Years ago, when Casino Royale (the proper edition) was put out, and everyone was crowing about how awful it was to have a blonde James Bond, Daniel Craig created his own character from the classic agent. He was brutal, unforgiving, but also carried that debonair that came with Ian Fleming’s intentions. In short, Craig was one of the best in the Bond bunch.
A writer’s strike film later and Quantum of Solace dropped his Bond’s popularity, although no one should fault that film or Craig for how it all ended up. At least we got Felix Leiter, as Jeffrey Wright is an absolute treasure.
Things got better with Skyfall, where Craig’s Bond’s family was explored, and his past dug up a bit. It also concluded the efforts of Dame Judy Dench as M and provided a proper ending for her as well. On top of exploring M and Bond’s family, we got the reintroduction of Q, a more impactful Moneypenny, and we also received one of the best Bond theme songs with Adele’s Skyfall. It might have been the best one of the Bond movies of the bunch. Well, most considered it that way, but it was a bit visually pretentious.
Having set the bar with Skyfall, Craig’s Bond finally shifted back to Bond’s old roots with Spectre, where we get to learn about the underground organization that all the Craig Bond films were alluding to, but never paid off. Sadly, Mendes’ was more concerned about single shots and artistic visuals rather than giving screen time to Spectre and its evilness. What ultimately came out of this was a dud and a forgettable one at that. It was a wasted chance for setting up the rest of the Bond franchise and a complete waste of Christoph Waltz’s talents as Spectre’s head Blofeld. Pretty film, but no substance whatsoever.
And now, here we are with No Time to Die. The final farewell to Craig’s Bond and one of the longest films in the Bond series. While it certainly is flawed, it’s probably one of the better Bond films in the Daniel Craig era, and a good way to say goodbye.
Let’s dig into it.
Official Synopsis
Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. 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 far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.
In the Craig way, No Time to Die starts out differently than any other Bond film. Typically, Bond films introduce a Bond action sequence that leads into the musical introduction. Something harrowing and action-packed is usually how Bond films begin with him doing something that is integral to the story of the film. For No Time to Die, Bond is nowhere to be found in the introduction, rather it spends time with the villain and secondary characters. It’s a bold and new way to start the story, and it works for the most part, if not only just giving some dimension to characters that usually don’t receive time to shape. The introduction shows how the villain, Lyutsifer Safin, played by Rami Malek, fits into the scheme of things and how affected Léa Seydoux’s Madeline is by the villain. It also gives some insight into the villain’s motivation, which is revealed later in the film.
Once the introduction has passed, as well as decades, the movie shifts to a retired Bond, who is living life to its fullest with Madeline. Both characters are enjoying life and enjoying each other, though just getting to trust one another with their own secrets. For Bond, he is trying to get beyond Vesper’s death, something he hasn’t really shared with Madeline. It’s a storyline that has carried over from day one of Craig’s Bond and one that is unusual for a Bond character to bring across multiple films. Like all the Craig films, his Bond isn’t conventional, which is what makes Craig’s Bond a cool Bond. For Madeline, she holds a secret that goes beyond the film’s introduction. She is somehow connected to the evil organization that is tracking Bond down, but Bond can’t figure out how/why and doesn’t realize this connection until the action in the scene explosively takes place.
As this part of the film begins, it quickly concludes with a large action sequence that has Spectre tracking Bond down for his jailing of Blofeld. How did Spectre track him down? That’s a mystery, but one can assume that the only variable in the equation of ‘how and why’ points back to Madeline. Knowing that Madeline is more than she seems, and while at the same time blaming her for Spectre interrupting retirement, Bond goes back into his shell and pushes away Madeline (literally) by sending her off on a train to get out of the situation. From that point on, the story shifts to Bond coming out of retirement and back into service. But who will he be working with on this case? He has retired after all.
Before the mystery really begins, the film throws in a DNA scientist that is kidnapped by Spectre. A left-field move that is baffling, as it doesn’t have anything to do with Bond, Vesper, Madeline, or Spectre’s move against Bond. At this point in the narrative, you’re just wondering why and what the hell. Every Craig Bond film is grounded for the most part and to bring in a DNA scientist that has no clear connection with the story (it’s really an odd move) means that a storyline is taking shape outside of what was built in the first act.
Lots of breadcrumbs are being laid out.
Back to Bond! Having been replaced by another 007, Nomi (played by the talented Lashana Lynch), who is introduced to Bond through ‘various’ methods, Bond does his best to cooperate with M (Ralph Fiennes) while also wanting to get to the bottom of why Spectre attacked him, what Madeline had to do with it, and if the locked up Blofeld had something to do with it. All plot points that are tied to M’s reluctance to cooperate with Bond or have Bond involved in the situation are a mystery, but also lead to a very human reason, which is grounded. Before that reason is revealed, frustrated with M, Bond gets an offer from the CIA to help them work on the situation, which he gladly accepts.
It’s certainly a twist in the plot and it offers up more questions than it does simple answers to where the story of the film is going. Cary Joji Fukunaga absolutely lays all the cards on the table, out of order and mixed up terribly, but promises that all will be well. And Fukunaga delivers on putting everything back the way it needs to go. It just takes an incredibly large amount of time to do it, which is fine because, from the beginning of act two, the film mixes a lot of action with exposition. It’s a balancing act that treats the movie’s investigation portion of its plot the right way, as you never feel bored.
*SPOILER ALERT – BEGINS*
Anyway, the second act is the big one. It uncovers everyone’s role in the story. You have Bond finding out the new evil organization led by Malek’s Safin, who is hellbent on destroying the world through DNA control and elimination (DNA scientist reasoning achieved). You get the first taste of this when Safin kills most Spectre agents, who were putting on a party in Cuba to lead Bond to them (Blofeld’s purpose achieved), where Blofeld was going to get his ultimate revenge on the man who put him away (Spectre’s reasoning achieved). Knowing that Spectre was going to be there, Safin unleashes a liquid that alters the DNA of the Spectre agents and pretty much melts them from the inside out. The spray is nanobots that attach and react to other nanobots nearby. If someone is near someone else with the same altered DNA, then the nanobots attack and destroy cells in the human body. Pretty gross. At the same time, such an old Bond villain sorta move. It is not grounded as previous Craig Bond films.
And guess what else is attached to the DNA plot? You guessed it! Why M is hesitant to help Bond. M admits to Bond that he had started a DNA project to eliminate the bad guys without putting his agents or innocent bystanders in harm’s way. Good intentions? Absolutely. Poor execution? C’mon, you know bad guys can subvert secret, protected projects. In the end, M knows that the only way for this giant, disastrous issue is going to be resolved is by letting Craig’s Bond take a crack at taking out Safin and bringing down his empire.
So where are we at now? Well, we haven’t delved into Madeline’s part in this play. And that’s coming now.
Madeline is contacted and kidnapped by Safin, as is Madeline’s daughter. Oh. OH! Hang onto that detail. Safin was the bad guy in the introduction of the film. The intro featured a young Madeline that witnessed the death of her mom (from Safin), who was married to an agent, who took out Safin’s entire family on a hit. Madeline did her best to kill Safin but ended up falling through ice trying to get away and was reluctantly rescued by Safin because of his own pity towards killing her family. Why is this relevant? Safin is owed a life debt by Madeline, who plays her part by being kidnapped by Safin, which he knows will lead Bond to him. If Safin kills Bond, then nothing is going to stop him from destroying the world.
All these plot points finally meet in this final storming of the bad guy’s lair.
I’m going to end this spoiler alert now.
*SPOILER ALERT – ENDS*
As the film concludes, and it does in the most un-Bond, but Craig’s Bond way, it seems to clean up its mess along the way, take out a few main characters too, and do what it does best. It does a good job of ending the Craig era. That said, I had a few issues with this film.
The first is that we didn’t get enough information about Madeline. While I love Léa Seydoux’s performance, she honestly doesn’t get enough credit for her acting, her character simply is one-dimensional at best. She doesn’t have enough setup to be impactful as her character’s conclusion wants her to be. I want her to be more and her involvement with Bond really should make her more than what is delivered in the story. She was a missed opportunity. I know this movie is more about Bond, but she did a great job and her importance moving forward is something that can’t be thrown away.
Malek’s performance as Safin is going to be lost in the body of work due to poor character development. Waltz’s brief appearance as Blofeld had more significant weight on the story than Malek’s entire character. That isn’t the fault of Rami Malek’s performance, as he really sold what he could with what he had. The screenplay didn’t do enough to give him more dimension. His reasoning to track down Madeline’s family was there. That connection to Bond was there. His ultimate reason for trying to destroy the world…that fell flat as a pancake. We needed more of him, his backstory, and how he came to be at the end of all this. What we got was a character that was nothing more than a McGuffin. He was a means to an end and nothing more. That’s so regretful because he seemed like an interesting villain that you wanted to know. He certainly could have been bigger than Blofeld, though he shouldn’t be.
And what about Blofeld? *shakes head* No comment.
All of this said, and I know my complaints might seem big, but my God, this was a Bond film worth the wait. Cary Joji Fukunaga, his writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, did a great job of balancing out the action and exposition. Unlike Spectre, which was the first Bond film I fell asleep in the middle of (and I watched all the Roger Moore Bond films), the writing and directing balanced out the investigative exploring and action sequences. Those action sequences were absolutely out of this world amazing. Action sequences drive every Bond film. I hope Fukunaga does another Bond film because that director knows how to make them. He just needs to give more time for his villains and secondary characters to bake a bit longer in the writing oven.
Anyway, in my opinion, this was the second-best Craig Bond film and the best way to say goodbye to him and his version. If you haven’t seen No Time to Die, then you’re in for a treat. It has the action, the mystery, and an ending to rival all Bond endings. The open-ended way the film treats Bond is going to create some water cooler dialogue on things to come. I’m curious to see how Bond continues.
