No Time to Die will debut in international theaters on Sept. 30, and in the U.S. on Oct. 8.
A global pandemic is exactly the kind of obstacle you’d expect 007 to face, but not in the most literal of forms. But finally, after almost two years of theatrical delays, No Time to Die has made it to the big screen, and that’s exactly where the concluding film of the Daniel Craig era deserves to be watched, too. An explosive and emotive adventure, it’s yet another Bond movie classically calibrated for theaters. Unfortunately, though, it’s torn between offering modern thrills and old-school tropes, making for an uneven watch. As such, No Time to Die works as a reasonable and enjoyable farewell to Craig, but falls short of topping the saga’s high points.
As you’d expect for his swan song outing, No Time to Die is a showcase of everything Craig has brought to Bond. A well-shaken cocktail that’s equal parts grizzled and emotional, he continues to work as a 007 that subverts the classic mold of the character, even if the film around him is doggedly determined to lean old school. As a fighter, he’s enjoyably brutish, ever Britain’s blunt instrument and rejecting any sense of elegance in the line of duty. But Craig will be best remembered for turning a weapon into a human, and No Time to Die doubles down on that idea. He runs the emotional gamut here, from moments of genuine happiness and love, to fury and even sadness. Craig handles it all with incredible skill, leaving behind the unshakable impression that he’s not just been the right Bond for modern times, but the best of them all.
He’s able to do this despite No Time to Die being an overly safe and largely unsurprising outing for 007. It’s a film at war with itself; in many ways, this is a thoroughly modern Bond movie, but it all too often seems like it’s ticking off franchise tropes in a manner that feels as if No Time To Die is enslaved to the past rather than simply paying homage. The result is a story that ties up all the dense plot threads that have flowed through the Craig era, but also attempts to tell a standalone tale that feels plucked from the 1960s. The former is fascinating but the latter is shallow and dull, and while these components are elegantly dovetailed, the structure of the story crams the best stuff into the first hour of a film that runs for a gargantuan 163 minutes.
To the credit of director Cary Joji Fukunaga, No Time to Die never feels as long as its runtime. It motors along at pace, particularly in the fantastically twisty opening act, and introduces new concepts with each major turn. As it does this, it’s consistently handsome; there’s gorgeous wide shots of Italy that are near enough drawn in sepia tone, a sequence in Norway where you can practically feel the chill of the ice, and a forest chase shrouded by so much fog and tension it becomes something akin to a horror scene. There’s some accomplished and impactful action here too, especially when it comes to the series’ staple of car chases. An early sequence featuring Bond’s gadget-packed Aston Martin DB5 is an absolute belter, and undoubtedly the best use of a vehicle in the series since Casino Royale earned a world record for flipping its DBS seven times in a row. But while the direction is strong, there’s nothing quite as memorable or special as Sam Mendes’ work on Skyfall. I can’t help but wonder if Fukunaga is hampered by the traditions of the series, which perhaps has no tolerance for something as adventurous as his efforts on True Detective and Maniac.
He may not get to flex his more unique directorial muscles, but Fukunaga orchestrates a cast of new and familiar characters that, for the most part, are operating at the top of their game. One of this era’s best assets is the interpersonal connections between Bond and the people he works with, and that’s as evident as ever here. There’s great conflict between Bond and his MI6 chief, M (Ralph Fiennes), that helps propel a morally messy plot forward. Christoph Waltz’s Blofeld returns and while he’s unambiguously cast as Bond’s Hannibal Lecter, the duo’s interactions are equal parts shockingly aggressive and enjoyably humorous. Providing a delightfully fresh spin on espionage is Ana de Armas, whose CIA agent Paloma spills over with Chaotic Good energy that opens up Craig’s more endearing side. She’s the best non-Bond character in the entire movie, which makes her fleeting appearance feel quite the missed opportunity.
Bond’s closest relationships in No Time to Die are reserved for Léa Seydoux’s Madeleine Swann, who returns from Spectre, and Lashana Lynch’s Nomi. Seydoux’s gloomy performance fails to captivate but the love between Swann and Bond does, especially when haunted by the shadow of James’ former lover, Vesper Lynd. There’s an authentic sense of difficulty to their relationship, and while a couple of important details feel skimmed over rather than thoroughly investigated, their romance nonetheless serves to make Bond incredibly human. If that all sounds a bit much for an action flick, it’s balanced out by Lynch’s new 00 agent, who acts as both a fun rival and valuable partner to Bond. The bickering between the two can be a bit much at times, but when it’s at its best, the banter keeps the rivalry snappy and amusing. That’s something that applies across the board; No Time to Die is much funnier than the brooding goodbye I expected.
Not funny at all is Rami Malek’s villain, Safin, who’s less a character and more a backstory in human form. Armed with barely anything beyond the tired Bond tropes of a genocidal weapon, a foreign accent, and a disfigured face, Safin is an underdeveloped and uninteresting foe. Yet, bafflingly, the story is so fascinated by him that it sacrifices the chance to provide a satisfying and meaningful end to Bond’s long-running conflicts that started in Casino Royale. It’s this trade that ultimately does the most harm to No Time to Die; while the film still remains enjoyable, its focus is so formulaic that during the second half, it rarely feels like the momentous final chapter in the Craig era that it should be.