Promotional material for No Time To Die Photos: IC

 
The most recent James Bond movie, No Time to Die, the 25th in the series, has been released in the Chinese mainland, getting both praise and criticism from Chinese viewers. Some netizens said the exaggerated storyline in the movie shows Britain’s unrealistic dreams.

The new movie has Bond and Ana de Armas’s CIA spook prowling through what seems to be a David Lynch dream, in pursuit of a scientist with access to a humanity-threatening device. 

“Beefing up the roster of female characters is Lashana Lynch’s agent Nomi, who shares a nice chemistry with Bond that feels like a meaningful step forward for both characters,” one viewer based in Beijing told the Global Times after coming out of the cinema.

The fight scenes are also a highlight of the movie. The new film has a scene at the beginning in which Bond rides a motorbike through a mountaintop city that has stunned audiences.

Some parts of the plot were considered too exaggerated, showing the unrealistic dream that Britain still maintains strong power. In the movie, a British officer asks if the Royal Navy has ships nearby to destroy a chemical plant on an island. This is one of plot points that was questioned by Chinese netizens on social media.

Some British media reports compared No Time to Die with The Battle at Lake Changjin, saying that the Chinese movie market has started a new “cold war” and rejected Western blockbusters.

The related reports were disproved by many Chinese netizens. “Many Chinese viewers went to watch The Battle at Lake Changjin, but they also watched the 007 film as a leisure activity. Although I know a lot about the political and historical background of the James Bond series and question the movie's exaggerated British military power, my first reaction when I see Bond sacrifice himself to protect his family is to feel sorry for the character's fate,” one of the netizens commented.