A case of one mission too many, No Time to Die is a mediocre conclusion to the Daniel Craig era of James Bond movies, complete with a banal, confusing villainous performance from Rami Malek that suits the films tone.
A few years ago, Daniel Craig openly admitted that he had no desire to reprise the role of James Bond again. After all Spectre, for all its foibles, concluded with Bond walking away from the spy-life with new beau Dr. Madeline Swan (Lea Seydoux) by his side. It was the perfect bookend, yet “perfect bookend” is not allowed in a franchise that still has its star available and in peak physical condition. It’s just a shame that No Time to Die squanders its farewell to the Daniel Craig era, with the 25th Bond one of the most lacklustre in story and stakes.
No Time to Die begins with Bond enjoying his post-007 life with Swan, before he is thrust back into secret agent mode when a new enemy, Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek) targets everyone Bond loves while (shock! horror!) putting into motion a plan to take over the world. Now back in MI6, Bond teams up with new agents in the form of disarming CIA operative Paloma (Ana de Armas) and a new 007 in Nomi (Lashana Lynch) in a bid to save the world and those he loves within it.
With a runtime of 163 minutes, there is a lot to consume in No Time to Die and a lot of it does not go down well. Director Cary Joji Fukunaga (Beasts of No Nation) continues the visual approach Sam Mendes developed with Skyfall and Spectre (respectfully), yet he is saddled with a screenplay overwrought and frustratingly complicated in its attempt to put a bow on the Daniel Craig-era of the James Bond story that plays for easy thrills and cheap payoffs.
The films core, a love story between Bond and Swan, is never given enough time to develop into a meaningful connection upon which the emotional stakes of love and betrayal can truly manifest into characters worth investing in. Making matters so much worse is the performance by Rami Malek as the ridiculously named Lyutsider Safin, a culturally confused villain of clenched jaw intensity and fetish for all things Japanese, spouting monologues of little comprehension and evoking even less emotion.
The action sequences are impressive in choreography and craft, the 53-year-old Craig (and his stunt team) maintaining his status as the best action-man Bond we’ve seen yet. Great too is Ava de Amos in a scene stealing performances as a wide-eyed CIA agent whose aim is as potent as her sex appeal.
Back to Daniel Craig. While he doesn’t have the GOAT status of Sean Connery, the once dubbed “ugly Bond” has capped of his run as 007 with a strong turn both physical and emotional. It is just a shame that it couldn’t be utilised in a better movie, with No Time to Die a send-off of convenience rather than deserving merit.
That No Time to Die ends with a creative decision more tropey than impactful says much about what it truly is: a last hurrah cash-in before the eventual reboot.
