by Reed Milliken
Cary Joji Fukunaga’s No Time to Die is the perfect bookend to the Daniel Craig James Bond era. I wouldn’t have labeled myself as a fan of the James Bond character before seeing No Time to Die, but despite that, I was still interested in seeing the new release. I rewatched all of the prior Daniel Craig installments in preparation, and I’m glad I did. I was instantly made aware as to why this franchise had such a following, and No Time to Die only fueled my newfound love for the films. The film not only served as a proper end to Daniel Craig’s take on the character, but it was also just a high-octane thriller that is just as exhilarating as it is poignant. If you’re a fan of action movies, the Daniel Craig James Bond movies, or any of the James Bond movies for that matter, you’re going to love No Time to Die.
The following review contains spoilers for No Time to Die (Cary Joji Fukunaga, 2021), as well as the other films from Daniel Craig’s run as James Bond; Casino Royale (Martin Campbell, 2006), Quantum of Solace (Marc Forster, 2008), Skyfall (Sam Mendes, 2012), and Spectre (Sam Mendes, 2015). Reader discretion is advised.
Stepping out of the theater, I was a little overwhelmed. With a runtime of over two and a half hours, there was a lot to unpack. I can confidently say that rewatching all of the Daniel Craig James Bond movies prior to your viewing is the best way to go into this movie. The plot of each movie heavily references the ones before it and the people who accompanied me to the theater who hadn't seen the prior four found themselves lost.
One of my favorite hidden details of the movie is that I could tell that director Cary Joji Fukunaga was clearly a fan of some of the older Bond movies. The main villain of No Time to Die, Safin, owns an elaborate secret base set on a private island and employs a bunch of henchmen that wear matching clothes. I originally criticized the film for being too cartoony, but I soon realized that these features make the film very reminiscent of two of the more iconic James Bond films Dr. No (1962) and You Only Live Twice (1967), starring Sean Connery. Furthermore, a majority of the characters in No Time to Die are prone to quippy one-liners, one of the more iconic and memorable features found in the Connery era of James Bond. These features did admittedly feel a little out of place considering none of the other Daniel Craig movies used these tropes, but they were too much fun to feel negative towards.
Stepping out of the theater, I was a little overwhelmed. With a runtime of over two and a half hours, there was a lot to unpack. I can confidently say that rewatching all of the Daniel Craig James Bond movies prior to your viewing is the best way to go into this movie. The plot of each movie heavily references the ones before it and the people who accompanied me to the theater who hadn't seen the prior four found themselves lost.
One of my favorite hidden details of the movie is that I could tell that director Cary Joji Fukunaga was clearly a fan of some of the older Bond movies. The main villain of No Time to Die, Safin, owns an elaborate secret base set on a private island and employs a bunch of henchmen that wear matching clothes. I originally criticized the film for being too cartoony, but I soon realized that these features make the film very reminiscent of two of the more iconic James Bond films Dr. No (1962) and You Only Live Twice (1967), starring Sean Connery. Furthermore, a majority of the characters in No Time to Die are prone to quippy one-liners, one of the more iconic and memorable features found in the Connery era of James Bond. These features did admittedly feel a little out of place considering none of the other Daniel Craig movies used these tropes, but they were too much fun to feel negative towards.
Director Cary Joji Fukunaga behind the scenes with Daniel Craig
After looking through others’ reviews of No Time to Die, my biggest complaint of the movie seems to be a common one; not enough Ana De Armas. Her character, Paloma, was a charming and entertaining way to kick off the movie and was easily my favorite character apart from Bond. The two’s chemistry together was phenomenal, something I wasn’t exactly surprised to see after Daniel Craig and Ana De Armas’ work together in Knives Out (2019), therefore I would have loved to see her stick around as a main character throughout the film, rather than just the 10 minutes she got. Her absence in the remainder of the runtime was a letdown, but considering this is my biggest critique of the movie, I’m very happy with what we got.
Daniel Craig and Ana De Armas during Armas' first scene
Ana De Armas’ character was not the only one I enjoyed. Felix Leiter, a repeating character from throughout the franchise who was mainly business-oriented, is now featured as a fun-loving, quirky companion to Bond. I enjoyed seeing this side of Felix, as it finally felt like Felix’s character was done justice, and I don’t think his death would have hit me as hard as it did if it weren’t for these minor changes. As for the other characters, M worked for me all but once where his macho came off more comedic than stern, Moneypenny had a fun line about shooting Bond, Nomi did exactly what her character was supposed to and frustrated me from start to finish, and Q came out as gay which was a nice way to show inclusion without feeling too forced.
Lyutsifer Safin, Rami Malek’s villain character, worked well for me too. Having Safin be the man that invaded Madeline Swann’s house as a child, a backstory that was given one movie prior in Spectre (2015), was not only a neat tie-in to a prior installment but also just worked really well from a plot standpoint. However, Safin as a character began to crumble as the movie continued. There is a scene in the third act where Bond's daughter bites Safin's finger and Safin just lets her run away. It didn’t make sense for Safin to do this, as he was, up until this point, shown to be ruthless towards all things James Bond, so it just came off as lazy writing. Safin was by no means my favorite Bond villain (looking at you Javiar Bardem), but I do like that he got his revenge on Madeline by killing Bond. Bond’s death gave Safin a happier ending than he did which was an odd choice but not one that I entirely disagree with.
Lyutsifer Safin, Rami Malek’s villain character, worked well for me too. Having Safin be the man that invaded Madeline Swann’s house as a child, a backstory that was given one movie prior in Spectre (2015), was not only a neat tie-in to a prior installment but also just worked really well from a plot standpoint. However, Safin as a character began to crumble as the movie continued. There is a scene in the third act where Bond's daughter bites Safin's finger and Safin just lets her run away. It didn’t make sense for Safin to do this, as he was, up until this point, shown to be ruthless towards all things James Bond, so it just came off as lazy writing. Safin was by no means my favorite Bond villain (looking at you Javiar Bardem), but I do like that he got his revenge on Madeline by killing Bond. Bond’s death gave Safin a happier ending than he did which was an odd choice but not one that I entirely disagree with.
Rami Malek's villain character Lyutsifer Safin
Speaking of, I love Daniel Craig's Bond, he really is the perfect cast. He can play the stern and intimidating, but switch it up to playful and flirtatious at the flip of a switch. I felt like his character changed a little bit with each movie, but at least he ended on a high note. I'm still a little unsure how I feel about the nature of his death, but despite that, it still hit me like a ton of bricks. It is probably the most emotional I've gotten in a movie theater, especially after watching the other four so soon before my viewing. My only issue is how long those missiles took to reach the island. There were at least 10 minutes of runtime between the launch and the impact, giving Bond plenty of time to die which is funny considering the title.
I liked the story. It wasn't perfect, for example killing off Spectre and Blofield, the big overarching villains from the entire franchise so unceremoniously was frustrating, but besides that, it was all pretty decent. I wish the main disease used in the movie didn't parallel so much with COVID, but the movie was filmed before the pandemic so I won't be too harsh about that. It is, however, very interesting how that not only happened to line up but that the studio decided to keep it in too. I know that parallels to COVID have scared movie studios in the past, I think Locked Down (2021) set a good example moving forward for how audiences want Hollywood to treat the pandemic. Locked Down is a movie about a heist that takes place during COVID that performed poorly at the box office presumably because people wanted to escape from the virus, not consume more content about it. One instance of a studio changing their work to avoid parallels to COVID was Marvel Studios’ The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021). The show had a subplot involving a viral disease and was reshot to work around it. I respect No Time to Die for not trying to rush and change the plot last minute, as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier didn’t exactly turn out amazing. However, parallels or not, I just wish they hadn't included the prefix "nano-" in the virus description. It’s such a cliché name for a MacGuffin and felt very out of place here.
I liked the story. It wasn't perfect, for example killing off Spectre and Blofield, the big overarching villains from the entire franchise so unceremoniously was frustrating, but besides that, it was all pretty decent. I wish the main disease used in the movie didn't parallel so much with COVID, but the movie was filmed before the pandemic so I won't be too harsh about that. It is, however, very interesting how that not only happened to line up but that the studio decided to keep it in too. I know that parallels to COVID have scared movie studios in the past, I think Locked Down (2021) set a good example moving forward for how audiences want Hollywood to treat the pandemic. Locked Down is a movie about a heist that takes place during COVID that performed poorly at the box office presumably because people wanted to escape from the virus, not consume more content about it. One instance of a studio changing their work to avoid parallels to COVID was Marvel Studios’ The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021). The show had a subplot involving a viral disease and was reshot to work around it. I respect No Time to Die for not trying to rush and change the plot last minute, as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier didn’t exactly turn out amazing. However, parallels or not, I just wish they hadn't included the prefix "nano-" in the virus description. It’s such a cliché name for a MacGuffin and felt very out of place here.
One of the more memorable shots of Daniel Craig's James Bond
In the end, No Time to Die was a fitting end to the Craig era. Moving forward, I am excited to both go back and rewatch the old ones, as well as see who Eon has in store for us next. If you have followed the Daniel Craig movies thus far, and enjoy movies like the Mission: Impossible franchise or the Jason Bourne franchise, this movie is a must-see. It’s an amazing action movie even on its own, I just suggest you watch it with someone who’s a little more knowledgeable on the franchise so you’re not completely lost.
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