James Bond is arguably the most important movie series in my life. It’s what really started to stoke the flames of my love for movies. As a young seven or eight year old coming off the high of Goldeneye, it absolutely blew my mind to find out there were 16 other James Bond movies. And the obsession was born. All that to say, my hype levels for No Time To Die were completely through the roof. Add in the multiple delays, and you could see the anticipation coursing through my veins. So yeah, I was putting (probably unfairly) a lot of pressure on No Time To Die to give Daniel Craig a proper send off as 007.
But make no mistake about it, this marked an end of a Bond era unlike any we’ve seen before. Not only does Craig exit the storied franchise as its longest-tenured James Bond, but his five movie series was the only time in its nearly 60-year history to have a true continuous storyline. Sure, there were pieces here and there that carried over, but nothing like we got with the Craig Bonds. So my hopes and anticipation for No Time To Die hardly put me in a unique position. And was it able to live up to those lofty expectations? I’m happy to report, yes!
No Time To Die picks up shortly after the events of Spectre. Bond has retired and is spending his time enjoying the world with Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux). But (of course) that bliss is short-lived, as Bond survives an assassination attempt on the heels of a possible betrayal. The film’s opening events sends him off to live a life of isolation, only to have his past come calling once again.
His long-time CIA friend Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) pulls him back in to help bring in a kidnapped – possibly rogue – MI6 scientist. Bond must work quickly to bring him in, to prevent a potential world-wide catastrophe. While originally working against new 007 Nomi (Lashana Lynch), the two eventually band together to track down the scientist and stop the mysterious big bad, Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek).
From a plot standpoint, it’s nothing special. It’s standard-issue James Bond stuff. But you don’t go to a James Bond movie for the plot. They’re basically all roughly the same, or at least follow the same general outline. And big picture-wise, No Time To Die follows suit. But it’s in the character work with Bond that allows it to set itself apart from most other Bond movies.
The return of the Madeleine Swann character marked a first for the franchise: a returning love interest. Most Bond movies have the same one or two characters in this department: an early fling who winds up died, and the woman Bond ends up with at the end of the movie, never to be seen or heard from again. But No Time To Die bucks that tradition, and it’s a welcomed change. In an era that did so much differently, it felt fitting to have a love interest carry over into Craig’s sendoff. It adds an emotional weight to the movie that not many (any?) other Bond movies have been able to. This part of the story also allows Craig to access a depth of the character we have never seen before.
We can discuss and argue all day about who is the best Bond, but I think Craig here is the single best Bond performance we’ve ever seen. He nails all the usual action and spy stuff, as you would expect. He’s got the funny quips, no doubt aided by having Phoebe Waller-Bridge punch up the script. But Bond’s relationship with Madeleine gives Craig reason to hit some incredible emotional levels as well. It’s truly a well-rounded, full scope character, and makes for a dynamite farewell to our longest-tenured Bond.
But Madeleine is unfortunately one of the few weak points in the movie. As much as I liked Seydoux’s work, the way the character was written left something to be desired. To be fair, there are some great moments, none of which I can really get into without delving into spoilers. But there’s one big black mark. If you’ve seen the trailers, you know there’s a mention about some big “secret” Madeleine is keeping from Bond. It gets directly teased a couple times in the movie as well. But when that reveal finally comes, you’re not even sure if that’s the secret we were all waiting for. It landed with a dud. And it’s a shame, because if it hadn’t been built up so much, it likely would have hit a lot harder.
The other main issue is another character one, that of Malek’s Safin. Malek, as always, is great. There are no issues whatsoever with the performance. Once again, it’s the writing and development of the character, namely his motivation and what his true ultimate end-game is. Yes, we know some of the reasoning and have a general idea of this plan, but there are no real specifics. That’s a huge letdown because those pieces are traditionally some of the easiest parts to get right in a Bond movie. SPECTRE steals nuclear warheads to hold in an extortion scheme. Media magnate wants to incite World War 3 in an effort to obtain exclusive global media rights. See, with that second one, they don’t even have to make sense! But we still know exactly what they’re doing and why. That’s all we need, and we didn’t even need much more of it.
There’s not a chance in hell I can get through a No Time To Die review without talking about Ana de Armas. She plays Paloma, a CIA agent who assists Bond on a mission in Cuba. First, she is going to make thousands upon thousands of moviegoers fall in love with her within the first second she’s on screen. It’s a literal jaw-dropping moment. Second, she injects a much needed, very fun jolt of energy into the movie. She’s bubbly and funny, but no less deadly than any other agent you would expect to come across. Craig and de Armas’ big action scene is the movie’s most fun, arguably also its best. The only disappointment here is that de Armas disappears from the movie once this part is done, and we could have used more than the ten minutes it lasted.
One of the bigger pieces of news prior to No Time To Die’s release was the casting of Lashana Lynch as 007. After Bond’s retirement, Lynch’s Nomi becomes the new 007. There are some fun exchanges between the two surrounding that, and it’s all well and good. But too much of Nomi’s time is spent in a jokey manner about the 007 title. And that’s all fine, the jokes work (another likely credit to Phoebe Waller-Bridge). But Nomi is a really interesting character. The story may have been better served to give her just a touch more depth.
But all in all, the good greatly outweighs the bad (the weaker points might not even qualify as bad, to be honest). No Time To Die hits on all the usual – and beloved – Bond tropes. Exotic locales, beautiful people, big and fun action set pieces and car chases, and some fun gadget play. And when you add in the unexpected emotional hits, you get one of the better Bond movies, and a deserving farewell for Daniel Craig.
Then, of course, there’s the question of what comes next. With the Craig era firmly in the rearview, Eon Productions has some big decisions to make regarding the series’ future (and as confirmed after the credits, “James Bond Will Return.”). With Craig out of the picture, do they do a hard reset, like they did every other time a new actor took over the 007 mantle? Do they continue in this same world, with some of the same characters? I think a full reboot is most likely, and is what would be best.
There could be some carryover, though. Judi Dench played M throughout the Brosnan run, and continued in the role through Skyfall. But it would be a cleaner break and reset to start completely fresh. There have been casting rumors and think-pieces out forever, and more are sure to come, so I won’t get into that here. For now, let’s just enjoy the gift that Daniel Craig has given all us Bond fans these last 15 years.
Score: 90/100
