Movie Review: No Time To Die (Spoiler-free!)

Short disclaimer: Though this post contains no spoilers for the movie being reviewed, it will assume that you have watched or are at least familiar with the Daniel Craig-era Bond films, particularly Skyfall and Spectre.

Well, if there’s one thing that the film releases of 2021 have taught me, it’s that all good things must come to an end. This statement most definitely applies to Evangelion 3.0+1.0, the finale of the Rebuild of Evangelion series that I watched back in August (no review, sorry), and now applies to this film as well – which, to be honest, I had almost forgotten was meant to come out (I was still in that post-Evangelion 3.0+1.0 haze) until that October 1st release date snuck up on me like an serial killer to his unsuspecting victim, and I had to effectively speedrun my way through the Daniel Craig-era Bond films at the expense of my own sanity. At last, I finally got to see No Time To Die – the 25th entry in the film series and the last featuring Craig as the iconic British spy. So, whether you’re a newbie or a war-torn veteran of this series, I hope that you’ll be interested in whatever I have to say.

Normally this would be the part of the review where I attempt to explain the plot to you, but just this once, I am willing to make an exception: I genuinely believe you’ll get more out of this film if you go in knowing as little as possible. All you really have to know is that Bond is back (again) and that Rami Malek (yeah, you read that correctly) plays the main villain. Anyway, onto the actual review.

First things first: The acting. It’s amazing. Everyone in this film is perfectly cast, whether they’re playing new or old characters or not. Of course, Daniel Craig gets one last shot to flex his literal and metaphorical muscle as Bond, and he certainly delivers, with a performance that captures and combines every aspect of the character he’s portrayed from his past four outings. Lea Seydoux returns as Madeleine Swann from Spectre (making her only the second ‘Bond Girl’ to appear in more than one film), and she has noticeably improved since Spectre, becoming less of a mysterious waif and more of a fully-realised character with contradictions and complexities. Lashana Lynch as MI6 agent Nomi is excellent as well, serving as Bond’s foil-turned-ally; given how bad this series’ track record is whenever Bond works alongside a fellow agent – they’re always made to be damn near incompetent to show off how skilled Bond is by comparison – it’s a breath of fresh air to see him positively work alongside someone his level. Speaking of a breath of fresh air, Ana de Armas as Paloma is definitely one of my additions to the whole film, portraying a very unique ‘Bond Girl’ who’s a ton of fun to watch. Every other review I’ve read so far praises her, and for good reason! The same can be said for the aforementioned Rami Malek, and while I personally felt that the villain he played was underutilized at times, he really gave it his all and delivered a terrifying performance. Because there were quite a few new characters in this film, I was a little afraid that that would lead to recurring characters having less screentime, but thankfully that wasn’t that case – Naomie Harris (Moneypenny) and Ben Whishaw (Q) also return and get their chance in the spotlight.

If there’s one thing a Bond film will deliver on, it’s action – there’s lots of it in this film, and thankfully most of it is good! Pretty much every type of action scene is here: Car chases, gunfights, stealth sequences, hand-to-hand combat – you name it. What adds to these scenes is the recognizable score of Hans Zimmer, which really make some of the moments in this film all the more atmospheric and tense. While we’re still on the topic of things you can see, the visuals (including locations and set design) remain solid throughout the film; there’s even a few really good cinematic shots and angles throughout. The opening musical sequence, set to Billie Eilish’s titular song, was also surprisingly good – though the song itself probably won’t be in my top 5 Bond songs, you really start to like it a lot more when it’s paired with neat animation. In fact, I’d say the visuals alone would put it up there with the opening of Casino Royale. The dialogue is on point as usual, and as is expected of a ‘final’ film, it is certainly emotional – in fact, I’d say that the emotions of the characters are the main focal point of the whole experience. Plus, if you’ve seen the older Bond movies and/or read the novels, there’s quite a few references to those in this film, so that’s an extra elements for (older) fans to enjoy.

Alas, no film is perfect, and I have a few issues with the film as whole. As you probably already know, this film is long: Approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes long, in fact. And oh boy, do you feel it by the end, since No Time To Die suffers from what basically every action film does: A somewhat dragged on and rushed final act. Speaking of the ending itself… well, it’s one of those that I’ll probably keep changing my opinion on every week. Needless to say, I have mixed feelings on it as a whole (for now, anyways). On the topic of other things I didn’t like as much, though I did enjoy Rami’s performance as this film’s villain, the villain himself felt at points very ridiculous (not that that’s really anything new for a Bond film) and at the same time a little underwhelming – because Bond already ‘defeated’ his main arch-nemesis Blofeld in Spectre, it’s obviously going to be difficult creating a bigger baddie than the most popular and menacing one in the whole franchise by a mile. And, yes, while it is an emotion-packed film as mentioned previously, it’s definitely one that you’d appreciate more if you’re already a fan or have seen the previous films given how much of this film hinges on you the viewer’s emotional attachment to these characters, so this obviously shouldn’t be someone’s first Bond film or watched just as casual viewing.

Overall, however, I thoroughly enjoyed my time (get it?) with No Time To Die. Despite some of the problems I had with it, I’m a person who judges a film based on the strength of all its moving parts, and in this case the strengths have decidedly outdone the weaknesses. It’s an impassioned, thematic, and exciting send-off for Craig as James Bond – one that absolutely left me missing him already, but also looking ahead eagerly for whatever this series has planned for us next. The possibilities are endless – where will we go from here?

Final score: 8/10