When Daniel Craig was announced as the latest incarnation of Ian Fleming’s gentleman spy James Bond prior to the release of 2006’s Casino Royale, there was much consternation about a how the burly blonde would assume the mantle of the debonair brunette womanizer.
Having now come to the end of his record 15-year tenure, Craig serves up his delayed swansong with his fifth time portraying Bond in No Time To Die, and the question of course is if his exit from the series is a memorable one. While the writers have definitely wanted to try something new this time around, unfortunately, No Time To Die is an uneven effort that at times offers classic Bond-esque spectacle, but is ultimately bogged down by tired clichés and lazy writing.
Starting off with a fairly impressive opening sequence – which was clearly created for theatrical release – Craig’s Bond remains haunted by his past, and the rest of the film sees him try to release himself therefrom.
Spending a number of years off the grid, Bond is forced back into service, which causes some friction that may be felt vicariously by those in the audience who hold more conservative views. Here, M and the gang are up to their old tricks, and the new recruits to the team ensure a refreshing shift in tone thanks to the competent presence of Lashana Lynch in particular.
Ana de Armas charms in a brief montage, which exudes the playfulness that has always been synonymous with the Bond brand, but unfortunately, the film significantly loses steam after this point due to the introduction of irrational character choices and overused tropes.
For the remainder of the runtime, the film struggles to be narratively engaging, and the pacing suffers severely as a result. Similarly, there is diminishing entertainment value to be found in the action set pieces as they not only become few and far between, but are also largely underwhelming; everything we are presented with has not only been done before, it has been done better as well.
Fumbling its way through its narrative, the film feels more convoluted than mysterious, which is in part due to sidelining Rami Malek’s main villain for the vast majority of the runtime. While Malek steals every scene he is in with a chilling and mesmerizing performance, he is nonetheless not afforded the screen time he deserves to fully flesh out his character.
There have been many ruminations about what would happen with good old 007 once Craig retired from the role, and while the door has been left wide open for the Bond brand to develop into a wholly new direction by the time the final credits roll, this last outing with Craig ultimately feels tired, unengaging and out of time. Most audiences are probably more than ready for a more relevant type of super spy by now, and while No Time To Die has glimmers of what this could be, the film mostly serves as a testament to the things that where, and why it is time to move on.
Verdict: 6 out of 10.
* * * * *
Produced by Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli
Screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Story by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Cary Joji Fukunaga
Based on James Bond by Ian Fleming
Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga
Starring Daniel Craig, Rami Malek, Léa Seydoux, Lashana Lynch, Ben Whishaw,
Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, Ralph Fiennes
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