Series Report Card: James Bond 007 (2021)

25. No Time to Die

Back in the sixties, seventies, and eighties, they used to crank out James Bond movies on a steady basis. Every other year or two, you could reliably count on seeing a new globe-trotting adventure from everyone's favorite sexist, alcoholic spy. That, of course, changed as the Soviet Union fell and the nineties started. The five year break between “License to Kill” and “GoldenEye” was the previous record for longest breaks between Bond adventures. “No Time to Kill” managed to match that span with a similarly embattled production. Danny Boyle was going to direct, following in Sam Mendes' footsteps as an Oscar-winning auteur stepping into the series. Boyle departed deep into pre-production, acclaimed TV director Cary Fukunaga taking over and scrapping everything Boyle had done. Then COVID hit and “No Time to Die” sat on a shelf for over a year, waiting for the world to kind of get back to something like normal. All of this is aside from Daniel Craig's much-mentioned reluctance to return at first. Well, now the wait is finally over and James Bond is back in theaters.

James Bond was ready to retire from the spying life, leaving it all behind to be with Madeleine Swann. While relaxing on a quasi-honeymoon, Bond is attacked by SPECTRE agents, becoming convinced Madeleine betrayed him. Five years pass, Bond living out his retirement in Jamaica. That's when a MI6 bioweapon, a programmable nanobot virus called Heracles, is stolen. Bond is lured out of retirement by the CIA to retrieve the geneticist, hiding out in Cuba. He instead steps right into a SPECTRE meeting, everyone being killed off by Heracles being sprayed into the room. Bond soon uncovers a plot by a mad man named Lyutsifer Safin, to take his revenge on SPECTRE, kidnap Madeleine Swann, and use Heracles to kill millions of people. Along the way, he meets the agent that replaced him as 007 and is reunited with Swann... Who has a five-year-old daughter.

“No Time to Die” is a Bond movie that embraces some of the series' traditions while breaking many others. Yet one tradition is keenly observed: The stylized opening credits and the pop hit theme song. The opening credits begin with a series of colorful circles, a likely homage to “Dr. No.” This is the first of several callbacks, including "Casino Royale's" playing card imagery and "Thunderball's" silhouetted scuba divers. Images of red blood cells, Noh masks, and Britannia being infected with Heracles appear alongside series' standards like firing guns and close-ups on naked women. Pretty cool stuff and among the better of the Craig era credits. As for the song, I was initially disappointed in Billy Ellish's "No Time to Die." After the weepy Sam Smith song last time, I was really hoping Ellish would bring some of that "Bad Guys" energy to her Bond theme. But it's grown on me with repeated listens, the boozy melodies slowly drawing me in. Ellish's smoky crooning is still perfect for this genre. 

Much was made of Phoebe Waller-Bridge contributing to "No Time to Die's" screenplay, leading to outcries that "woke" brigade was coming for Bond. This was a dumb controversy — Waller-Bridges' contributes were apparently fairly minor — but "No Time to Die" does make a calculated attempt to ease over Bond's more problematic aspects. During his retirement, a black woman named Nomi takes over the 007 designation. She is pointedly not a typical Bond girl, rebuffing any attempts to be seduced by him. In fact, Bond doesn't have sex with any new love interests in this film. What would normally be the supporting Bond babe to be bedded, Ana de Armas' Paloma, expresses no sexual interest in Bond at all. He even asks her to turn around when he changes into to his tuxedo!

While classical Bond's sexist behavior simply isn't acceptance anymore in 2021, I think there was a better way to re-calibrate the character than simply making him another sexless modern blockbuster action hero. Why not allow Bond to remain a sexual being while just making sure there's lots of enthusiastic consent beforehand? This is far from the only half-assed attempt to make Bond P.C. Lashana Lynch's 007 was introduced among lots of hype but she doesn't actually do much in the movie. Her action scenes are forgettable and Lynch's charisma is chained by having to play off the boys. De Armas' high-kicking, deceptively giggly character proves far-more memorable, despite having a much smaller role. "No Time to Die" is mostly another attempt by Hollywood to appear progressive without actually putting any work into it. 

Another reason Bond doesn't get laid much this time is because he spends almost the entire movie moping around with a broken heart. With this officially being the ending chapter of Craig's tenure as Bond, trust issues in his love life have emerged as the defining characteristic of his take on the character. Vesper Lynn, buried for fifteen years now, is brought up again before Bond suffers his latest heartbreak at Swann's hands. Craig brings his dynamite smirk and sense of cold coolness to many scenes. He's having a good time but the script remains overly maudlin. Must we linger quite so much on Bond's unresolved romantic crises? "Quantum of Solace" was an entire movie devoted to that and I'm a little tired of the series returning to that well so often. 

Yet this, in many ways, reflects what has been a big problem all throughout the Craig era of Bond: Each movie has seemingly promised to be the origin story for the character. "Casino Royale's" still perfect ending had Craig emerge as the cold-as-ice blunt instrument assassin Bond is suppose to be. "Skyfall" seemed to re-establish the classic set-up of Bond flirting with Moneypenny, walking into M's office, and receiving his assignment for the movie. And each movie, this one included, has been fixated on the question of "does the world still need Bond?" "No Time to Die" makes sure to have Craig speak directly into the camera as he explains why a hard-drinking, globe-trotting super spy will always be necessary. In retrospect, the Craig era has felt like a long game of teasing, each movie announcing "Bond is Back!" with the next installment never delivering on that promise. Not to mention a distracting, neurotic need for the series to justify its own existence. 

Despite "No Time to Die's" constant need to be of-the-moment, it works best when accidentally invoking the current state of the world. "No Time to Die" was filmed before COVID changed everything forever but its plot, of a villain threatening to unleash a globally devastating virus, seems shockingly relevant. We all know now the stakes of such a threat. Similarly, "No Time to Die" takes place in a more fractured world, government agencies no longer being willing to collaborate. Even its story of rival secret societies and supervillains competing against each other seems to speak to a world where more people than ever buy into insane conspiracy theories. This certainly helps a Bond adventure with the most outlandish sci-fi gadgets since "Die Another Day," like those near-future nanobots and some far-fetched mag-lift tech, feel more grounded. 

Yet the villain in "No Time to Die" left me with a few lingering questions. Like "Skyfall's" Raoul Silva, Lyutsifer Safin's plot is mostly about getting revenge and a fixation on a female in Bond's life. This explains his grudge against SPECTRE and his fixation on Madeleine Swann. Yet the reason why he plans to unleash a population devastating virus on the globe are foggy at best. Safin's rants about overpopulation and resources mostly makes him seem like a thinly-sketched attempt to emulate Marvel's Thanos. Rami Malek is perfectly serviceable in the role, coldly explaining his schemes and staring with a creepy glare. But the decision to cast the forty year old Malek as a character that's at least ten years older, and compensating by covering his face in make-up, is distracting. Why not just cast an older actor? And for all of "No Time to Die's" attempts to be politically correct, it uncritically invokes the orientalist aspects of Bond villains like Dr. No — who the Noh mask wearing Safin was obviously inspired by — by outfitting his island lair with a zen garden, chabudai tables, and kimonos. 

But maybe I'm overthinking it. We go to Bond movies to see exotic locations and elaborate action scenes. The movie certainly has plenty of the latter. The chase through the streets of Matera, which features some phenomenal vehicular stunts and an impressive leap from a stone bridge, is a trademark impressive Bond opening. Another vehicular chase – which features some gorgeous flips and crashes – climaxes with a pursuit through the foggy woods of Norway, which is among the film's most exciting sequences. The climatic attack is set in a drag industrial factory but it does feature some well choreographed close quarters combat and intense long takes. I got some “John Wick” vibes from these scenes, which goes to show how influential that series has become when Bond is emulating it.

While the final act might be a bit heavy on the grey and gunmetal, “No Time to Die” does feature some colorful cinematography. Linus Sandgren, an Oscar winner for “La La Land,” is our cinematographer. He can't top Roger Deakins' work on “Skyfall” but this is still a very good looking movie. The extended sequence in Cuba features lots of bright blues, greens, and even some warmer oranges. That is another high-light of the film, especially the way the action theatrics escalate. The first scene, set alongside a frozen lake, is also memorably photographed. Whatever it's flaws, “No Time to Die” is an excellent looking movie and Fukunaga does an admirable job directing.

“No Time to Die” is determined to be the grand finale for the Daniel Craig iteration of this character. Which means the series remains utterly committed to serialized storytelling, in a franchise that was satisfied to tell episodic stories for four decades. It's a direct sequel to “SPECTRE,” building specifically on characters and events from “Casino Royale” and “Quantum of Solace.” On one hand, I don't mind this too much. It's great to see Jeffrey Wright and Christoph Waltz as Felix Leither and Blofeld again. Yet it's also frustrating the Craig films have been so determined to link stories that might've worked better if they were allowed to stand alone. Was anyone that invested in Madeleine Swann anyway? And that's coming from someone who actually really liked “SPECTRE!” But I guess non-serialized storytelling is harder to find in blockbuster filmmaking, which is increasingly influenced by television. James Bond will survive, with a new actor and probably another complete continuity reboot. Because someone seems to think audiences can't swallow a character's face and age changing without explanation between movies. 

Ultimately, “No Time to Die” represents the long-running franchise during a time of transition. All of the Craig films have struggled to make Bond aesthetically palatable in this day and age. This latest entrance is especially concerned with making Bond work during our particular cultural, political moment. Yet the result seems to have sucked the sexy style out of the character a little bit, leaving us with a Bond adventure that is a bit too sappy and too self-satisfied with its status as Craig's final outing. The supporting cast is still strong, the action is generally good, and the general outline of the story is sturdy enough. Craig is and always will be a fine Bond, when the films allowed him to embody the part. The result is among the more divisive entry in the 59 year espionage legacy, with some loving it and some being more mixed it. I came away enjoying parts of “No Time to Die” but ultimately being dissatisfied with certain elements of it. [Grade: C+]

[THE 007 SEVEN: 6 outta 7]

[X] Destroys Evil Doer’s Lair

[X] Drinks or Orders a Vodka Martini

[] Gets Captured and/or Tortured

[X] Introduces Himself as “Bond – James Bond”

[X] Teams-Up with Felix Leiter

[X] Uses Judo or a Walther PPK to Dispose of an Enemy

[X] Wears a Tux