“No Time To Die” is the 25th total Bond movie and the last one for this version of James Bond. For better and for worst this movie is closely related to events that happened in the previous movie “Spectre”, to the point of pretty much picking up soon after the ending of it to start this movie off. I would say that “Spectre” even though it is my least favorite of the Daniel Craig played Bond movies, that it is required viewing before seeing this installment. A lot of the characters that appeared in both have a better second crack at their roles. No character gets a better second chance than Christoph Waltz who is back to play Blofeld. This version of the character is more Hannibel Lecter type of portrayal then what we saw when he was the main villain in “Spectre” and it is better for it.
Having this movie so closely tied to “Spectre” and other movies in the Craig catalog might be a turn off for some but I think the positives of watching this Bond age, learn, repeat mistakes, and evolve in front of us is more beneficial to the character then just having a bunch of one-off stories. Things like Bond visiting the grave of Vesper Lynd (Eva Green from "Casino Royale") finally trying to let go of the love, pain, and sadness that she brought Bond so he can move on with Madeline, only for his vulnerability to be taken advantage of by Spectre. Seeing him snap back into being “Bond” and assuming that he was betrayed again by someone he had opened his heart to makes me hurt for him.
Another character that got to be returned was the always great Jeffery Wright as Felix Leiter, the closest Bond has to a friend from the CIA, who helps drag Bond back from retirement to help bust this Spectre gathering in Cuba. I wish Felix had been in more movies, but he gets a good sendoff here. Léa Seydoux is also back as Madeleine and without giving too much away plays an extremely important role in the movie from the intro to the finale.
While the run time for this installment is the longest in history for Bond, coming in at 2hr 49mins, it does not feel that long with Director Cary Joji Fukunaga doing a fantastic job with cutting to all the different locales this movie takes you. He gets the details right, even with the longest runtime. You can see some of "True Detective" (HBO series Fukunaga directed and served as executive producer on) DNA in many of his establishing shots.
Someone that I have not talked about yet is the main villain for “No Time To Die” Lyutsifer Safin (played by Rami Malek). He is good, but really is not given the screen time to make a huge impact. He gets the traditional Bond villain monologue, but it unfortunately falls into cliche territory, “We are two heroes in a tragedy of our own making” Safin tells Bond, but it really does not feel that way. The most interesting thing about Safin is the weapon he uses for his plot comes from MI6. It’s a good modernization for the Bond franchise that started in “Spectre” and continues in “No Time To Die” that even who you think are the good guys can come up with villainous ideas.
I also want to highlight the theme song for “No Time To Die” which shares the same name by Billie Eillish. It is very haunting, and a slow burn that really fits the more somber theme that this movie has going for it. I would also recommend reading through the lyrics after watching the movie, as it really makes certain lines stand out. A couple of my favorites:
“Was I stupid to love you?
Was I reckless to help?
Was it obvious to everybody else”
“I let it burn
You're no longer my concern
Faces from my past return
Another lesson yet to learn”
Daniel Craig is my James Bond. Each generation has their Bond, my mom would say that Sean Connery is her James Bond, others might say Pierce Bronson, Roger Moore, everyone has “their” James Bond. Even with how much I really enjoyed this movie, and I think it is a way better sendoff for Daniel Craig then if he had left after “Spectre”, there is still a sadness knowing that this is his last movie as the extremely debonair spy in the service of Her Majesty.
There is a romance or gravitas that every Bond movie has, that his presence is more than the well trained combat he is doing. I think “Casino Royale” does the best job of nailing that, but “No Time To Die” is a solid second choice. The ending of this movie is a big emotional gut punch and does a great job of closing the book on Daniel Craig’s time as James Bond. Watching this movie made me realize how much of Craig’s version of James Bond is a tragic character, who gets close to the happiness he wants but can never quite get there. I think the theme song for his last movie says it best: “That the blood you bleed
Is just the blood you owe”