No Time To Die

No Time To Die is, in my opinion, an unfortunate film.  It is a visually pleasing movie.  We Bond fans finally got the movie that uses the 'island of death' elements from Fleming's novel You Only Live Twice (although, for some unexplained reason, we get Safin rather than Dr. Shatterhand).  We get action scenes, references to Casino Royale, solid actors for the villains, the deaths of Blofeld and Leiter, and still - I do not like the movie.  The last third of the movie was more chick-flick than James Bond, with the hero exploring his emotions and his ultimate sacrifice instead of saving himself while vanquishing his foe.  I know that the movie had 'James Bond Will Return', and I believe that will happen.  But it will not be the same James Bond that appeared in the films since 1962.  A Rubicon has been crossed.  Because James Bond has died, there is now a finiteness to the character.  Future films can only explore what went on before, pre-NTTD.  And that changes my feeling about the character.  Daniel Craig's character arc did a lot of good things for James Bond, the franchise, and the fans, over his first four films.  A certain segment of my feelings about James Bond was killed off in No Time To Die.  All of this is unfortunate.  I really wish now that Craig had walked away after Spectre.
Safin's Masks - Factory Entertainment
  • From Factory Entertainment, a wonderful display of Safin's Noh Mask depicted before and after the damage done to it.  Both masks are made out of a hard, somewhat heavy resin, and come with "straps" that mimic the original props but are not to assist in wearing the masks.  We are cautioned several times in the accompanying literature that the masks are not for wearing.  A limited edition, mine is number 59 of 100.
As was mentioned with the Day of the Dead Mask replica made by Factory Entertainment, there are demonstrable differences in the appearance of the original props and the replicas, despite FE's averments that the replicas were produced from scans made of the originals, and the replicas are intended to be accurate copies of the original props.  I do not question the intentions of FE, just their execution of the props.  Perhaps FE should give  up trying to produce replica masks.

Safin's Mask (Fan-made)

At left is a magnificent fan-made replica prop, the partial white mask worn by Rami Malek in his role as Safin.  The mask came with the wonderful presentation box.

Safin's Blood Vial

At left is a magnificent reproduction of the blood vial possessed by Safin which contained the nanobots that were deadly specifically to Madeleine and Mathilde.  This repro prop is one of several in my collection made by master propmaker 'Minigeff'.
A replica of the bionic eye used by several of the villains.

Triumph Scrambler 1200 Model Bike

This iconic British motorcycle brand made its Bond debut in NTTD.  The bike was used in a memorable stunt scene in Matera, climbing a stone staircase on the outside of a wall.  The model is made by Corgi and is a faithful rendition of the actual stunt bike.
A replica of one of the mini-mines deployed by Bond's Aston Martin DB5.
Special 007-branded champagne from Bollinger, specifically referencing No Time To Die and released in conjunction with the movie's much-delayed premiere.  Of course, it is vintage 2-007.
A plastic souvenir glass for use by theaters in conjunction with the movie's release.  Note this was prepared for the earlier April 2020 release.  This was obtained while attending the NTTD VIP Premiere Event in Orlando, Florida, produced by my friends Rick and Leslie Skillman of The Theme Party People.