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No Time to Die
(Metro Goldwyn Mayer)
By Lucas Allen
Regardless of its various delays, “No Time to Die,” the 25th film in the long-running James Bond franchise, is an event worth waiting for. As both a celebration of the series itself and a swan song for a superstar in the famous role, director Cary Joji Fukunaga and his behind-the scenes crew pull off all the stops to create a stunning and spectacular film experience. It’s a great time to be coming back to theaters, and it’s greater to see 007 back on the big screen.
Bond (Daniel Craig) is enjoying a romantic getaway with his lover Madeline (Lea Seydoux) in Italy when SPECTRE agents interrupt the proceedings for a high-speed chase and shootout. Believing to have been betrayed once more by love, Bond leaves Madeline behind for good. Five years later, the now-former agent is living out his retirement in Jamaica when he gets an offer from his CIA friend Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) to find a missing scientist (David Dencik), who’s working for SPECTRE on a mysterious virus. Arriving in Cuba with the help of CIA agents Paloma (Ana De Armas) and Logan Ash (Billy Magnussen), Bond is able to infiltrate a party to save the missing scientist.
But after the mission goes south, Bond returns to London to confront M (Ralph Fiennes) at MI6 about the matter. With the assistance of Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), Q, (Ben Whishaw) and another 00 agent, Nomi (Lashana Lynch), Bond discovers that the virus has the ability to target specific people and spread rapidly. Although he tries getting answers from imprisoned SPECTRE leader Blofeld (Christoph Waltz), Bond soon finds himself reunited with Madeline, who’s now a psychoanalyst. Soon enough, more revelations come to light including the emergence of the mysterious Safin (Rami Malek).
With all the plot to unpack, the filmmakers manage to focus squarely on making a Bond film with many of the traditional elements within an impactful story. The end result is a movie filled with action, good humor, and some emotional drama that’s on the same level as Craig’s previous great Bond films “Casino Royale” and “Skyfall.” Though the evil plot is more to the standards of a late-70s Bond movie like “The Spy Who Loved Me” and “Moonraker,” with Roger Moore, it does a great job pulling you into the drama first before accepting the high stakes our heroes will have to face.
It helps that the movie has a timely feel, more or less especially the state of world affairs plus a chilling villain willing to be the middleman. But let’s not forget what the series is known for with the action with impressive stunt sequences, exotic locations, and some wonderful gadgets. Not to mention, much of it was done for real without too much CGI, which helps the franchise to continually stand out from the pack.
On the emotional level, fans both old and new will have a sense of nostalgia for both the original Ian Fleming books, the films, and the great work of Daniel Craig. References and easter eggs abound. Bond and Nomi’s climatic infiltration into the villain’s lair might even bring back memories of playing “GoldenEye” on the Nintendo 64. As for Craig, his 007 portrayal will go down as one of the greatest in the franchise’s history and this film gives him the final curtain call that he earns. His stone-cold personality, funny one-liners and rugged good looks makes him the 21st-century equivalent to the late great Sean Connery.
Besides Craig, Seydoux is also very good in a strong performance and she has better chemistry with her co-star than in SPECTRE. Malek elevates his villain role with an unsettling presence that’s unforgettable, while Waltz still makes a good Blofeld in his brief appearance, but sadly couldn’t top the classic Donald Pleasance in “You Only Live Twice.” Lynch makes a formidable fellow agent for Bond to work with and though Armas is good in her fight scenes, her character is not very well written as a bubbly rookie agent. Unless we won’t see them again for the next round of Bond films, Fiennes, Wright, Harris and Whishaw deserve great notice for bringing their classic characters back to life.
At 163 minutes, “No Time to Die” earns that running time to the fullest, bringing the Daniel Craig 007 era to its epic emotional conclusion. We’re all going to miss this blond Bond as the actor moves on with his other franchise as detective Benoit Blanc from 2019’s “Knives Out,” but we’ll look forward to who will be next to fill that tux. Whoever they choose next, it’ll still be another couple of years before Bond returns for a new mission.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: PG-13 (for sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images, brief strong language, and some suggestive material)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 4 Stars (Out of Four)
