Following the events seen in SPECTRE, this apparent final Daniel Craig-led James Bond film has a mournful tone to it, and that’s not just because Billie Ellish performs the theme for No Time To Die. Cary Joji Fukunaga is also behind things like the acclaimed first season of True Detective, Stephen King’s recent IT adaption, and Beasts Of No Nation, so it’s not too surprising there’s such a notable shift in its atmosphere.
This new movie continues Bond’s adventure with Lea Seydoux’s Dr. Swann, who ended their previous film driving off into the sunset and I thought to myself at the time it felt as if Bond had found an actual friend, more than his usual “Bond Girl Conquest”. This friendship, sadly, is going to get him into some bad, bad trouble.
That trouble comes in the form of Lyutsifer Safin, played by Rami Malek as a scarred, masked vengeful criminal who’s targeting Spectre agents and anyone related to them- and that includes Swann, the daughter of Mr. White. After Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) gets him drunk enough to think it over, 007 finds himself reunited with Dr. Swann after five years apart, when a missing scientist who’s stolen a deadly bioweapon for Safin brings James out of retirement to investigate- and Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) could hold a clue on how to stop his plan.
This perhaps is the most sincerely sprung-in-love that Bond has been in some time, and as proven in films like On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, odd things tend to happen to 007 when he’s feeling sincere. In some scenes in this movie, Craig looks at Seydoux as if he’s going to break out singing “Nothing Compares 2 U”
Ralph Fiennes is a bit more of the standard angry chief returning as Mallory, frustrated that the bioweapons he hoped could serve as a weapon for the British crown fell into the underworld’s hands. Along with Naomie Harris as Moneypenny and Ben Whishaw as Q, also on board to help out Bond is Lashawn Lynch playing Nomi, the new 007 who’s taken James’s spot in retirement. He’s as miffed as you might expect, still they manage to get on for the sake of stopping Safin’s plot.
Ana De Armas is both cute as hell and a boss in combat as the CIA-backed Paloma and dammit, why couldn’t she have been in more of this? With Nomi, it feels as if they’re angling for perhaps a Peacemaker-style spinoff with her working as a 00, which was also the plan with Halle Berry as Jinx in Die Another Day, but because it was….well, Die Another Day, those plans were scrapped. Lynch only gets so much to do, but she has a good rapport with Craig and has enough attitude to make me want to see more of her in future films.
The Craig line of Bond movies has always been a bit more aggressive and less whimsical than the Moore, Connery, or Brosnan entries, but No Time To Die occasionally feels a little Bourne-ish than usual, and Craig plays Bond with an increased sense of lovelorn and wounded angst. He’s easily been an easily identifiable 007 over the years- the chatters around who’s going to fill the role is anyone/s guess, though almost any casual fan will be able to quickly recognize “the Craig Bond Style”.
It feels as if Fukunaga wants to go full-bore Thanos with Safin’s power level, expanding the reaches of his poisons and stolen bioweapons to where he eclipses Spectre with seemingly little effort. That’s cool and all, but it’d have been more effective if he was in the movie more, as Malek doesn’t get too much to do among all of the needed exposition. A pity, because he manages to make Safin fairly creepy- not to the levels that Le Chiffre reached in Casino Royale, but still enjoyable enough.
You’d think that a motion picture clocking at over 160 minutes, reportedly the longest Bond movie ever, wouldn’t wind up feeling as if there were still things missing from the film, but weirdly enough it felt like scenes were cut regardless. Aside from the curious lack of Safin, Ana de Armas is just in-and-out of the story, and who exactly was Q’s boyfriend he invited over to dinner? That was perhaps a blown opportunity for either a cool plot twist, a clever running gag, a dash of representation, etc.
That hiccup aside, this isn’t a Bond movie lacking in exciting combat, gun battles, car chases, weird gadgets, martinis, or corny puns from our hero. Even with the efforts to keep updating the franchise, most of the familiar 007 tropes are still present. At this point Craig, though still smooth, is in his early 50s and so the retirement angle to start No Time To Die feels more believable than it was likely meant to. But I also have a soft spot for View To A Kill with a fifty-something Roger Moore saving the world, so it wasn’t enough to completely take me out of the movie or hamper my enjoyment too much.
It feels suitable for Craig to end his run as Bond with a movie that reminded me like On Her Majesty blended with For Yor Eyes Only, two films that feel as if they’ve impacted this specific tenure the most with the former’s love drama and the other’s grittiness and sense of loss. I wouldn’t put it ahead of Casino Royale, that’s still the best Craig 007 in my opinion, but I still had a generally good time with No Time, even if I am excited about a change after so long.
But what did you think? If you’d hopped in your Aston Martin to see it, loved it or hated it, let us know your opinion on FAN’s social media on Twitter or Facebook!