Daniel Craig’s last hurrah as James Bond has taken a circuitous road to get here. Originally slated to release in 2020, No Time to Die has been primed for release and was only held back by the circumstances in the world. Now, over a year later, audiences get to experience one more 007 adventure with Craig before the Bond role passes onto some new blood.
Because the prior Bond film, Spectre, brought a lot of the narrative elements from the past films full circle and even offered a fitting conclusion to James Bond’s spy lifestyle, No Time to Die feels a bit unnecessary. It gives the character enough to do, but some of that feels forced. Much like James Bond is brought out of retirement for the stereotypical one last job, it feels as though Daniel Craig has tampered with an otherwise successful run to deliver one last film.
When last audiences saw Bond, he was heading off into the sunset with Madeleine (Lea Seydoux), having brought down Spectre and apprehending his brother, Blofeld (Christoph Waltz). But much like James Bond has wrestled with his own personal demons over the course of four films, Madeleine has a dark past that comes to haunt her. This drives a wedge between the happy lovers and eventually splits them apart for years. Of course, the two characters are eventually brought together and Bond is forced out of retirement by a global threat that’s suitably complex for a Bond villain.
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Over the course of Craig’s run as Bond, the series has done well to give each film some form of personal stakes. That trend is repeated here, but five movies in there isn’t a lot of material that feels new. We’ve seen Bond tackle some truly memorable villains and Rami Malek’s Lyutsifer Safin is hardly noteworthy. Not to mention, his connection to Madeleine is extremely contrived and filled with plot holes. The story is fine overall, and even has an interesting twist for the Bond character, but it isn’t on the level of Skyfall.
Similarly, the action in No Time to Die is serviceable for a Bond film but it is hardly the most creative series of set pieces put to screen. There are a couple of car chases that are well executed but there is a general sense of numbness while watching them. It’s all rote at this point and for Daniel Craig’s last hurrah there isn’t much to prop up against those memorable sequences.
The humor is still on point for a Bond film, though, and No Time to Die even explores the idea of the character’s future. Lashana Lynch appears as the new 007, which creates plenty of opportunities to make fun of the old guard. At times it does feel a little forced, but at least it’s something new for the character.
Ultimately, No Time to Die is a serviceable endpoint for Daniel Craig’s time as James Bond, even if it feels like the film is squeezing one last story out of an otherwise tapped-out run. The villain isn’t anything special and the action is merely serviceable, but usually, a Bond actor goes out with a dud. No Time to Die is by no means a dud; it simply isn’t the type of all-encompassing conclusion that fans might expect.
No Time to Die
The famed agent James Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. However, his peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.