MOVIE REVIEW: No Time To Die

 (Death Of Vesper - David Arnold)

James Bond has been on a lot of missions over the years and he's done it wearing a number of different faces.  The end of one particular Bond actor's era has rarely seen the kind of anticipation that we've been forced to deal with as the final curtain falls on Daniel Craig's run as arguably the most famous spy in cinema history.

'No Time To Die' is a film that's been plagued with a variety of problems, from COVID to Craig's own hesitance at getting back into a role historically plagued by misogyny and 20th century illusions of masculinity.   It's been a long road finally getting to Craig's final go in the Aston Martin's DB5 but we're finally here.  After all this time, 'No Time To Die' needs to be both worth the wait and a fitting send off to probably the most unique iterations of James Bond that's ever been.

Is it?

THE SHORT VERSION:

Uh...it's complicated. 

THE LONG, SPOILER-FILLED VERSION:

'No Time To Die' is a movie that's trying to do a lot of things at once.  Some of its endeavours are incredibly successful; others, less so.

There's absolutely no mistaking the fact that this is the last movie in Craig's run as Bond.  The film makes that obvious repeatedly right up until the credits roll, though it does take its sweet time to get there. This would be less of a problem if the story that was being told was wholly compelling or as solidly cohesive as the yarns crafted for earlier Bond entries like 'Casino Royale' or 'Skyfall'.  Alas, this is not the case here.  Worse, instead of one story, the movie is actually trying to tell two.  The first story surrounds the growth and life journey of James Bond from the new Double-Oh that he was in 'Casino Royale' to the retired agent that we find in this film.  This is BY FAR the more compelling and enjoyable part of the film's plot as we finally get to see James Bond comfortable in his own skin.  The older, smoother, more comfortable Bond is highlighted in an interlude about halfway through the film where Bond works with a rookie CIA agent played by Ana de Armas who is CLEARLY having more fun in this movie than everyone else combined.  This is a Bond who is now fully aware of 'The Big Picture' that Dame Judi Dench's late 'M' tried to warn him about in his first outing.  This is a Bond who does not work for the current 'M' -- played by the always excellent Ralph Fiennes -- but rather WITH him, who addresses him as an equal...and sometimes more.  He's about as close to at peace with himself as he can be at this stage of his life and Craig plays that to perfection.

The second story surrounds the movie's primary villain, played somewhat woodenly by Rami Malek, and it is by far the film's weak link.  Malek's villain is a very late entry into Craig's Bond-verse and the bit of the story that revolves around him is a massive logical plot hole.  This is not aided at all by another element of the second story, Bond's relationship with Lea Seydoux's Madeline, a hold-over character from the previous -- and rather weak -- film 'Spectre'.  While there are very good, very valid parts of Bond's character growth that surround Madeline, her involvement with the villain is ...weak, to say the very least.  It also helps nothing that Craig has absolutely zero chemistry with Seydoux, especially when compared to Eva Green's show-stopping Vesper Lynd.

There are other plot-related items that the film tries to address as well, from Bond's relationship with Felix Leiter and Ernst Blofeld to the legacy of the 007 role itself. Alas, none of them is handled with nearly enough dignity or screen time.  

'No Time To Die' is a film that aspires to a great deal without a trace of James Bond's audacity or flair to back it up.  It's the worst kind of 'Bond' movie that there is: A bland one.