Prepare yourself…..

Reviewing a movie is always an interesting process. One where you have to take in the story, characters and scenes hopefully in an objective enough way to convince people why they should or shouldn’t watch a certain film (despite cinema clearly being a very subjective subject) and also letting your own bias be confirmed or denied when a movie from a franchise, actor or director you like meets or lets down your expectations. I say all this because since I’ve watched No Way to Die, I’ve questioned myself on my objectivity towards the movie, whether I’m not simply caught up in my own emotions because of it, emotions which this latest Bond movie itself conjured. But in this pondering, I’ve realized all this emotion is a good thing, positive effects of a movie truly getting to me, connecting with me in ways few others have, both this year and in general, speaking to its level of quality and how it will take you on an incredible, riveting journey comparable to the likes of Skyfall or Casino Royale. Simply put, it’s one of the best Bond movies ever produced, and I’m about to tell you why.

Picking up approximately 5 years after Spectre, the movie starts with Bond seemingly in a place of , surprisingly enough, romantic bliss and happiness, having settled down with his Spectre love interest Madelaine (played by Lea Seydoux) and the two traveling around the world together. Their relationship shows growth, having James act in a way that’s arguably unconventional for the character, with him bringing up the need to talk about feelings and secrets, something classical fans know James Bond would never do. It’s quite amusing however, and causes a slight bit of pain when that period of bliss is shattered almost instantly, and Bond is drawn back into the world of espionage, spying, assassins and villains that are a threat both at a global and personal scale for the character. New director Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective) adds his own unique spin to the Craig era, focusing on a lot of what made the best movies work ; an air of experimentation, focusing on Bond as a human who’s lived his life as a weapon , and the eternal grey that is the spying and espionage game. However he also brings a sense of weight and intensity to the film that other entries either never explored or only did so in some moments. This intensity comes in the movie’s emotional moments, many of which are carried by Bond and Daniel Craig’s performance of him, essentially focusing on what we saw in glimpses in movies like Skyfall and expanding it. Here Bond is constantly at war with himself, with the cold demeanor he has mastered for years clashing with the sense of hurt, betrayal and love lost that lies just underneath. It’s captivating, and sees the character once again given new life and layers by Craig in a way very few other Bond actors have.

Next to the intensity of emotion however is the intensity of the action. This movie leans into making every action scene more kinetic, from the fights to car chases to a highlight bar scene featuring one of the best new additions to the franchise in Ana de Armas’ Poloma. Fukunaga went out of his way to make sure you feel the energy in each action shot and it shows, making this also probably one of the best movies you can see in a cinema this year, as the sound design is perfect in scenes such as the one shown in the trailer in the woods of Norway. You literally hear bullets coming up from behind you if you’re watching it in a cinema, and the sensory experience alone makes it a tier above many action movies to come out this year.

The way the plot progresses adds an interesting approach too. There is an element of age-old familiarity with Bond going rogue for some time then coming back into MI6 later but that’s essentially expected for a Bond movie now. Instead the nuance of this plot is that in its aim to be the end of an era, it tries to borrow the best aspects and characters from the era too. Jefferey Wright’s Felix from Casino Royale is especially used effectively in his interactions with James, despite them being overall quite minimal. The same goes for Christopher Waltz’s Blofield who actually redeemed himself a bit here after trying and failing to be pitted as the ultimate enemy for James Bond in Spectre.

The most important character dynamics James has in this movie are predictably, his relationship with Madelaine and also his relationship with his now former boss M. The former acts of course as the main motivation for Bond, with the film’s villain Saffin essentially being a Bond villain version of an addicted stalker who can’t quite let someone go, causing him and Bond to clash while M stands as the look into the seedy side of espionage and the military again. Ralph Fiennes in fact plays this role to perfection, as now M is a little less of the iron-willed, no nonsense rulebook pusher he was in Skyfall, but sadly has fallen into positions of compromise and made bad calls, the kinds that actually require a veteran agent like Bond to call out, as everyone else is simply too afraid to.

It makes for a great sense of time and its passage as these characters all show how they’ve known each other for a while and interact with each other as such, Ben Winshaw’s Q and Naomie Harris’ Moneypenny included. The only disappointment here would be Bond’s dynamic with Lashana Lynch’s Nomi, aka the new 007. In what we expected to be at least an interesting rivalry a la’ Pierce Brosnan and Sean Bean’s 007 vs 006 rivalry in Goldeneye instead we mostly get Craig overshadowing the rookie by far and her only being unexplainably jealous towards her predecessor. It’s not heartbreaking, but it does feel like a missed opportunity. The aforementioned Paloma ends up being the more interesting female spy, and she has much less screen-time.

Thankfully Nomi isn’t one of the most important character relationships in the film, and gets overshadowed by what is front and center: turning this into the swan song that ties up every important thread from the past four Bond films. Spectre again tried to do the same but while it tried to incorporate as much world-building concepts from previous movies, No Time to Die instead focuses on showing the effects of the previous movies on James himself, from the trust issues seeded in Casino Royale to the guilt he carries for M’s death in Skyfall. It’s what makes every interaction he has with characters he knows hold water, and makes you feel the journey he’s been on , both the good and bad. Thankfully however, this weight never overstays it’s welcome, with writers like Phoebe Waller-Bridge adding an adequate amount of comedy that makes this movie surprisingly funny in many moments, though not to the point of killing it’s own tone. What ends coming together is a project that combines the best aspects of Bond (including a few gadgets and well placed classic puns), from the past four movies and beyond and being woven into a beautiful tapestry of the Craig era that’s only rivaled by movies like Avengers: Endgame in terms of an endearing sense of finality and satisfaction.

And when it comes down to it, that’s what No Time to Die truly is, an endearing and satisfactory end to one of the greatest eras in Bond films. Craig pulls off a scene stealing performance that makes viewers connect with him more than ever, and the supporting cast are all complementing him while being fleshed out in some of the best ways. Add in category-topping action scenes, sweeping cinematography and a sense of weight and finality that few other films can match, and you truly have a movie experience that every Bond fan should watch. Go watch it, seriously, now!

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