No Time to Die appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This became an excellent presentation.
Sharpness worked well. At no point did I discern any softness, so the film was accurate and well-defined.
I saw no signs of jaggies or moiré effects. The film also lacked edge haloes or print flaws.
If you suspected Die would come with the modern standard teal and orange palette, you’ll get what you expected, though not to an extreme. I’d like to see action flicks dispense with those conceits, but given their ambitions, they looked fine here.
Blacks came across nicely. Dark tones were deep and rich, without any muddiness or problems.
In addition, low-light shots gave us smooth, clear visuals. All in all, this became a pleasing presentation.
Aspect ratio footnote: although about 40 minutes of Die got shot on IMAX 65mm film with a 1.43:1 frame, the movie remained 2.39:1 the whole time. This came as a disappointment, as I like it when IMAX flicks open up for those scenes.
I felt happy with the solid Dolby Atmos soundtrack of Die. Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the mix offered plenty of opportunities for lively auditory information, and it took good advantage of these.
From the road chases to gunfire to explosions to other action elements, the mix filled the speakers on a frequent basis. The track placed information in logical spots and blended all the channels in a smooth, compelling manner.
Audio quality was also positive. Music sounded lively and full, while effects delivered accurate material. Those elements showed nice clarity and kick, with tight low-end.
Speech was always distinctive and concise, too. This mix worked well for the film.
Four featurettes appear here, and Anatomy of a Scene runs 11 minutes, 32 seconds and includes statements from stunt coordinator Lee Morrison, director/writer Cary Joji Fukunaga, special effects supervisor Chris Corbould, 2nd unit director Alexander Witt, supervising stunt coordinator Olivier Schneider, stunt performers Mark Higgins and Paul Edmondson, action vehicle supervisor Neil Layton, special effects floor supervisor John van der Pool,, and actors Daniel Craig, Léa Seydoux and Dali Benssalah.
“Anatomy” discusses elements involved with the movie’s opening sequence. Though we get some happy talk, we find a decent number of details here.
Keeping It Real goes for six minutes, 15 seconds and provides remarks from Craig, Fukunaga, Schneider, Morrison, Corbould, and actors Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch, Ana de Armas, and Jeffrey Wright.
Here we find notes about stunts and action. Like “Anatomy”, this one mixes praise with details to end up as a reasonable overview.
Next comes A Global Journey, a seven-minute, 50-second reel with comments from Fukunaga, Lynch, Wright, Craig, Morrison, location managers Mandy Sharpe, Liam Irving and Charlie Hayes, associate producer Gregg Wilson, unit location manager Ben Firminger, ice expert Arve Tvede, producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, line producer Natalie Thompson and location production manager Martin Joy.
In this reel, we learn about locations. It ends up as another enjoyable but not deep program.
Finally, Designing Bond spans 11 minutes, four seconds and contributes material from Malek, Craig, Lynch, de Armas, production designer Mark Tildesley, art director Neil Callow, costume designer Suttirat Anne Larlarb, art director Andrew Bennett, and actor Naomie Harris.
With the last featurette, we get info about production and costume design. Expect another good but not great show.
With 2021’s No Time to Die, the Daniel Craig era of James Bond movies ends on a fine note. A strong mix of action, adventure and drama, this becomes arguably the best of the Craig movies. The Blu-ray boasts excellent picture and audio along with a decent set of featurettes. Expect top-notch Bond from this flick.