No Time To Die – An Epic Bond Send-Off

Dazzling audiences in 5 films over a 15 year span, No Time To Die, after countless delays as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, marks Daniel Craig’s final outing as James Bond and the film is certainly worth the wait. A fitting end for Craig’s incarnation of the character, the film makes the most out of its nearly 3 hour running time to tie up loose ends created during that 5 film run and give fans and moviegoers the closure they deserve. While not without its own problems, that phenomenal send-off perhaps comes at the expense of the film as a whole. Though the film was definitely not without its moments. An epic blockbuster masquerading as an intimate character study, the film offers something for everyone with plenty of grand spectacle and technical mastery with exciting action sequences, beautiful cinematography, and impeccable sound design and score but also a script that for the most part succeeded under the weight of monumental expectations by balancing all that spectacle while still telling a story that did justice to its many characters for whom audiences have built strong connections to over the last 15 years.

No Time To Die begins with James Bond (Craig) living out his retirement on vacation with Madeleine Swan (Seydoux) which clearly was never going to last as far as he was concerned as his past was definitely not done with him but little did he know, it wasn’t just his past he had to contend with. Thrust back into action, the world he once knew and operated in was a different one though the more the things change, the more they stay the same. Despite having no allegiances to hold him back, his connection to his country still loomed large over the story as it was something he couldn’t quite get away from. When it came to this mission, he wouldn’t be alone. Tracking a stolen bioweapon able to target specific individuals via their DNA. Bond found himself part of a roller coaster mystery that took him around the world. Some audiences may take issue with the pace of the film, however, as that mystery unfolded, all the pieces slowly came together.

While the way the film went about putting those pieces together may feel convoluted for some and also happened to be where its four credited screenwriters was the most evident, it brought upon plenty of exciting moments coming at the expense of characters for whom the film simply moved on from as quickly as they were introduced as a means to simply move things along. Though it would have been nice to stay with those moments a little longer, they did not take away from what was the more compelling part of No Time To Die which was the Bond and Swan drama at the root of its central mystery. Attempting to ground the film and give the characters some sense of purpose in the form of an antagonist to focus that energy on was a doctor named Lyutsifer Safin (Malek) who merely felt shoehorned in after the fact therefore came off as flat. A figure in Swan’s past, the lack of character development beyond a tense opening was disappointing as the character took the biggest hit at the expense of its focus on the Bond storyline.

Nevertheless, the thrills and emotions were there as that Bond storyline delivered all the way until the end as it gave him something to fight for. One can’t help but feel for him as his time away afforded him the gift of perspective. This Bond has clearly been through a lot and viewing this mission through the lens of these experiences made for a more compelling watch overall. However, Bond was still no slouch and did not lose a beat in terms of his special set of skills which were just as good as they ever were. The film’s action was one of many highlights among others, boosted by some stellar choreography, editing, sound design, and camerawork, be it driving, shootouts, or fight scenes. As mentioned, the beautiful cinematography was another highlight, boasting some breathtaking shots of the UK, Italy, Norway, and many other locations along the way. The score was also up to the challenge at keeping up with the film’s epic scale and emotion.

In the end, the best part of the film was of course its performances, beginning with Craig as Bond. With five films worth of depth to work with, he delivers a breathtaking performance while maintaining the same level of charm and charisma that has carried him through his tenure as Bond. Finding the right balance between these extremes, he was compelling to watch but he didn’t have to do it alone though this did not necessarily mean that the others got much to work with because of it. That being said, they still did their best with what they had. Malek definitely did his best to sell the underwritten Safin but the character and his motivations were just a waste of potential, hearkening back to classic Bond villains. The female characters throughout the Bond franchise for the most part have been a sore spot and No Time To Die was mixed in that regard. While Seydoux’s Swan could not quite break through the passenger role, Lashana Lynch’s Nomi and also the new 007, and Ana de Armas as CIA Agent Paloma were each scene-stealers with longer term potential.

At the end of the day, No Time To Die will be one to remember while leaving some pretty big shoes to fill for whomever takes up the mantle in the future.

still courtesy of MGM

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.