No Time To Die

 

No Time To Die is the twenty-fifth film in the James Bond franchise as well as the fifth and final portrayal of Daniel Craig in the role of the British MI6 agent. It picks up where Spectre ended with Bond, having left active service, is attempting to close the chapter of his life Vesper Lynd, when he is recruited for a rescue mission, by his friend, CIA Agent Felix Leiter, reprised by the incomparable, Jeffrey Wright.

This plot was a proper finale for Craig’s Bond. It was high action, full of surprises and suspense. There were a lot of Easter eggs to pay homage to the previous movies over the last 60 years and the story, that started with Casino Royal in 2006 came full circle. 

Like all Bond films, it was filled with great acting from the entire cast. Craig did a great job portraying the growth of Bond from a more reckless, selfish, new 007 in Casino Royal until now, a more tenured, mature and selfless man. Lashana Lynch as Nomi was a breath of fresh air. I liked her confidence and dominance of the scenes. I also enjoyed the casting of Ana de Armas as Paloma. She was independent, likeable and formidable. Overall I liked how the women have evolved in the Bond series from pretty damsels in destress aka Bond Girls to autonomous, self-sufficient, diverse women. I hope that they continue this type of casting in the future. My only critique here is that I would have liked a bit more character development for some of the newer additions to the cast.

With this movie dropping six years after the release of Spectre, I obviously had my hopes up that this would be the best one yet. Unfortunately, it landed somewhere in the middle for me, when comparing all of Craig’s Bond movies. It didn’t come close to Casino Royal or Skyfall, but it was better than Spectre and Quantum of Solace. With that being said, I look forward to seeing how they continue to advance this franchise into the 21st century, and hope that some of the rising stars in this film make their way to the next adaptation.