James Bond movies are known for having amazing action sequences that are filled with gunfire, explosions, and beautiful people.
Daniel Craig in “No Time to Die.” MGM
For the first time ever, a child is featured in an action sequence in a James Bond movie.
It happens at the end of “No Time to Die” and for this parent, it wasn’t fun to watch.
Spoilers below if you haven’t seen “No Time to Die.”
But “No Time to Die” went and raised the stakes by having a child in the mix with Bond as he races away from the bad guy.
As a parent, it completely took me out of the movie and all I could think about was the years of therapy this kid would have to go through.
Call me old fashioned, but I enjoy my Bond movies where the action is thrilling but light. I don’t need to know that every evil henchman gets out unscathed, but I do cringe when little kids are in the mix.
Director Cary Joji Fukunaga is known for his beautifully shot action sequences that are grounded in reality and often don’t shy away from ultra-violence.
That’s clear in the memorable long take he did for the first season of “True Detective” and the bloody battles in the Netflix movie “Beasts of No Nation” (which also featured kids, but older than the one in “No Time to Die”).
For “No Time to Die,” Fukunaga’s love for mature action is raised to extreme heights thanks to the limitless resources a Bond movie gives its storytellers.
We see Bond dive off a bridge, use all the toys in his Aston Martin, and single-handedly kill a bunch of bad guys in the movie’s ending (another long take).
But clearly, Fukunaga and Daniel Craig, marking his final time as Bond, wanted to pull at our heart stringers as well.
In the third act of the movie we, along with Bond, are shocked to learn that his flame Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) has a child named Mathilde (Lisa-Dorah Sonnet).
With danger on the horizon the three jump into Bond’s car and race into the Norwegian countryside.
However, villain Safin (Rami Malek) and his goons find them and a thrilling car chance ensues.
As Bond races into the countryside, little Mathilde cowers in the back
Lea Sedoux in “No Time to Die.” MGM
As Bond floors it and does his best to dodge bullets and explosions, little Mathilde is cowering in the back.
As a parent, I ask: does this really need to be in a Bond movie? Couldn’t Fukunaga and the Bond brain trust just come up with a sequence where Bond splits up from Madeleine and Mathilde and all the bad guys chase him?
Being a dad, I get concerned when I drive my kids on the highway about what could potentially happen.
And I have certainly had to do some creative maneuvering in the past to get out of harm’s way while I’ve had the family in the car (anyone who drives on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey knows what I mean).
So seeing all the terror going on while Mathilde is stuck in the back seat with her mom and this strange man she just met — I couldn’t wait until it was over.
I get that with “No Time to Die” they were really trying to take things to the next level for Craig’s exit from the franchise, but for me, the car chase scene was a disappointing one.
For a movie that had some really impressive action, it just wasn’t necessary to add that element.
So, keeper of the James Bond flame, producer Barbara Broccoli, I really don’t care who the next Bond will be. You and your family seem to not have a problem picking them over the decades.
But please let’s make “Not Time to Die” the first and last time we get kids involved in the action surrounding Bond.
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