Bond is back. Was it worth the wait? ‘No Time To Die’ delivers everything you would want in a Bond movie. Let’s check off the boxes. It has high-octane action sequences, a creepy villain, a sexy Bond girl and exotic locations. Daniel Craig is the sixth actor to play the super spy and this is his swan song. He always brought a steely confidence to the role and he never disappoints in his final outing. He put his stamp on the role and always looks debonair in a tuxedo. ‘No Time To Die’ is thoroughly entertaining and a wonderful finale for Craig.
The opening action sequence will have you on the edge of your seat. The film opens along the coastal town of Matera in Italy. He is vacationing with his latest love, psychologist Madeline Swann (Lea Seydoux). Before you know it, he is being chased down by the bad guys. He manages to evade them and get into his Aston Martin DB5. It is full of cool gadgets thanks to Q (Ben Whishaw). It even comes equipped with multibarreled machine guns coming out of the headlights. It is an unbelievable stunt sequence that pays homage to Bond’s favorite spy car.
He parts ways with Madeline thinking she had something to do with him getting ambushed. Fast forward five years and Bond is enjoying the retired life in Jamaica. He definitely deserves the relaxation. However, his tranquil life is short-lived when his CIA pal Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) asks for his help. He wants Bond to help him rescue a kidnapped scientist from SPECTRE. This leads Bond back into the game and it turns out to be more than he bargained for. He soon discovers a new villain named Safin (Rami Malek) with a disfigured face and a new weapon that can destroy the world. His compound is working on nanobots that can infect a person like a virus. Does it sound eerily familiar?
We get to see Bond tangle with the old crew including M (Ralph Fiennes) and Moneypenny (Naomi Harris). We also get to meet Nomi (Lashana Lynch) who actually takes over Bond’s retired number 007. She seems capable enough to fill his shoes but I am firm in my belief James Bond should stay a male character. There is also another new spy named Paloma played by the gorgeous Ana de Armas. She stands out as an exceptional Bond girl. The chemistry between Bond and her is undeniable. She has my vote to come back for future 007 installments.
As usual, the plot gets a bit convoluted. Rami Malek as the villain is okay but I would have preferred Christoph Waltz reprising his role as Blofeld. He would give Bond a run for his money. In my opinion, he was the quintessential Bond villain. Despite all of this, I loved every minute of this action packed movie. Director Cary Joji Fukunaga gives Craig a brilliant send-off as Bond. The film is beautifully shot in exotic locations around the world. The action sequences are epic. Craig even gets to shed the womanizer persona and show romantic feelings toward Seydoux. The French actress delivers another compelling performance as Madeline Swann.
This is Craig’s fifth and final outing as 007. I admire how he brought his own style to the iconic character. Moving forward from this film will be challenging. Where does the next James Bond go from here? There is no doubt this franchise will live on. In the meantime, ‘No Time To Die’ was worth the wait. Grab a martini “shaken, not stirred” sit back and enjoy!
