'No Time to Die' review: A bittersweet end to Daniel Craig's 007
Much has been made about Daniel Craig’s exit from playing James Bond. He’s been hinting that the time has come to give up the tuxedo and martini since the press junket of the last 007 adventure, “Spectre.” But perhaps after seeing the dreadful artistic results from that outing, he had second thoughts and decided to go out on top with one last mission. Sadly, his latest and final assignment, “No Time to Die,” is a mixed bag of lunacy, a movie that starts strong but quickly loses its way after the opening credits.
It certainly doesn’t help matters that “No Time to Die” is a direct sequel to “Spectre,” also known as the worst Daniel Craig/James Bond entry. When your foundation is as bad and misguided as that movie, the story is immediately at a disadvantage.
The prologue is one of the staples of the James Bond franchise and “No Time to Die” has two of them, both of them different in tone and equally good. The first introduces a masked assassin who has come for revenge and finds a French mom passed out on too much wine and a young girl watching Wallace and Gromit’s “The Wrong Trousers” on TV. The cat-and-mouse rhythm of this sequence almost plays like a horror film and has an unexpected conclusion that will tie up loose ends toward the end of the film.
Following this tense short is a flash forward to present day James Bond, immediately following the outcome of “Spectre’s” finale. He’s relaxing with new love Madeleine Swan (Lea Seydoux) but unable to shake the emotional demons from his past. But all of that takes a backseat as henchmen have discovered 007’s location and the action kicks into high gear. This is one of the few sequences where the action is concise and fun, a nice appetizer before the opening credits but unfortunately the peak of the film’s enjoyment.
The rest of “No Time to Die” wastes its almost 3-hour-runtime navigating old characters and introducing new ones without much time for depth or character development. Sometimes both things happen at once, disregarding logic, and only existing to further the muddled plot along. Even the film’s villain, the lizard-skinned Safin (Rami Malek), can’t save the movie. He actually makes things worse, popping up to divulge expository dialogue and surprises we can see coming a mile away, while also boasting about an evil plan that doesn’t make much sense. It’s something about world domination through a deadly virus spread through humans, that while shoddily planned, will no doubt give moviegoers Covid red flags.
Despite the shambled story, “No Time to Die’s” saving grace lies in its cast. Supporting players Ralph Fiennes, Jeffrey Wright, Ben Whishaw and Christoph Waltz have all been in previous Bond movies and they continue their strong work here as well. Newcomers, Lashana Lynch and Ana de Armas also manage to make a strong impression despite limited resources as well as director Cary Joji Fukanaga (“Sin Nombre”). “No Time to Die” is a missed opportunity to send Daniel Craig’s James Bond out on a high note, making the send off more of a whimper instead.
Grade: C
“No Time to Die” is now playing in theaters.
