For the last fifteen years Daniel craig has played James Bond to a mixed reception from fans. Some feel he’s too stoic and bitter for the role previously renowned for smooth talking and quippy one liners; but some feel he’s brought an incredible amount of humanity to a character that had always been emotionally shallow and reluctant to grow. But after five films Craig has finally decided to turn in his license to kill and retire his version of James Bond; so, is No Time To Die the grand farewell Craig deserves, and what kind of future does it set out for the 007 franchise?
Five years after the events of Spectre, Bond (Daniel Craig) has retired from MI6 and living so far off the grid that nobody even knows if he's still alive. But when his contact in the CIA, Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), asks him to help them find a missing scientist with links to Spectre, Bond reluctantly returns to a life of espionage for the sake of helping his friend.
Things become complicated when it is revealed that this scientist has created a genetic bioweapon that can target and kill anyone with specific genetic traits. Following the breadcrumbs back to MI6, Bond requires help from his old allies Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), Q (Ben Whishaw), M (Ralph Feinnes), Madeline Swann (Lea Seydoux), and the new 007 Nomi (Lashana Lynch).
Five years after the events of Spectre, Bond (Daniel Craig) has retired from MI6 and living so far off the grid that nobody even knows if he's still alive. But when his contact in the CIA, Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), asks him to help them find a missing scientist with links to Spectre, Bond reluctantly returns to a life of espionage for the sake of helping his friend.
Things become complicated when it is revealed that this scientist has created a genetic bioweapon that can target and kill anyone with specific genetic traits. Following the breadcrumbs back to MI6, Bond requires help from his old allies Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), Q (Ben Whishaw), M (Ralph Feinnes), Madeline Swann (Lea Seydoux), and the new 007 Nomi (Lashana Lynch).
To answer the question of whether No Time To Die is the bombastic Bond finale that we all wanted, I can wholeheartedly say yes. In fact, for me it’s the second-best Craig Era Bond film just behind Casino Royale; and most of this is because of how fantastic the story is. Coming in at two hours and forty-three minutes, it’s the longest Bond film by a considerable margin, but it doesn’t feel like it. There’s so much packed into this film, with more character development than any other Bond film previous, a healthy dose of action sequences, and frames Bond and MI6 in ways that the franchise has never done before.
I don’t want to say too much, but with Seydoux returning as Dr. Swann, this allows for more development with a romantic relationship than we have ever had in a Bond film before. She’s more than just another Bond girl at this point and is arguably one of the most interesting characters in the film, as well as Seydoux giving one of the best performances.
Craig also presents Bond in a new light. In Spectre he was a bitter and broken man, but now he’s moved on from his past and wants nothing more than to just settle down somewhere quiet with a glass of scotch and not be pestered by MI6. The way he conducts himself in combat is the old wise man who takes things slowly, waiting to draw the enemy out instead of being constantly on the attack, a stark contrast to films like Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace where Bond was a shoot first make a plan later kind of guy.
I also love that Moneypenny and Q get to return in the capacity that they do. Both Harris and Wishaw are excellent in the respective roles, and it was one of my few criticisms against Spectre that they weren’t utilised as much as they were in Skyfall. Thankfully both agents are back in the field proper and provide some much-needed comic relief, without ever becoming a joke themselves.
Nomi is also a fun character, reminiscent of Bond’s earlier years but with a greater respect for authority and due process. The two clash and see each other as a threat in a young vs old kind of manner, which is a fun dynamic and leads to an excellent finale as they work together to infiltrate an enemy stronghold.
Really the only aspect of the film’s story I can criticise is the villain(s). The film’s main antagonist, Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek) is kind of forgettable. Malek, as always, delivers a fantastic performance, but the actual character isn’t very interesting. His plan is interesting and very evocative of Late-Moore Era and Brosnan Era Bond villains with world domination on the brain, but Safin himself is just kind of there. Christoph Waltz also returns as Blofeld, but only briefly. I had hoped that considering he is the head of Spectre (who to my surprise don’t play much of a role in the story) we would have some kind of prison break with him back on the loose and gunning for the continued destruction of MI6. Alas he is confined to a prison cell for the film, where some excellent conversations do take place, but he offers little more than exposition.
I don’t want to say too much, but with Seydoux returning as Dr. Swann, this allows for more development with a romantic relationship than we have ever had in a Bond film before. She’s more than just another Bond girl at this point and is arguably one of the most interesting characters in the film, as well as Seydoux giving one of the best performances.
Craig also presents Bond in a new light. In Spectre he was a bitter and broken man, but now he’s moved on from his past and wants nothing more than to just settle down somewhere quiet with a glass of scotch and not be pestered by MI6. The way he conducts himself in combat is the old wise man who takes things slowly, waiting to draw the enemy out instead of being constantly on the attack, a stark contrast to films like Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace where Bond was a shoot first make a plan later kind of guy.
I also love that Moneypenny and Q get to return in the capacity that they do. Both Harris and Wishaw are excellent in the respective roles, and it was one of my few criticisms against Spectre that they weren’t utilised as much as they were in Skyfall. Thankfully both agents are back in the field proper and provide some much-needed comic relief, without ever becoming a joke themselves.
Nomi is also a fun character, reminiscent of Bond’s earlier years but with a greater respect for authority and due process. The two clash and see each other as a threat in a young vs old kind of manner, which is a fun dynamic and leads to an excellent finale as they work together to infiltrate an enemy stronghold.
Really the only aspect of the film’s story I can criticise is the villain(s). The film’s main antagonist, Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek) is kind of forgettable. Malek, as always, delivers a fantastic performance, but the actual character isn’t very interesting. His plan is interesting and very evocative of Late-Moore Era and Brosnan Era Bond villains with world domination on the brain, but Safin himself is just kind of there. Christoph Waltz also returns as Blofeld, but only briefly. I had hoped that considering he is the head of Spectre (who to my surprise don’t play much of a role in the story) we would have some kind of prison break with him back on the loose and gunning for the continued destruction of MI6. Alas he is confined to a prison cell for the film, where some excellent conversations do take place, but he offers little more than exposition.
In comparison to Skyfall and Spectre, No Time to Die is not as visually spectacular. That’s not to say the film’s ugly but it does fall more into the spectrum of functional filmmaking. There’re fewer attempts to make shots complicated or grand in scale, which can mean if you're coming straight off the back of the previous two Bond films then it feels less interesting visually. There’s not as much momentum to things and the cuts feel conservative at times. This could be down to the long runtime with MGM not wanting to have the film be any longer than it already is, but the result feels less ‘artsy’ on the whole.
Billie Eilish’s theme song is good. I don’t think it stands out as one of the true greats of the extensive Bond theme song library, but it’s enjoyable nonetheless. Even the title sequence doesn’t feel as impressive as the likes of Skyfall or Spectre. But the film is going for a more subdued tone overall so maybe I’m just expecting the wrong kind of thing with a blaring orchestra and explosive titles.
I’d like to address the ending and what kind of future it presents for the 007 franchise, so beware spoilers. Ultimately there’s two ways this could go. Either we get another reboot, similar to what happened when Daniel Craig was brought in and the James Bond cycle continues ad-infinitum. But I don’t really know how they would do that without remaking some of the earlier Bond films as Craig’s era has almost entirely been created by Hollywood screenwriters and drawing very little from Ian Flemming’s source material. I suppose they could always just continue making original stories, but that also seems kind of wrong, if you’re going to do James Bond it needs to be firmly rooted in Flemming’s novels, at least to start with.
The alternative is that they keep the Craig Era storyline going and have Lashana Lynch take over. This again could be a tricky one as No Time to Die does tie up pretty much all the loose ends. The peace we see at the end of the film certainly won't last and there will always be new threats. But it would feel a little tacked on, and then you add to that the issue of making a 007 film without James Bond. It’s certainly possible as 007 is just a callsign, but Bond has been the icon that has held that moniker since Casino Royale was published in 1953. At that point why not just make something new?
This is a unique place for the franchise to be in the first time ever, because from 1962’s Dr. No until 2002’s Die Another Day, Bond films had been relatively self-contained so it didn’t matter when the actor was swapped out. Whereas No Time to Die caps off a five-film story arc that’s been running for fifteen years. The future for Bond and 007 is unpredictable at best, but here’s hoping that MGM can figure out a way to make it work without having to introduce a new ‘young Bond’ and follow the same formula as this Craig Era has.
No Time to Die is indeed an excellent way to end the Craig Era of Bond films and I personally will be sad to see him go. I think he’s been an excellent performer in every film, and he’s brought out so much more from the character than any actor prior to him even attempted. Whilst I think Casino Royale is overall the most polished and enjoyable Craig Era Bond film, No Time to Die is about as good as I hoped it would be. So, if you’re after a suave and sophisticated spy caper then No Time to Die will certainly satisfy that craving.
Billie Eilish’s theme song is good. I don’t think it stands out as one of the true greats of the extensive Bond theme song library, but it’s enjoyable nonetheless. Even the title sequence doesn’t feel as impressive as the likes of Skyfall or Spectre. But the film is going for a more subdued tone overall so maybe I’m just expecting the wrong kind of thing with a blaring orchestra and explosive titles.
I’d like to address the ending and what kind of future it presents for the 007 franchise, so beware spoilers. Ultimately there’s two ways this could go. Either we get another reboot, similar to what happened when Daniel Craig was brought in and the James Bond cycle continues ad-infinitum. But I don’t really know how they would do that without remaking some of the earlier Bond films as Craig’s era has almost entirely been created by Hollywood screenwriters and drawing very little from Ian Flemming’s source material. I suppose they could always just continue making original stories, but that also seems kind of wrong, if you’re going to do James Bond it needs to be firmly rooted in Flemming’s novels, at least to start with.
The alternative is that they keep the Craig Era storyline going and have Lashana Lynch take over. This again could be a tricky one as No Time to Die does tie up pretty much all the loose ends. The peace we see at the end of the film certainly won't last and there will always be new threats. But it would feel a little tacked on, and then you add to that the issue of making a 007 film without James Bond. It’s certainly possible as 007 is just a callsign, but Bond has been the icon that has held that moniker since Casino Royale was published in 1953. At that point why not just make something new?
This is a unique place for the franchise to be in the first time ever, because from 1962’s Dr. No until 2002’s Die Another Day, Bond films had been relatively self-contained so it didn’t matter when the actor was swapped out. Whereas No Time to Die caps off a five-film story arc that’s been running for fifteen years. The future for Bond and 007 is unpredictable at best, but here’s hoping that MGM can figure out a way to make it work without having to introduce a new ‘young Bond’ and follow the same formula as this Craig Era has.
No Time to Die is indeed an excellent way to end the Craig Era of Bond films and I personally will be sad to see him go. I think he’s been an excellent performer in every film, and he’s brought out so much more from the character than any actor prior to him even attempted. Whilst I think Casino Royale is overall the most polished and enjoyable Craig Era Bond film, No Time to Die is about as good as I hoped it would be. So, if you’re after a suave and sophisticated spy caper then No Time to Die will certainly satisfy that craving.