No Time To Die: Daniel Craig signs off in style
Fifteen years after first donning the tuxedo, it’s time for Daniel Craig to take his final bow as James Bond. He arrives just as cinema is crying out for a hero: No Time To Die’s several delays (starting in March 2020) were a constant reminder of an industry still reeling from the last 18 months, and everyone involved with the big screen is hoping this is the release that brings audiences back en masse. So, is the 25th Bond film up to the mission?
We rejoin Craig’s Bond living a blissful life retired in The Caribbean, happy and in love with Dr Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux), his love interest from 2015’s Spectre. His happy ending is curtailed by the double whammy of a devastating secret being revealed about Madeleine, and an old friend, Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), coming to him for help. These revelations put him on the trail of both a deadly chemical weapon with the potential to wipe out all life on the planet, and Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek), a terrorist intent on destroying everything Bond loves.
No Time To Die is almost impossible to review fully, as it would involve talking about revelations that would spoil the film. However, it’s safe to say it goes to places no Bond has dared in the past. Cary Joji Fukunaga, the director of True Detective and Beasts of No Nation, has the task of tying together a four movie arc into something that feels coherent, and absolutely succeeds.
There’s a blend of action and emotion that has rarely been attempted in the franchise, and while it bloats the running time (two hours and forty five minutes), each sequence feels rewarding. There are echoes of Skyfall in a sequence set at a birthday party, while there’s more than a hint of GoldenEye in the concrete walls of Safin’s lair.
For all the motorcycle chases and shoot-outs, Bond’s most impressive feat is being vulnerable. This is the first version of the character to have continuity, rather than self-contained stories, and so it follows that in this fifth chapter he confesses to grief, a desire for vengeance, and love. We see him make apologies for the past, and confess hopes for the future. Yes, the martinis and glamour are still there, but Craig seems to relish these moments and the performance is all the richer for it.
He’s not the only star in this show. Much was made of the casting of Lashana Lynch as Nomi, an agent who has been assigned 007 in Bond’s absence. Many pearls were clutched at the thought of Bond being replaced, but in reality they happily co-exist. Nomi jousts with Bond, goading him about the three digits, to which he retorts “it’s just a number”, a signal that both characters are bigger than the label.
Series regulars Ralph Fiennes, Naomi Harris, and Ben Whishaw all return, but in a film this busy only Whishaw’s Q really gets anything substantial to do. Similarly, a reunion with Craig’s Knives Out co-star Ana de Armas is equally short lived.
As revealed in the trailer, Christoph Waltz comes back as Blofeld, now contained in a glass cell; Hannibal Lecter with an upgrade. The involvement is brief, but his moments with Craig are packed with tension. The return of Blofeld does not, however, detract from No Time To Die’s main antagonist. In a film that sidesteps many expectations, Malek’s Safin is reassuringly traditional as the villain. Unblinking and dressed in ornate suits, his first appearance in the film’s opening minutes is unsettling enough for him to cast a shadow over everything that follows, his every entrance making your stomach drop.
The third act takes a big leap and ends with a choice that will divide audiences (and frustrate critics writing spoiler-free reviews). Those who want to see the decades old formula shaken up further will be delighted; others who find comfort in familiarity may feel blindsided.
Everyone has a different idea of what a James Bond movie should be, and there are likely to be different reactions to the way this story ends. However, it’s something everyone will be talking about, which is a fitting send-off for Craig. He’s the man who dragged 007 into the 21st Century with an edgier look, and he finishes his tenure with a lot of heart. There will be many James Bonds to come but few will do it this well.