by Heath Lynch, Contributing Writer
Bond… James Bond, is back with a new action espionage epic poised to set the critics, fans, and box office on fire. But before such lofty goals can be accomplished, a few questions must be asked: How does a film franchise remain relevant after hanging around for almost 60 years? What do you do to keep things fresh when you’re producing your 25th movie? Why is this film even necessary? And, what can be done to make this movie worthy of being the final Bond film for your lead actor? It’s both challenging and compelling to imagine what it takes to continually revitalize movies like this in a series where it’s almost second nature to become redundant. It’s also certainly interesting to wonder if this film that’s been hyped up so much after a two year pandemic delay, can deliver the goods. So how does it all pan out? Well, No Time to Die combines intense action, surprising humor, and an emotionally compelling narrative to deliver a fantastic James Bond adventure that also serves as a heartfelt conclusion to Daniel Craig’s tenure as our favorite MI6 agent.
James Bond (Craig) has been through a lot after becoming an infamous spy, codenamed 007. He’s been betrayed by lovers, been shot and presumed dead, he’s lost the maternal figure in his life, and even been hunted down by his brother. Things have not been easy. Luckily, in the wake of Spectre, things seem to be settling down with the love of his life in Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux). However, things are not as they seem and Bond very quickly finds himself on the run when Spectre attacks once again, leaving him in search of early retirement as he retreats to Jamaica. But when Bond’s old friend Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) shows up to bring him back into the game as Spectre ramps up its operations on the global stage, things begin to unravel fast as the sins of MI6’s past rears its ugly head.
In many ways it feels like a miracle that this movie was even made. After Spectre wrapped filming, Craig infamously said that he would, “[r]ather… slash [his] wrists” than reprise the role of Bond in another feature film. Craig later walked back this comment, but he still rejected $100 million to do two more Bond films in 2016. Eventually Craig was paid an undisclosed amount of money to come back for one final film, but that was not the only struggle with this picture. Danny Boyle was originally set to direct. The script was green-lit and filming was to take place beginning in December 2018. However, due to creative differences with the studio, Boyle also ended up not working out and Cary Joji Fukunaga, of Beast of No Nation fame, was brought on to save the project. Though, the challenges did not end there. Once again Craig was injured during principal photography, like on the shooting of the previous film, as he hurt his ankle. After production head wrapped and the film was being set to release, a little thing called the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe postponing the film’s release indefinitely. So a movie that began production in the spring of 2016 has now finally reached the silver screen in the fall of 2021. We are lucky at this point that this movie even came into existence.
After a long and arduous journey we can finally begin to analyze No Time to Die for what it is, and what it is, is great. I think we can say that this has to have the best acting out of any Bond film ever produced. You have Ana de Armas as a charming and quirky upstart agent and Billy Magnussen playing an awkward fish-out-of-water CIA stooge. The return of Wright to the franchise is a welcome one that feels incredibly sincere. The trio of Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, and Ben Whishaw come together so beautifully as our MI6 family. They exhibit more joy, anger, and anguish than ever. Lashana Lynch is absolutely stunning and fierce as Bond’s counterpoint MI6 agent. This franchise has often tried to deliver a female agent that could be Bond’s equal. For the first time, I feel like it succeeds in that endeavor. I also want to give a special shout out to Seydoux who I found to be rather flat in Spectre. She rises like the phoenix in this picture to display so much more confidence in her capabilities, and produces a better picture of her character than I would’ve ever thought possible based on the last film because of this. The only weak point I would mention would be with Rami Malek, though I’m not entirely sure it’s his fault. His portrayal of Lyutsifer Safin comes off as borderline one-dimensional, and his accent does not seem entirely up to snuff. It almost comes across like a weak Silva that Javier Bardem gave us in Skyfall. But I will concede that I’m not sure the script really gives him the opportunity he needed to bring us something deeper. He certainly was not given the breathing room that Bardem was given.
The real star, however, is certainly Craig as Bond. This is by far the most impassioned and vulnerable performance we have ever seen from this character. Frankly, after Casino Royale, Skyfall, and now No Time to Die, if you do not find Craig to be the best Bond actor of all time, I’m not sure we could ever see eye to eye. He is clearly doing so much more than anyone else who came before him, Connery included. He’s the debonair superspy incarnate, capable of quipping at his enemies, holding any action scene that he’s in, and portraying a sense of raw emotion that I do not feel any other Bond actor has been remotely capable of portraying. I could feel myself, and the audience, being fully empathetic of his position through the many emotional and cathartic elements of this film. all of which are feelings that I’ve never remotely felt before with other Bond movies. Some of the choices he has to make are devastating, and only Craig has the nuance to pull it off with such convincing believability.
But this movie is definitely more than just the acting. There’s also a great amount of action to it. Fukunaga has such a brilliant sense of composition and understanding behind the camera. The way he frames many of these action shots makes so many other filmmakers instantly appear to be amateurs. There’s also a hefty amount of restraint in the editing booth to let these scenes breathe. As such, this is not cut to death. Instead, we understand a sense of geography around our action scenes so that we can comprehend everything that is transpiring. Powerful explosions will rock you to your core. Intense gun fights with booming sound design will have you jumping in your seat. This is pulse pounding, white knuckle clenching action through and through. The cold open pre-credit sequence in Italy alone establishes such a heightened sense of mortal stakes that carries on through the rest of the picture that you will feel your heart rate rising as the tensions never fully dissipates away. There’s a gunfight in a poison-ridden club and on the streets of Cuba that will have you sweating. A scene in a densely fog covered forest will have you riveted with its brutality. As well, the final assault on a distant island will have you transfixed so much that you won’t even realize how much time is flying by. It’s all pure adrenaline and joy.
One thing I did not expect from No Time to Die was how surprisingly funny it ended up being. Throughout the Craig era of Bond films, much of the humor has been exsanguinated from the process. The cheesy one-liners and villainous quips have not existed for the most part. However, they definitely make a return in this feature, though not to the movie’s detriment. We are not drowning in a sea of unwanted campiness. There are no jokes set out to disparage women or to make fun of how someone died. Instead we receive genuine sources of levity in otherwise tense situations. The jokes feel sincere to the audience. I found myself, and much of the theater, laughing throughout this picture. Not to say that this is a comedy by any stretch — it’s still an action adventure film with a slice of drama — but the jovial nature of this added humor throughout this picture was a welcome breath of fresh air to be sure.
There are many intangibles that also set this film up to be quite successful. Special recognition has to be given to Linus Sandgren, the cinematographer. Though he is no Roger Deakins, he clearly has such a brilliant eye, and he absolutely shines in this movie. There are times this picture feels like a moving pastel painting. It’s so beautiful. To be fair, this should have been expected from the guy who also did the camera work on La La Land and First Man. Additionally, though I already briefly mentioned it, props have to be given to the editing team of Tom Cross and Elliot Graham. Their restraint offers so much value to this film. There’s a one-shot action sequence going up through a stairwell towards the climax that is absolutely brilliant due to their efforts in coordination with Fukunaga. Special credit, as well, should go to the make up work, particularly on Malek‘s face, the costume design, and the sound design. Hell, even the set production and art direction is solid. Of course, as is Bond tradition, a big part of your movie has to be the opening credit theme song. Billie Eilish absolutely kills it with “No Time to Die.” She already won a Grammy for this track last year when the film was originally supposed to be released. I have to imagine that she is the heavy front runner and favorite to win Best Original Song at the Oscars this season. In some ways this movie even feels like a love letter to the Bond franchise and its fans. You will hear scores and musical themes from past films such as On Her Majesty‘s Secret Service and even tributes to the opening credits of Dr. No. It’s simply brilliant, and it provides great little Easter eggs for the die hard fans in the crowd. The technical elements of this film sing.
There are some moments of this film that do not sing for me, however. One of the biggest things of note that will be a big detriment to many people is the runtime. This movie is a whopping 163 minutes long. That is quite the undertaking. While I did absolutely appreciate almost everything in this picture, there were some scenes that felt affectionately bloated. Beautiful moments, but unnecessary in the grand scheme. With the pandemic delay, it is bewildering to me that the editing team couldn’t find time to trim an extra 20 to 30 minutes, especially when it is otherwise edited so well. Though the near three hour runtime moved along at a brisk pace that never bored me, you should still be sure to go to the bathroom before walking into the theater.
Additionally, as I previously indicated, our villain is a bit weak. The return of Christoph Waltz as Blofeld felt much more personal and threatening to Bond than Malek ever did as Safin. Given the on-screen time these two characters had, it should definitely be the other way around. While Safin’s motives are portrayed very clearly to the audience so that we understand why he’s doing things, we never understand how is accomplishing things. Where does he get the money to pull off this massive operation? How does he have this villainess stronghold fortress? Who are his targets for destruction, and why those individuals? The movie never takes the time to explain this. Safin is just a madman bent on destruction, because reasons. It’s really upsetting that such a strong movie can have such a glaring weakness.
With that said, I imagine the average movie fan will still really like this movie, but maybe not as much as I did. That is because of one crucial element that not everyone in the audience will be able to relate to, and I’ll attempt to dance around spoilers to explain it. Credit where credit is due, No Time to Die challenges the norms of the James Bond franchise all the way down to its very core. To put it bluntly, this movie goes there. It is unafraid to challenge your expectations and make you as the audience emotionally vulnerable to the experiences of Bond himself. These emotional stakes, and fresh franchise themes, play incredibly well, and are immensely powerful. The expressions of love, remorse, betrayal, and rekindling forgiveness are ever present throughout this picture. The idea of family is also one that is unconventionally challenged in this movie. It asks us to redefine what a working family means to us all, and what a personal family means to James Bond as an individual who has never had a loving family. It reads as genuine and sincere, and makes me respect the production team so much for being willing to do something entirely different with this Bond movie. All of this coalesces to act as a perfect sendoff to Craig’s run in the title role. Even if you can see the ending coming, you’re in awe of the movie for its confidence in this decision. Most importantly, it feels entirely earned. We aren’t cheated as an audience. Instead the movie feels poignant and beautiful.
Before going into No Time to Die I felt that Spectre was weaker than its potential, and that in hindsight Skyfall would’ve served as a better farewell to Craig as James Bond. After walking out of the theater from this experience, I cannot imagine this story ending any other way. Sure, it’s overly long and has a bit of a weak villain. The movie is not perfect after all. However, the formula for the rest of the film is so inspired, and executed so well, that you become entirely numb to any outstanding issues that may exist as you are swept away into a sea of cinematic bliss. I have no doubt that upon future rewatches I will find issues with this movie. For now though, No Time to Die stands as a delightful treat that redefines this franchise and marks it as clearly as one of the series’ best. I give it my wholehearted recommendation, and I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did. Now get out of my way; I’m off to the theater to see this again!
Grade: A+
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