Described succinctly as a “blunt instrument” by M in Casino Royale, Daniel Craig’s Bond has been on quite the journey. He earned his ’00’ status, fell in love, quit the service, and had his heart broken. And that was just the first film. He’d go on to rejoin MI6, uncover a secret organisation, get shot, and return home, before uncovering an even bigger organisation, and then fall in love again. Oof.
No Bond before, or perhaps ever again, will go through such a series of somewhat joined up storytelling. It’s been both a blessing and a curse, with Bond’s character arc a big plus, but rarely seeing him actually out on a mission a big shame.
The most succinct way to way to review No Time To Die is to rank it among the Craig films. This likely depends on which one I saw most recently, but No Time To Die sits nicely alongside Skyfall in second/third place to Casino Royale. Spectre is next, followed by Quantum of Solace (which I still don’t mind).
For those keen on seeing an actual mission, you’ll once again be disappointed. There’s plenty of action, and some good one-liners, with Craig effortlessly comfy in the role. Plus this time his chemistry with Léa Seydoux is much improved. The team at MI6 are once again awesome, with their resigned responses to new 007’s Lashana Lynch’s quizzical looks knowingly hilarious.
You may wonder why I’ve got this far and not mentioned the villain. Well that’s because there isn’t much to say. I can confirm that the film definitely has a villain. Does he add much to it all? Nope. He’s just a vehicle to push other, more interesting plot points forward. I’m fine with that.
If you want a classic Bond caper, there’s one section in particular, with a wonderful turn by Ana de Armas that will no doubt please you. Then there’s the DB5, and even a classic V8 Vantage. I’d be remiss to not mention there are some lovely clothes too.
No Time To Die is not your normal Bond film. Even among Craig’s more serial based approach this is out of the box in what it does, bringing a true and satisfying sense of closure of blonde Bond’s tenure.
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