‘No Time to Die’ Review
PG-13: Sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images, brief strong language, and some suggestive material
Runtime: 2 Hrs and 43 Minutes
Production Companies: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Eon Productions
Distributor: United Artists Releasing
Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
Writers: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Cast: Daniel Craig, Rami Malek, Léa Seydoux, Lashana Lynch, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, Ralph Fiennes
Release Date: October 8, 2021
In Theaters Only
Retired from the MI6 and on vacation in Italy with his new bae Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), Bond is enjoying a content romantic life. On a visit to his day-one boo Vesper Lynd's grave, he gets ambushed by the terrorist organization Spectre. Of course, as all Bond movies go, some bullshit pulls him back in… but this time, it’s personal. Several years after that event, which caused James and Madeleine to separate, Bond is convinced by his old CIA friend Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) to get back in the game and save the world one last time. Bond must face enemies old and new, along with the help of several new agents.
Daniel Craig’s era of James Bond films has been hit or miss for me. After Casino Royale (which is a damn near-perfect spy movie) kicked the door down for Craig to fit into the iconic role, every film has either been damn great or friggin’ terrible. No in-between. Now we are at the final entry of the Daniel Craig Bond saga, No Time to Die, which encapsulates both the best and worst the franchise has offered in its 15-year run.
From the get-go, No Time to Die is tackling the ultimate challenge: correct the missteps taken by its direct predecessor, Spectre. Thankfully, from the intense and riveting cold open, it accomplishes that in spades. Very early on you feel that writers Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Cary Joji Fukunaga, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge were all aware of Spectre’s shortcomings and they tried their damndest to subvert the conventional format of a Bond film by making this more personalized and character-focused. Instead of being just another bland Bond film with the trademark fan service, it dares to provide some ambitious growth to the character which hasn’t been present since… well, Casino Royale. The film plays like a direct sequel to both Casino Royale and Spectre, for it features characters from the first entry as emotional elements from that specific era of Bond’s life while continuing Spectre’s story.
One of the most difficult challenges this film was tasked with was to further the relationship between James Bond and Madeleine Swann, who had no chemistry whatsoever in Spectre. Their romance was so inorganic and this film had to do a complete workaround to flesh it out. While each movie has the signature “Bond girl,” No Time to Die drops that concept entirely and makes it clear that Madeleine is the endgame. The entire film puts their relationship to the test with the sins of their pasts intertwining. The story is mostly focused on them and not only does it make their romance feel natural this time around, but it provides genuine moments of heartbreak for both parties. This is the most human we’ve seen Bond and sometimes that heartbreak makes him cold as hell, but I’ll be damned if it ain’t badass. That’s why I prefer films like Casino Royale, Skyfall, and No Time to Die that focus more on James Bond the man rather than 007 the spy. Plus, the performances by Daniel Craig and Léa Seydoux are amazing. The two give it their all in such complex performances that make their romance feel more natural than ever before.
Outside of No Time to Die subverting the format with romance first, saving the world second, there is a surprising amount of life to this movie as far as tone goes. I don’t know where they found the lost serotonin from Spectre, but this is the most upbeat and humorous of the Craig Bond catalog. Unlike its predecessors, NTTD balances a human sense of heart and humor to flesh out the characters and make their relationships as special as they can be. Given that the movie bears a nearly three-hour run time, the lighter and campier tone harkens back to early iterations of the franchise, enhancing the entertainment value to make this a thrill ride that offers more than just exhilarating action. For the most part, you don’t really think about the runtime until you feel a grand shift in tone and story.
You can clearly see Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s handprints all over the screenplay, for there are jokes galore that are hella effective. Heck, they even throw in some visual gags that catch you off guard. While it does get alarmingly quippy at times, it never comes at the inappropriate moments nor does it take away from the integrity of emotionally heavy scenes. At this point, Bond has distinctive relationships with all the characters from MI6 and the CIA, so most of the humor is natural and genuinely hilarious. If this wasn’t a Bond movie, it could’ve been considered a live-action Archer film, especially with the high-octane, ‘90s-like campy tone in the first half of the film. You’re already familiar with these characters so some of the jokes just write themselves based upon their dynamics. When it comes to the action set pieces in the first half of the film, Bond, who is working with the CIA, must one-up his MI6 successor Nomi (Lashana Lynch), who is given his title as 007.
With this being Daniel Craig’s big blowout of a final entry, he goes out the same way he entered the franchise: like a fucking G! Craig really went campy with his roles after Spectre, including Logan Lucky and Knives Out, and he sprinkles that life and humor into Bond. He gets to let loose and you feel him genuinely embracing his final rodeo. It made me a bit nostalgic, for he does something here that I haven’t see Bond do since 2006: be cool again.
While I give much praise to the tone, writing, and performances, it’s director Cary Joji Fukunaga who delivers such exhilarating action to make this swan song worth the nearly two-year wait. Each and every action sequence is downright badass, keeping you gripped to the edge of your seat whether it’s being silly and playful or dark and intense. Much like Nomi and Bond throughout the film, each set piece keeps one-upping the other in coolness. Since Fukunaga’s double billing as writer and director, the film is insanely stylish in every aspect. Unlike the Mendes movies, this isn’t just a spectacle, for he provides surprises and inspiration with the tone and set pieces to make this action flick as grand and epic as it should be. There comes an area where a run and gun action set piece that’s filmed in an elaborate oner, makes you feel as if you’re playing the N64 Goldeneye game. I was so enchanted, I nearly squealed in delight.
From a narrative standpoint, No Time to Die has one too many objectives to deal with, ranging from:
- subverting the conventional Bond format
- fixing or retooling the mistakes of the predecessor
- fleshing out Bond’s character arc
- being a proper send-off for the characters who inhabited these iconic roles
- finding a way to still be a Bond movie at the end of the day
At times you can feel the movie overexerting itself to tackle all these tasks at once and it manages to accomplish most of them. That being said, it does result in the movie’s narrative being a bit jumbled in the latter half of the film. Oooh, that second half suffers from a drastic drop in quality. When the film hits its midpoint and the emotional romance and globetrotting spy caper must be intertwined, the execution is underwhelming.
Rami Malek, who is the film’s primary antagonist Lyutsifer Safin (and already looks like a Bond villain), is treated as an afterthought. The movie tries to set him up as this mysterious baddie who is about to be the greatest adversary Bond ever faced. He messes with every party, from the MI6 to the CIA, and even Spectre itself without needing to be physically present. He comes around super late in the game and all it does is make you check the time to see how much is left of the movie. The set designers gave Safin a badass lair, but everything about his evil plan regarding deadly natural selective nanotech — and Malek’s performance — is so underdeveloped. Malek tries way too hard to come across as intimidating with heavy breathing, a lisp in his line delivery, and facial disfigurement… but he’s just so bland. He feels like a Bond villain from a completely different movie, for there’s no life to him at all. There’s a role reversal in the film’s format where it explores the relationship between Bond and his love interest, then Bond and the villain. But man, this villain makes as much of an impact as a Bond girl. His introduction triggers the third act and it’s rushed in an anticlimactic manner despite the emotions riding extremely high by that point.
Aside from that, I have a few nitpicks, such as Ana de Armas having a fantastical kickass presence, but only being in one scene as if she’s there to initiate some sort of franchise spin-off. Also, some of the jokes are corny where Bond drops lame dad jokes and one-liners that make you roll your eyes.
If you’re a fan of the Daniel Craig Bond films, this is a finale you don’t wanna miss. Despite its obvious flaws, I had a lot of fun with No Time to Die. It’s a marginal improvement from its predecessor, serving as a thrilling action flick with unforgettable set pieces and a damned respectable finale for this era of James Bond.
