For better and worse (mostly better), No Time To Die is all about putting a bow on Daniel Craig’s time as 007, resulting in a thrilling, if slightly frustrating, ride.
There’s plenty to love about this film. The conversation has to start with Craig’s marvelous performance, and it’s a joy to watch him deliver one of his best Bond performances in his final go. Whether it tops Skyfall is a matter of pure opinion, but he’s definitely having the most fun in No Time To Die. He’s really going for it in a way he hasn’t before; at times it’s so different from his other Bond performances it becomes jarring (at one point, it was so incongruent I briefly thought they were doing a Mission Impossible-style imposter storyline), but overall, it’s excellent.
The camerawork is wonderful, too. Although not Roger Deakins-Skyfall-level (honestly, a near-impossible ask), Linus Sandgren’s cinematography is breathtaking at times, particularly in sweeping shots of Matera, Italy, nighttime scenes in Jamaica and Cuba bathed in rich purple and blue, and a particular shot during the film’s climax that can’t be discussed here without venturing into spoiler territory.
There are also several stretches that are simply a blast to watch. For example, there’s an early stretch that finds a retired Bond in Jamaica living in a beautiful bungalow, fishing by day and ordering bottle service at the club by night. It’s a direct callback to Bond’s scorpion-shot days early in Skyfall, except Bond’s retirement is intentional this time, and it’s a romp to see Bond living a care-free, breezy life. Later on, the film shows a different pitch in an action sequence featuring Craig and Ana de Armas’s Cuban-based CIA operative, and the two’s chemistry and camp absolutely fly off the screen (at one point, they stop down mid-shootout for a shot of tequila whilst brandishing machine guns, if that helps paint the picture).
However, the successful parts made it all the more frustrating to watch the film collapse slightly under its own weight in the final act. Early homages to Craig’s Bond run and Bond history were subtle, charming, and plentiful. License to kill? Check. Bond, James Bond? Check. Shaken, not stirred? Check. Aston Martin DB5? Check. But as the film went on, some of these callbacks became unwieldy, capped off by the big bad’s final location being an evil lair on a remote island. A Bond film following certain tropes is necessary (that’s why we’re here, after all), but too much of it disrupts the film’s flow. Additionally, the film fell into some of the same traps as its predecessor, Spectre, and tried way too hard to play into an interconnected, Marvel-esque Bond-verse.
Rami Malek’s villain, Lyutsifer Safin, serves as a proper totem for the film’s issues. His motivations are indecipher- able, and he’s a “Bond Villain” almost to the point of satire. With all the time dedicated to sending off Craig’s Bond, the film just didn’t have enough time for Safin, and it really showed.
If we are to engage in a ranking of the Craig-era Bond films, No Time To Die finds itself squarely in the middle. Certainly better than the somewhat-bland Quantum of Solace and overwrought Spectre, and failing to reach the heights of Casino Royale and Skyfall. Does this make it a disappointment? That likely depends on who you ask. For those who wanted it to end the Craig era at its peak, it may slightly miss the mark; for those who don’t particularly care and just want well-executed suaveness, globetrotting, and Bond, James Bond, it’ll work with room to spare. Either way, almost everyone who sees No Time To Die will have a great time at the movies, and that’s something to celebrate.
Originally published in the October 13, 2021 print edition of the Martin City Telegraph.
