Daniel Craig’s final entry as famed super spy James Bond is finally here- after a near two-year delay- and No Time to Die marks the official conclusion of the Bond saga as begun in “Casino Royale” back in 2006. With ensuing entries establishing a continuity from film to film, this fifth film in the reboot series has a lot of loose ends to tie up and a famous character to give a proper ending to. Does it pull it off?
In this film, Bond has retired from MI6 and is living the quiet life with Madeline Swann (Lea Seydoux), the daughter of former Bond villain, Mr. White. When Bond becomes convinced that she has betrayed him, he goes off the grid, until old CIA friend Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) lures him back into action to find a missing bioweapon stolen by a mysterious figure named Safin (Rami Malek), who has a personal connection to Madeline
What the Craig-era Bond films have always been good at is deconstructing the myth of James Bond and “No Time to Die” continues that aesthetic. Not only does this iteration of Bond seem to eschew the sleep with every woman he lays eyes on trend, but this film in particular dives into the psychology of Bond. After his first love betrayed him back in “Casino Royale,” Bond feels that history is repeating itself with Madeline and tries to bury the past, but of course, circumstances arise where he must confront her and his trust issues.
There’s also a theme in this film that explores whether or not Bond and MI6’s actions are justifiable, seeing as a man with a license to kill has done some pretty rough things over his career. Safin gives a speech to Bond that the two of them are essentially the same figure and seems to cut deep at the ideology that a good spy can gun down whole rooms of people and get away with it with no baggage. It’s a bold direction for the character and most action films in general and it leaves a lot to talk about once the credits roll.
The action set pieces here have moments, namely an early chase through Italy and an “Atomic Blonde”-esque one take stairwell fight- but do get bogged down by an overabundance of messy camera work. I’ve never been one to complain about a moving camera in an action movie, but here, I felt that I was trying to figure out what was happening more often than I’d like. That could be because I saw the film in IMAX and was sitting close to the screen, but overall, the presentation isn’t as clean as it was in past Bond films.
What this movie excels at is giving its large all-star cast a lot to do here. No actor feels wasted; Ralph Finnes returns as M with a menacing scowl for most of the film, Lashana Lynch of “Captain Marvel” fame is introduced as the successor to the 007 title, and Ana de Armas, although her part is small, steals the show as a joyful and capable agent whose chemistry with Craig picks up where “Knives Out” left off.
It also must be said that this is by far one of the more somber Bond films, made clear right out of the gate by Billie Eilish’s haunting title theme song. Even with all the action here, the story has a much more serious tone, right down to the fact that the villain’s plot involves a deadly virus, which hits a little too close to home. This isn’t a typical beat ’em up, leave your brain at the door action film; heartstrings will be tugged on here and it’s all treated with gravitas and respect.
“No Time to Die” sends the Craig-Bond era off in style, even though it doesn’t quite reach the lofty heights of “Casino Royale,” which is still the best entry. This film delivers on emotional, epic spectacle in its nearly 3-hour runtime and will likely give longtime fans what they’ve wanted from these films, which is a ride worth taking that will have you thinking once it’s over.
No Time to Die is now playing in theaters.
