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No Time To Die: a fitting goodbye to Craig's Bond

Writer's picture:  rachaelannclark rachaelannclark

SPOILER FREE


I FINALLY got to see No Time To Die last night, after waiting for it for two years. I was hoping that it would be a return to the glory days of Skyfall and while I don't think it quite hit the mark in that respect, it was definitely better than Spectre.

I think Billie Eilish's theme song works far better in the context of the film than it does independently - that's not to say that it's not a good song, but it is much better with the opening credits to go along with it. There are a lot of callbacks to Craig's previous films, with a delightful - if bittersweet - cameo from Jeffrey Wright's Felix Leiter. There are new characters that bring a lot of character and heart to the franchise; specifically Lashana Lynch's Nomi, and Ana De Armas's Paloma, both of whom I hope we will see again.

I thought Rami Malek's Safin was an interesting villain. I've heard people say he wasn't a good villain, but I think he was more compelling than people give him credit for, if a bit cringe-worthy at times. He had a good aesthetic, and I liked his calm, calculating, quiet way of interacting with people. His motivation, while disagreeable, is somewhat understandable. Unfortunately, though, it is yet another instance of a physically disfigured villain in the Bond franchise, which is a bit problematic when you think about it. I don't want to give anything away, so that's all I'll say on Safin.



Ralph Fiennes's M is fine, although I can't see him continuing as M for much longer. I would love to see Moneypenny take up the role - I think she is a great character, and would do well as M. Her name starts with the correct letter, too...

Q is great, as always, and I love the amount of background we get to his character. We even see his house, and the cats he mentioned in Spectre. I would hazard that Q is a fan favourite, and it is really nice to see a bit more of who he is beyond the boffin.

Daniel Craig's last outing as Bond is an enjoyable one, and I think No Time To Die is a fitting culmination for his tenure. Craig's Bond has gone though a lot of character development throughout his five films, something that I'm not sure can necessarily be said for many of the other Bonds. Zimmer's score is beautiful, as always, and the cinematography is on point. There are some particularly striking scenes in the film that I would say are up there with my favourite shots in cinema. This makes sense; No Time To Die's cinematographer is Linus Sandgren, who worked on (and won numerous awards for) La La Land, which was similarly beautiful. As is typical with Bond films, the stunts are spectacular in all senses of the word, and are extremely impressive. I really wish there were mainstream awards for stunt work.

My only critiques of No Time To Die are that I really felt the length of it. It is 2 hours and 45 minutes long, and I will say that I personally found it to be quite long. Some sequences did drag a bit, but for the most part the action sequences managed to reaccelerate the pace. Thematically, No Time To Die felt a bit strange to me; I found that, at times, it felt a bit family drama-esque, almost encroaching on romcom territory. You'll understand why I say that when you see it!

Overall, I think No Time To Die is a decent watch, and is a fitting end to Craig's time as James Bond. I think it is definitely worth the watch, and is an enjoyable film overall. I might return to this post with a more in-depth review in a few weeks, but for now I don't want to give any spoilers. Let me know what you think, if you've seen it!




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