Review - No Time to Die (2021)

         Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, I just got home from seeing No Time to Die, which is the latest film in the ongoing James Bond film series. Well, there's quite a bit to break down, so let's dive right on in. Don't worry, no spoilers in this review. 

       So, our main villain this time is Lyutsifer Safin, whose family was killed by Mr. White on the orders of Ernst Stavro Blofeld years before. In retaliation, Safin goes after Mr. White, but kills his wife, who is the mother of Mr. White's daughter Madeleine Swann. Safin is also revealed to be working with a scientist named Valdo Obruchev, who was working on a secret project called Heracles, which, according to M, was intended to allow for minimized collateral damage and civilian casualties when MI6 agents go after a target. However, Safin corrupted it to becoming a weapon of mass destruction. 

       Bond, meanwhile, has been living in seclusion five years after retiring from active service and leaving Madeleine after an ambush in Matera carried out by agents of SPECTRE, who were sent on orders of Blofeld, who was incarcerated following the events of Spectre. Bond is recruited by his CIA friend Felix Leiter to recover Obruchev, who had been abducted by SPECTRE agents just a few days prior. Bond teams up with another CIA agent, Paloma, to get Obruchev before another agent, Nomi, can do so for MI6. Nomi also informs Bond that since his retirement, she's been given his agent number of 007. This is where I'm going to stop with story elements, because I definitely don't want to spoil anything major. 

          The action in this movie is definitely a highlight. Honestly, from start to finish, I was pretty much on the edge of my seat. No Time to Die also has possibly one of the longest pre-title sequences of all the James Bond films, and this includes both a prologue involving a childhood tragedy for Madeleine, as well as the Matera sequence where Bond is ambushed while visiting the grave of Vesper Lynd, his love interest from Casino Royale. 

         For what is his last outing as James Bond, Daniel Craig is definitely still bringing his A-game material to the forefront. Also, Lea Seydoux, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Christoph Waltz, Rory Kinnear, and Ralph Fiennes are terrific in the returning roles of Madeleine, Moneypenny, Q, Blofeld, Tanner, and M. Newcomers like Lashana Lynch and Ana de Armas are terrific as Nomi and Paloma, with Ana de Armas as Paloma being my favorite of the two. I also liked seeing the return of Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter. Having spent the last couple of months hearing his voice in Marvel's What If...? on Disney+, it was definitely great getting to see him back in the Bond series after being absent in both Skyfall and Spectre. Rami Malek is absolutely terrifying as the Safin. This guy is easily one of the most haunting villains of the series. 

        The biggest takeaway of No Time to Die is a sense of finality. Not only is this the last film of the Daniel Craig era of the Bond series, it also marks the closing of a five-film arc that began fifteen years ago with Casino Royale. Director Cary Fukunaga truly made this film the last ride for this version of James Bond. Now, does that mean there will be no more films? No. Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli will keep the series going with a new actor as James Bond, but it won't be a continuation of this run of the series. The way I see it, the Daniel Craig era works well as a standalone line of films in the Bond series, and it's very likely that the next actor to take on the role of James Bond will bring something unique to the series. But, we'll get to that when the time comes. 

       For now, I definitely enjoyed No Time to Die, and can't recommend it enough. With a ton of action, suspense, and an ending you won't see coming, I give the movie a rating of 5/5. This is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys next time.


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