No Time to Die – Film Review

James Bond (Daniel Craig) is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica after leaving active service. However, his peace is short-lived as his old CIA friend, Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), shows up and asks for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond on the trail of a mysterious villain named Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek) who’s armed with dangerous new technology.

Here we are in October of 2021 – crazy isn’t it? Come December – just two months from now – it will be two years since the first documented case of COVID-19 which is honestly quite shocking and unbelievable. So much time has gone by and finally, we are slowly being able to see the films that we couldn’t initially see over a year ago because of COVID-related delays. One of the very first films to be delayed as a result of the pandemic was the twenty-fifth film in the wildly popular James Bond franchise, No Time to Die.

The movie was initially scheduled for release in November 2019 but was eventually delayed due to Danny Boyle leaving as director. Then, COVID happened which caused the project to be delayed several times over, to the point where many fans (myself included) started to question if we would ever see Daniel Craig’s final outing as Bond. Well, folks, the time is now. I can finally say that I have seen No Time to Die after waiting for two years and I can happily report that it’s masterful in every sense of the word. This is one film that was certainly worth the wait.

As a massive James Bond fan, this film gave me everything I could have possibly wanted. I’ve been watching the Bond movies ever since I was a little kid and I spent countless hours playing Goldeneye on the Nintendo 64 with my brothers. But even though I love a large number of the Bond actors, my absolute favorite is without a doubt, Daniel Craig. Not only that, but his Bond movies are my absolute favorite. I feel like I’m one of the only people that genuinely adored Spectre to bits. Was it as good as Skyfall? No, absolutely not. But as a follow-up of that film, I still think it did a remarkable job.

But I am extremely glad that Spectre wasn’t Craig’s swan-song as initially believed because No Time to Die is a beautiful sendoff for Craig’s Bond that seriously had me holding back tears in the final few minutes. It’s always a bit concerning to see four different screenwriters attached to one project, but don’t worry – this film does not feel sloppy or misguided. These four screenwriters obviously had a big plan in mind and they executed it brilliantly.

Something that I absolutely loved about this movie is how it harkens back to previous, old-school Bond films while also implementing some of the elements from Skyfall and Spectre. Heck, even Casino Royale plays into this story. This is definitely James Bond’s most dangerous and highly personal mission to date and it’s without a doubt one of his most memorable as well.

Of course, some people are inevitably going to want to see No Time to Die just based on the action sequences alone which are totally fine. I get it. It’s a ton of fun to see Bond drive around in fancy cars and shoot people while high-tailing it from crumbling buildings or explosions and this movie has a ton of it. So if you’re here for the action alone, you won’t be disappointed. But I am extremely glad that this film wasn’t just an action spectacle with nothing else to offer.

The story is front-and-center here, just as it should be. The things they did with Bond and his allies here truly shocked me and left me constantly scratching my head wondering what in the world Bond was going to do to save the day. We all know Bond is a badass that can do absolutely anything, right?… Well, this film challenges that belief. It reminds us that, while Bond is definitely extremely skilled and deadly, at the end of the day, he is just a human like us. He is capable of making mistakes and sometimes making bad decisions, and I love that No Time to Die isn’t afraid of showing that.

It should go without saying but Daniel Craig continues to dazzle yet again in the role of James Bond here. He is so effortlessly charming when he needs to be, and yet whenever the scene calls for him to be deadly and serious, Craig is able to do it with ease. Léa Seydoux delivers what is quite possibly the best performance of her career here as Madeleine Swann, who gets a ton of things to do in this story. The places they take her character took me by complete surprise, and by the end of the film, I was totally invested in everything that happened with her.

Rami Malek serves as a genuinely chilling and off-putting villain – one that actually gave me the creeps. This is the first time since Skyfall that a Bond villain has actually gotten under my skin, and it’s all due to Malek’s incredible skills as an actor. Some will definitely say that Malek’s character is a bit underused – which is understandable – but I actually enjoyed the fact that he was kind of in the background for a lot of this movie. Whenever he appears on screen, I legitimately got goosebumps.

And if there’s one actress who deserves to get all the praise in the world and should get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, it’s Ana de Armas. Although she doesn’t get a big role here as Paloma, she does get one long scene where she shines bright. Paloma is a deadly woman who assists Bond in one of the earliest scenes in the film and a lot of the character’s likability is thanks to de Armas’ incredible talent. I genuinely hope that they give her a big role in an upcoming Bond movie because she was one of the best parts about No Time to Die.

But I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about the jaw-droppingly gorgeous cinematography by Linus Sandgren, who has crafted easily one of the best-looking movies I have seen in years, no exaggeration. Practically every single frame of No Time to Die looks beautiful. Billie Eilish‘s title song is also an excellent way to open up the film on a somber but thrilling note.

No Time to Die is not only one of the best movies of the year but also a genuinely riveting film that delves deep into James Bond’s psyche, while also delivering the dazzling action that fans have come to adore.