There’s a point about halfway through No Time to Die where Daniel Craig’s famed 007 is giving his name to a security officer in order to get access inside a building. “Bond,” he says in his signature stoic deadpan. But then, perhaps unexpectedly for a movie as serious as this, there’s a comedic beat. The officer looks at him in confusion. Double O-seven is forced to give his whole name. “James Bond,” Craig says, this time with a lilt of disbelief in his voice. With this and many other lines, the audience erupted into laughter.
As I chowed down on some popcorn (with extra butter of course), I remembered how great it was to watch a movie in a theater. After being delayed for a year and a half due to the coronavirus pandemic, the ironically named No Time to Die is finally in theaters. At this point, the name James Bond is synonymous with those kind of ultra-serious spy thrillers your grandpa probably likes; but with Billie Eillish singing the theme song, Fleabag, star Phoebe Waller-Bridge getting a co-writing credit on the script and a host of female characters kicking butt along 007 himself, No Time to Die is a more modern, progressive action flick that should compel newcomers to watch. Even if the ending is somewhat frustrating and anticlimactic, No Time to Die is a fitting finale for Daniel Craig’s Bond. James Bond.
A sequel to 2015’s lackluster Spectre, No Time to Die follows James Bond as he’s forced out of retirement to fight Safin (Rami Malek), a man who plants poisonous flowers in his free time and also happens to want revenge on Bond’s former lover, Dr. Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux). Swann’s father killed Safin’s entire family; Bond, who was finally having a somewhat quiet retirement in Jamaica, is willing to do whatever it takes to protect the woman of his dreams. It might be cliche to have our titular hero being pulled out of retirement “one last time” because that’s what every action flick seems to do. However, this really is Craig’s last installment—I won’t spoil the ending, but you can probably guess what happens based on the title.
Many intensely compelling action sequels propel what is otherwise a bloated movie. At 2 hours and 43 minutes long, there are some very unnecessary side plots, including one that features a very welcome but very unneeded Billy Magnussen (Sorry, Billy! You were great in Game Night!). The action sequence before the credits is probably the best the Bond films have ever done. While visiting the gravesite of his (other) former lover Vesper Lynd, James Bond nearly gets blown to smithereens after a hidden bomb destroys her tombstone, but what’s a little explosion to stop the superhuman spy? Bond proceeds to take down the bad guys with guns hidden inside the headlights of his Aston Martin before subsequently driving off in the infamous car. And this is the first fifteen minutes alone! Talk about an eventful retirement.
Cary Joji Fukunaga, whose other credits include It and True Detective, directs this installment and really makes the action come to life with stunning visuals and flashy cinematography. Even if the movie is a tad long, the action scenes are always frank and to the point. There’s a sequence featuring Knives Out actress Ana de Armas (which also starred Craig) that’s so breathtaking. The set design and stunt choreography both intertwine so beautifully to make for one chaotically destructive and intensely thrilling scene.
Timing is everything in an action movie—not just for the characters, who are always dodging bullets and disarming bombs, but also for the coordination. If a scene is too slow, it bogs the plot and the action down. If the scene is cut too quickly, the audience is left confused. Luckily, in No Time to Die, the action is right on time, even if the rest of the film is slow in its attempt to tie up all the dangling plot threads.
Another thing No Time to Die gets right is the casting of the characters. In addition to Malek and de Armas, Lashanna Lynch plays another secret agent—but not just any old double-O. She happens to be Bond’s replacement 007, which makes for some playfully jealous banter between the two. It’s also wonderful to have a returning “Bond Girl” with Léa Seydoux (who’s only the second returning one in history), though I don’t know saddling her with a child is quite the right choice for the film.
However, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge being added last minute to help beef up the script, the writing has never been wittier. This is probably the funniest Bond has ever been, which is a welcome change from the usual ultra-serious tone of the series. The one thing the film gets wrong is the ending, which is a disappointment considering it’ll probably be years before we even find out who the next Bond is (personally, I think it’d be great to have Lashanna Lynch continue the role, although I think Henry Cavill would be a great successor as well).
Going to the Oriental last Friday, there was a sort of wondrous excitement walking in. I realized it had been years since I had last seen a film in the theater. I couldn’t wait to buy my candy and sit in a velvet seat, staring up at the giant screen in awe. When the movie started, there was hushed excitement all around. My friends and I passed around popcorn, silenced our cell phones and waited for the signature opening shot of James Bond walking into the frame before staring directly at the camera and shooting his gun.
If you’re looking for an excuse to go see a movie, No Time to Die is the perfect film to get reintroduced to the theater with. The action sequences give you an adrenaline rush right from your seat; it pulls you in, and even if you don’t completely understand the plot—because let’s face it, the main draw of action movies is never the plot—the striking visuals of the film are compelling enough (Daniel Craig’s bright blue eyes alone light up the entire screen). No Time to Die may have a disappointing ending, but that doesn’t undercut the rest of the film. The audience still clapped at the end and I smiled at the fact that I got to view it with everyone else. Daniel Craig’s tenure as James Bond may have ended, but the movie viewing experience is just beginning again. And it’s better than ever before.