvious changes are to the opening and the ending. Using a gun barrel opening that contains blood looks like a small change on paper, but instantly conjures the Bond feel that the artsy fartsy original lacked. So too does the complete re-editing of the pre-credits sequence to a far more traditional action scene, with the moving of the overlong and poorly placed flashback sequence to later in the film lending it a more logical context.

The original ending is indicative of the studio and directors they’re hiring having an abject distaste for the Bond franchise and what it stands for, but the edits here again improve this immensely. Although the edits are somewhat more visible than they are in the opening sequence, the original footage is nevertheless used creatively to effectively construct a far superior ending that’s more befitting of the franchise.

The final package feels considerably more like a traditional Bond film, although there are flaws that can’t be fixed such as the weakness of the villain, Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s drum-banging handprints all over the script or the sight of Daniel Craig stomping around with the suaveness of Mr Potato Head.

I feel as though I'll be echoing quite a few of the other reviewers but this was a very fun edit to watch!

I was slightly aware of the editing in the audio arena, largely due to sounds cutting out abruptly (whether this was due to needing to cut dialogue or was just from overlaying scenes, I think stretching these moments will be helpful). Futon has a great list in the review below.

The visual editing was very good! There were one or two instances where I could tell something was missing, either due to character "teleporting" or blood or whatnot but for the majority of it I was unaware.

The narrative changes were welcome, especially moving the opening, which always felt like a horror movie to me instead of a Bond movie. Safin not managing to get a word in at the very end is a bit abrupt but if I recall the dialogue there wasn't much that could be left in really.

Overall I enjoyed watching it, and your ending was great! I wonder if you could erase the missiles coming in and replace them with smoke as the plane flies away? Great work!

This edit significantly improves "No Time to Die" in multiple ways, most notably the ending and pacing. The way that the ending is edited is very well-done and easily the centerpiece of this edit. The one quibble that I have is that it would maybe have been better to leave in a little more of the final Bond/Safin fight scene, but that would be difficult with the available material.

The image quality is fairly good for the file size (10.6 GB), although a larger file size and higher bitrate would have been very welcome.

The weakest link of this edit is the audio editing, as there were several moments where audio cuts were noticeable due to clicks or other sounds. The visual editing is excellent.

The narrative is an improvement over the original. Bits of it are a bit thin storywise due to some of the excisions, but this probably couldn't helped.

This version is more enjoyable than the original and feels more like a proper (albeit still flawed) James Bond movie, and a decent farewell to Daniel Craig's version of the character.

I am 58 years old and a lifelong Bond fan! The original "No Time To Die" movie ruined the whole Bond experience for me. The ending was so out of character to the spirit of Bond. The new edit saved my love of Bond. To me the movie was so well done! The editing was beautiful. I love the added parts that made it truly a Bond movie, like the opening. It had all the excitement and thrill that it should have. The very best part for me was the ending. Bond driving off with his love and daughter and the line that Bond says, "We have all the time in the world." Then the cherry on top was the closing credit song by Louis Armstrong, "We Have All the Time in the World." Which was a wonderful tribute to "His Majesty's Secret Service", the 1969 Bond movie. This new "No Time to Die" is a great ending to Daniel Craig's time a James Bond!