No Time To Die

This review may contain spoilers!

 

No Time To Die follows a Bond who has left love and MI6 behind, living alone is isolation until the CIA pulls him back into an operation against remaining Spectre forces. However, there are more nefarious figures at play here and James Bond once again becomes deeply ensnared in a mission of global espionage. I loved aspects of watching Bond really grapple with his demons here, his lifetime of paranoia pushes his allies away and sets him apart. I actually liked how Bond couldn't let things like his desire to see Blofeld dead go, he is so unshakeable here that it becomes a film almost about his hubris. I most enjoyed seeing moments that defy expectation: Safin saving Madeleine as a child, Spectre being eliminated, the CIA being infiltrated at the expense of Leiter or Valdo's triple-agent character. As always watching Bond wildly push ahead of his enemies like a one man army trying to keep those he cares about safe marks this as a classic Bond feature. The cinematography throughout shows the grand scope realised for this particular Bond outing, in particular the unique settings and immense action sequences are extremely well framed and captured. The actions sequences here are some of the best a Bond film could have to offer, toting consistently well-choreographed shoot outs, fight sequences or car chases. The score for the film embraces all the classic energy of a Bond film and places these tracks perfectly.

 

Daniel Craig, who played James Bond, has lived with this role for a long time now and performs it brilliantly; Craig has a calm reserve and a sense of charisma that has always served him well as the super spy. Rami Malek, who played Lyutsifer Safin, is one of those rare brilliant instances where a talented performer outshines a poorly written character; Malek crafts a figure who comes from a dark background and has been fundamentally altered by one moment that defied his character. Ralph Fiennes, who played M, really impresses as an M who is more servile to the needs of his government and nation; Fiennes really seems burdened in this film by the consequences of his own actions and the choice to play by the book or not. Ben Whishaw, who played Q, has always been absolutely perfect casting for this role; seeing Whishaw reluctantly get dragged back into an adventure in which he peddles technical jargon with ease is a joy to watch. Jeffrey Wright, who played Felix Leiter, brings a very worthy final outing in this feature; Wright plays to the more jaded and seasoned aspects of his character which works really well for that final scene with him and Craig. Billy Magnussen, who played Logan Ash, is quite a strong minor antagonist for the film who plays quite the slimy corrupt figure; at first Magnussen seems like a comedic naive political role which makes the twist of his true role all the better. David Dencik, who played Valdo Obruchev, is one of those unique characters that sometimes standout in a Bond film; Dencik's somewhat bumbling triple agent is quite a bit of fun to watch as he is never the most domineering figure in a room often filled with intimidating figures.

 

However, the best performance came from Ana de Armas, who played Paloma. This was an astoundingly significant pick given de Armas was only present in the film for a couple of scenes. Paloma is brilliant fun and one of those roles that works so well in a Bond film. From the moment we first meet her de Armas is disarmingly light and bubbly, very eager and not at all the stoic professional we see from other intelligence characters. She nervously chats and makes quick notes about her length of training, giving her a real rookie feeling. But as the film progresses and she efficiently cases a room and holds her own in a gunfight brilliantly, it is hard not to become just as impressed as Bond is with this surprisingly highly capable talent. I'd love to see more of Ana de Armas in future Bond films, better yet her own spinoff.

 

No Time To Die is a staggeringly good Bond film for the first third of the feature, but the rest is just okay and I find that a shame. This film spends a lot of time tying up loose ends from Spectre while really quickly constructing a two-dimensional antagonist for Bond to take out this time around. The big thing to fear this time around is a bio-mechanical virus called Project: Heracles in which the virus can target specific DNA to kill certain targets. Watching the film reveal that M is behind Heracles is such a dull twist; but more than that, the virus is a rather thinly constructed narrative weapon. Pair this virus with Safin, a bad guy who wants to poison the world to restore order or something strangely similar. This villain's only real character trait is that he chose to save Madeleine's life rather than kill her as a child, but this is never explored in a satisfying way. So as the film veers more and more towards Safin, the film fails to hold interest. Worse than this Bond's entire character arc this film is his awkward relationship with Madeleine, whom he breaks up with at the start of the film and is then forced to work with later. Watching Bond walk over egg shells for the sake of love and pretty much sacrifice his own life by the end of the film because he can no longer actively participate in the relationship is rather corny. Overall the film doesn't feel like a final satisfying moment for Daniel Craig's Bond, there is a moment of finality but it rings hollow. The opening song for this film has been the worst of all the latest Bond films, Billie Eilish significantly lacks the gravitas required for an impactful opening number.

Léa Seydoux, who played Madeleine, just has no chemistry with Craig at all and is an unfortunate result of Spectre; Seydoux plays morose very well but her moments of tension, conflict or joy show her distinct lack of range. Lashana Lynch, who played Nomi, is a role I thought I might like at first but the film woefully failed to explore the character; I swiftly grew tired of the same comedic rivalry between her and Bond culminating in a very awkward return of an iconic title. Naomie Harris, who played Moneypenny, has been strongly shunted into the background this time around; Harris has no real sense of participation in any of the important events of this film. Rory Kinnear, who played Tanner, is doing possibly less than Harris despite having equal screen time; Kinnear just peddles dialogue with Fiennes when needed but does little as a character. Christoph Waltz, who played Blofeld, is one of the worst things to have come from the Craig era of James Bond; bringing Waltz back to mumble and mutter pretty shallow dialogue did nothing but drum in how poor Spectre was. Lisa-Dorah Sonnet, who played Mathilde, isn't a strong young performer; Sonnet doesn't always display correct responses for the nature of the scenes and certainly struggles to convey convincing emotion.

No Time To Die is a step up from Spectre, but still a far cry from a strong send off for Daniel Craig's Bond. I would give No Time To Die a 6.5/10.