No Time to Die

 From November 2019, to April 2020, on to October 2020, April 2021, then to 30 September 2021 in Bond's homeland, and a final month and a bit agonising wait until I got to see it. But finally, No Time to Die is out. Was it worth the wait? Yes, and then some. Is it Daniel Craig's best Bond film? Perhaps not, with a somewhat murky middle act and a villain who needs a little more love and attention. But in another way it is his best Bond film - the character never more well realised, well acted, soulful and impactful. 

Perhaps more so than any of the films before it, No Time to Die manages to ride the line between respect for the now nearly 60 year old franchise, and remixing tropes into something new. This is made apparent from the opening salvo, the gun barrel dissolve itself given a haunting change before leading into the closest Bond has gotten to a slasher movie, with the introduction of our rasping, masked, antagonist Safin (Rami Malek). 

Once this pre-pre prologue is out of the way, there is another, now following Bond and the woman who finally got him to settle down at the end of Spectre, Dr Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), apparently in post-marital bliss. Except this is a James Bond film and so violence, car chases, machine guns and I kid you not, biotic eyed henchmen are not far away (yep, we've come a long way from Casino Royale and a knotted bit of rope).

But rather than simply bombard Bond with threats of physical violence, this pre-credits sequences starts the conveyer belt of psychological pain that will continue to churn on throughout the hefty runtime of No Time to Die (163 minutes!). Hinted at during this prologue is a secret, kept hidden away by Madeleine, perhaps relating to a trauma in her past. Naturally, Bond and secrets kept by lovers is something of a sore spot (hello Vesper Lynd) and this ravine of distrust is something that he will have to try to conquer if he is to have a happy life, not just with Madeleine but with himself. 

Following a title sequence that manages to foreshadow and look back upon iconography of the series (backed by the wonderfully mournful No Time to Die by Billie Eilish), Bond is enjoying or more accurately languishing in retirement in Jamaica (specifically using a beachside retreat that Ian Fleming himself used, named Goldeneye). Of course, this hibernation can't last long and he is pulled back into service of sorts but not by the usual parties. The McGuiffn for this film? Some sort of viral bioweapon that has the potential for targeted mass destruction. To go into too much more detail as to the specifics of this would spoil the surprise (and give away some of the subtext of the film) but all I'll say is it involves Spectre, a new foe and global destruction ("The same old thing" as Bond puts at one point). The nitty gritty of the weapon coupled with the real-life COVID19 pandemic may have been another reason why the producers were hesitant to release mid-crisis (bar the obvious profit reasons). 

Whilst not spoiling the finer details of the plot and the weapon in question, the nature of its purpose does go to the heart of the film: family and relationships. We have previously had a James Bond having his existence as an agent questioned (Skyfall, Spectre) but now we have a Bond having his entire life's purpose being questioned. What's the point of life without being able to forge true connections with friends, family, lovers? These are questions that this series has not dare to answer let alone posit before but now our lead is struggling with an existential crisis. 

And Daniel Craig is more than up for the challenge. It is only with this film that I've realised how sullen and laconic his version has previously been. In No Time to Die he is positively chatty, engaging in catty remarks when poked and getting very wearing his heart on his sleeve in ways not seen before. His Bond can get our hearts engaged on a physical and emotional level that hasn't be done before save for one other film in the series that I won't name for fear of spoiling events in this one. 

That's not to say that this Bond is all heart no fists, when it comes to the action , with director Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective, series 1 - you know, the one everyone loves), staging heavy hitting fights. The pair, with cinematographer Linus Sandgren put a particular emphasis on long, apparently unbroken takes, with the highlight being an ascending stairwell fight, with the camera glued to a broken and battered Bond seeing off an unrelenting assault. Fukunaga is no stranger to the one take, having staged a miraculous 6 minute one-take in the first series of True Detective. 

Throughout the action, Craig meets his match on various levels throughout the female cast in the film, including Ana de Armas (in a fleetingly short but enjoyable turn as a sparky American agent, Paloma) and the new 007, Nomi played by Lashana Lynch. Both characters are more than Bond's equals but Lynch in particular plays Nomi as if she has always been James Bond, speaking to Bond like a lion past its prime, ready to be put out to pasture. If the producers ever wished to switch up the genders (a thing they have confirmed will not happen, insisting instead that they create fresh roles for women rather than simply do-over existing ones), Lynch is their way forward. Confident, funny, with a magnetic screen presence. It would have been good to see her put to even more use in the film but at 163 minutes already, I don't think the film could have survived additional run time. I dare mention that Phoebe Waller Bridge's deft hand as a writer may have pumped up these roles but in doing so that may itself be somewhat sexist to assume that's where her talents lie rather than the overall plotting and emotional stakes. There is however one line in particular which if not penned by Waller-Bridge is a dead ringer for a Fleabag breaking the fourth-wall zinger. 

In any event, if the focus was pulled further away from Bond and Swann the emotional impact of the whole would likely be lessened. And Léa Seydoux's portrayal is as much of a key to proceedings as Craig's is. If one of this pair way anything less than perfection you would not buy into their relationship and the stakes of the film would been significantly dulled. Whereas in Spectre she was more of a cipher and it is was difficult to believe that Bond would give up his life of action to live a life with her, in No Time to Die she is given history, purpose and her actions perhaps end up driving the very crux of the plot and emotional stakes of the film. 

Up against the pair is the ghastly Lyutsifer Safin (Lucifer Satan, get it?) played by Malek like the unholy offspring of Dracula and Erik, the Phantom of the Opera. He has a fantastic look, gaunt features with large ghostly eyes (the scarred visage an unhelpful holdover from Bond of old - check out "I Am More than Just Your Villain" on YouTube) and an equally haunted backstory. Unfortunately, his motives become a bit murky at the midpoint of the film, with significant changes causing him to apparently turn on a dime in terms of what his end goals are. On closer inspection (i.e. a second viewing) the hints are there as to why the change takes place and how it still aligns with what has come before but this does feel slightly underwritten. Malek is nevertheless a deeply unsettling villain and one of the few who truly gets under Bond's skin. 

The machinations involving Safin mix together into a slightly lethargic mid-point involving the MI6 gang and the return of a ghost from the past, working out the nitty gritty of the plot. Whilst satisfying as a whole, this to me, was the only part that I felt the runtime lag. I do not know what I would do to sharpen up this section as it still all feels vital but nevertheless, the feeling of bloat is biggest here. Certain elements brought up at the middle also raise the spectre (no pun intended) of the dreaded plot holes. My general rule for plot holes is if I don't notice them on first viewing they get a pass. However one or two here immediately leapt out at me - one involving a bionic eye and clearly very lax security at a prison was instantly noticeable. 

None of these quibbles do anything to dampen the physically and emotionally explosive final act. Confrontations are had but most tellingly conversations are where the real blows are felt. Whereas Bond would normally engage in brutal combat to save the day, here the most impactful scenes are those where characters just sit and talk, albeit whilst the world is ending around them and backed by a series best score by the legendary Hans Zimmer. 

This film had literal years of anticipation for me and I can't say it disappointed at all - despite the tiny issues with pacing and plot. I've truly no idea how the producers are going to get even close to capturing what Daniel Craig's Bond has managed to do in 5 films, and this one in particular. The closest I can describe it to is when David Tennant closed that blue police box for the last time. Truly, nobody does it better. Goodbye, Mr Bond.