“No Time To Die” Review

Daniel Craig suits up once again in “No Time To Die,” his fifth and final portrayal of James Bond.

James Bond is one of the few film characters who resonates with nearly every generation of filmgoer. From 1962 to the present day, the famous gentleman spy has gone through many actors and tones but Daniel Craig’s turn as 007 really stood out for being more realistic and true to Ian Fleming’s novels while also having elements of the previous Bonds. After 15 years and five films in the role, “No Time To Die” marks the final outing of Daniel Craig as James Bond and it’s a fantastic conclusion to this particular series within a larger franchise.

Set five years after the film “Spectre,” James Bond (Daniel Craig) comes out of retirement to work with the CIA and MI6 after a biological weapon is stolen and is being used by a terrorist named Safin (Rami Malek) to take out agents of Spectre. With this weapon having the potential to wipe out millions and the villain having a hold over Bond’s love interest Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux), Bond must team up with several allies to defeat Safin.

While Daniel Craig has consistently been fantastic as James Bond, he brings a new level of character in this film. While this isn’t the first time that Bond has been away from MI6, he has faked his death or gone on extended leave in “Casino Royale” and “Skyfall,” this performance feels like a more tired Bond who wants this mission to truly be his last. Much like Craig, Bond has been through a lot of injuries and has spent a lot of time working with MI6 and this experience is on full display.

Lea Seydoux proves to be the emotional heart of the film as Madeleine, reprising her role from “Spectre,” as she wants to be in a relationship with Bond and live a normal life, but her past and the deeds of her father (a character in “Casino Royale,” “Quantum of Solace” and “Spectre”) keep getting in the way. But she’s not a damsel in distress like past Bond Girls. Her stunt work and ability to defend herself are on full display in this film.

Unlike early James Bond films, where he’s the main action star and other characters are there to give him gadgets or pleasure, most of Bond’s allies hold their own in an action setting. Lashana Lynch is fantastic in “No Time To Die” as Nomi, Bond’s replacement as 007, and her relationship with Bond is a lot of fun as they work together despite not being completely trusting of each other. 

(From Left) Nomi (Lashana Lynch) and Madeleine (Lea Seydoux) bring a new side to the James Bond franchise as Bond’s colleague and love interest, respectively.

One stand-out from the film is Paloma (Ana de Armas), a CIA agent assigned to help Bond in Cuba, and, at first, she seems to be an amalgamation of all the worst elements of Bond Girls: needy, unhelpful objects who are there just to sleep with Bond. But she is the exact opposite of those qualities and her action scene with Bond is epic as she shoots, kicks and punches bad guys. Having previously worked together in “Knives Out,” you feel the friendship between Craig and Armas in the film and her time in the film is way too short at just 15 minutes.

Other returning characters in the film include the gadget dispensing Q (Ben Winshaw), Bond’s CIA Agent friend Felix (Jeffrey Wright), Bond’s nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) and the head of MI6 M (Ralph Fiennes) who all bring the series full circle as well as help elevate the story instead of feeling like unnecessary add-ons. I wasn’t too sure about Fiennes as M at first, especially coming off of Judi Dench’s amazing portrayal, but he’s really grown on me at this point.

The biggest draw of the film is surprisingly what the Bond franchise handles the best: the villain. While Rami Malek’s performance is chilling, Safin’s character seems convoluted and his evil plot seems standard for James Bond. Just another dirty weapon that could wreak havoc on the world. Not bad, just standard. It seems that the best Bond villains, like “Casino Royale’s” Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) and “Skyfall’s” Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem), have simple motives and use as much cruelty as possible in the pursuit of one objective. 

Most of the Daniel Craig films have beautiful cinematography and “No Time To Die” is no exception. For me, the gold standard of Bond cinematography is Roger Deakins’ work in “Skyfall,” but this film’s look rivals that. Of course, having Linus Sandgren, who was director of photography on “La La Land” and “First Man,” helps and with Cary Joji Fukunaga as director, the pair make one of the most stunning films in the whole series.

The action is nothing short of adrenaline pumping and is full of great setpieces, gorgeous wide shots and fun stunts.  With a car chase in Italy, a stealthy gunfight in a misty forest and a stairwell fight shot in one continuous take, it’s clear that Funkunaga knows how to film action and is able to rival work done by Martin Campbell in “Casino Royale” and Sam Mendes in “Skyfall” and “Spectre.”

As for the opening titles with an original song composed for the film, a standard for James Bond since “From Russia With Love,” what can I say. It’s Billie Eilish and I have no choice but to love it. Even though I love her music, I made it a rule not to listen to the song “No Time To Die” until seeing the film and it is exceptionally good. Eilish’s voice is full of weight and her husky vocals make for a song that is one of the best associated with the franchise. In my opinion, it deserves to be mentioned alongside Shirley Bassey’s “Goldfinger,” Paul McCartney and Wings’ “Live and Let Die” and Adele’s “Skyfall.” 

The film may be two hours and 43 minutes, but time doesn't matter as much as what the filmmakers do with it. Every minute of “No Time To Die”  is either an action scene or developing the characters leading to a well rounded film. While I don’t think the film’s story is quite as powerful as “Skyfall” or “Casino Royale,” “No Time To Die” has some of the best character development in the whole franchise, not just the Daniel Craig films. 

More importantly, it gives James Bond something that he never had before: a good conclusion. Not a single actor to play Bond, from Sean Connery to Pierce Brosnan, ever got an intentional send off, they simply left and the franchise was rebooted. 

While every actor who’s played James Bond has had great films, Daniel Craig has had the best 007 filmography since Sean Connery with every film, with the exception of “Quantum of Solace,” being action-packed, emotionally resonant and constantly building a three-dimensional Bond. He may have the gadgets and crack a joke but Craig’s Bond is a long way from the invulnerable spy of the 1960s and “No Time To Die” is a long way from “Dr. No.”

While Craig’s time as 007 is over, this isn’t the end for the franchise. As it was done several times before, another actor will be cast and a new series of films about James Bond will come out, although it will be tough to top Craig’s run as the secret agent. But James Bond will return. He needs to.