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.

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.

The original is a movie with two prologues: 1. Young Mathilde, and 2. Bond and Madeleine in Matera. As much I as I enjoy the opening scene with Mathilde and the masked man in the snow, I think the editor made a great choice in choosing to start this movie in Matera. It *does* feel like a proper prologue, and it leads into Billie Eilish's opening song perfectly (and in a traditional way).

A/V QUALITY

Perfect. Great quality for the file size.

VISUAL EDITING

There was one visual cut that caught my attention and didn't feel "right". At 2:20:46 there's a cut on Bond's face that shifts him in the frame. I think it needs a cutaway (to Safin?) to make it work.

AUDIO EDITING

My ears found quite a few things, but as they're all small I've scored this 8. I'll break them down below with timestamps to help justify the score.

1:01 - This first cut on Madeleine coming out of the water is quite sharp.
3:42 - The music blend isn't quite seamless, and it betrays the cut a little bit.
9:07 - A bit sharp.
11:29 - The bell cuts out sharply, but we expect the sound to linger a bit even if it's the last chime. (In the source, it cuts out on the switch to the interior of the car, but in this version we're already in the car so it's noticed).

At 39:20 I started to notice something odd with the "radio" chatter. Bond and Paloma talking on their radios is only coming from the right side. The rest of the sounds are balanced. This continues for a bit (subtly) but is noticed again at 43:40 when Bond says "Nearly", and when we hear Obruchev yell "noooo". I rolled back at bit and noticed it at 38:15'ish as well, but it seems to also carry forward. Other examples at 1:56:40, 158:51. I'm wondering if maybe the back right channel is louder than back left, or maybe back left is muted? I suspect it might be an issue throughout the whole movie but only noticed in moments where there's a lot happening in the back channels. Just a theory.

54:25 - There's an audio pop here, even though there are no cuts.
2:07:47 - Similar to above. There's a pop here, even though nothing was changed.
2:17:52 - Same; no change but the audio cut is sharp during the scene change.
2:19:39 - It sounds a little like there are footsteps in the background? Maybe the water dripping from the original, but louder?

NARRATIVE

Again, as much as I love the original opening scene, I like this new structure better. The flashback sequence in the middle is REALLY well done and helps to fill in the gaps by that earlier removal.

I think for the most part, saving Bond was really well done too. The shot reversals are actually quite good (in spite of the editor's worries), and I love Bond's expression at 2:21:58. It really sells that, "I got away with it" vibe. Unfortunately, it's *slightly* let down by the audio at 2:22:18. The music does sort of a weird thing in that moment.

The closing shot with the three of them in the car is fantastic, and really feels like the end of a Bond movie. And I loved the zoomed in shot of Mathilde in the "back" seat.

Update: I've scored narrative a bit lower because even though I enjoyed how quickly Bond killed Safin, for a nearly two and a half hour movie, we do expect the villain to say a little more in the end.
(Sorry I missed pasting in one of my notes)

ENJOYMENT

This is a movie I already really enjoy and the changes don't detract from that.