About the film (courtesy of United Artists Releasing):
Bond (Daniel Craig) has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be a far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.
It would seem as though we have reached an end to another era in the role of James Bond. Born from the imagination of author Ian Fleming, the character of James Bond has been immortalized in film over the last almost-60 years. In that span, there have now been 27 films with seven different actors playing the main character. Sean Connery and Roger Moore lead the pack having been 007 seven times each, followed by Daniel Craig (5), Pierce Brosnan (4), Timothy Dalton (2), George Lazenby (1) and David Niven (1). And while not appearing in as many films, Craig has owned the signature black tux for the longest time, 15 years. That’s right, what started off as a very rough around the edges newbie in Casino Royale (2006) has since matured into the suave debonair secret agent we know today. No Time to Die hopes to be an entertaining fade to black as one of cinema’s most storied characters looks to close the chapter in style.
It was long said that Daniel Craig had lost his motivation and interest in playing James Bond any further after wrapping up his fourth film, Spectre (2015). And if he were to reprise his role, he’d only be doing it for the money, allegedly. Well I guess the Brink’s truck was backed up one last time because here we are with No Time to Die staring us in the face. Does Craig give a stirring performance as he bids a fond farewell or will he just be going through the motions as he cashes in on an assumingly large payday?
No Time to Die absolutely feels like a love and appreciation letter to fans everywhere with inspired performances by all of the cast, and especially Daniel Craig. He leaves very little on the table as he explores and reveals a myriad of complex layers throughout this marathon feature of almost three hours. Even though this is billed as an action adventure thriller, of which it’s lacking none of, we are treated to the soft underbelly of a character, especially the Craig version, that has been anything but in the majority of his previous films.
No Time to Die works because of Craig’s dedication and execution to his character. There is more emotion in this film than any other that I can recall. Director Cary Joji Fukunaga helps capture the best that Craig has to offer. And with a strong supporting cast of returning actors such as Léa Seydoux, Naomie Harris, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear and Jeffrey Wright, this at times feels more like a tribute to past films and definitely helps exhibit just how highly those involved feel about this current stage of the franchise.
But in order to have a successful balance, you need to insert an equal amount of new blood. Lashana Lynch, Billy Magnussen, Ana de Armas and Rami Malek bring new and intriguing angles to No Time to Die that assist in helping to keep the plot fresh and interesting throughout. There’s a ton to digest as this tale goes down the rabbit hole so you should not be bored while mysteries are unraveled and truths revealed.
No Time to Die has all of the ingredients of what makes a good James Bond movie. And thankfully, the Daniel Craig pendulum of good movie-bad-movie-good-movie trend continues. I suppose in hindsight, we should be thankful that they’re calling it quits after an odd number of films.
Again, the runtime is quite sizable at 163 minutes but it does not feel forced at all. Daniel Craig is awesome as is Rami Malek. The pair are a good counterbalance to one another and it’s exactly the kind of villain that you’ll be pleased to see the hero face for a final battle. No Time to Die is definitely worth seeing in theaters. The only bad thing is that you have to wait until October 8th to see it (unless you’re reading this after that date).
