No Time to Die review – Bond is back, but not necessarily better than ever

Well, well, Mr Bond, we’ve been expecting you. For quite some time now. 

Hollywood’s biggest villain in recent years has not been Blofeld; it has been the coronavirus. The virus has been responsible for shutting down the entire global entertainment industry. But now, after 18 months of covid-induced delays, the new James Bond film has finally been released.

Yet the premise for the 25th instalment in the spy series eerily resembles the real world. If fiction is indeed meant to reflect reality, then No Time To Die is the most self-aware movie in a generation. 

With extraordinary prescience, the very film that cinema chains have been relying on to bring the industry back into the red depends on Bond dealing with the imminent threat of yet another virus.

Project Heracles is a bioweapon containing DNA-hijacking nanobots. The scientist developing it is kidnapped, and Heracles is stolen from a secret laboratory by SPECTRE – who in typical Bond fashion, plans to use it for nefarious means. Upon hearing the news, Bond – who has since retired to Jamaica – decides it’s time to save the world again. 

In an attempt to establish continuity and help develop Bond’s personal story, many familiar characters have been brought back. Christopher Waltz returns as Blofeld – although this time round his is imprisoned and plays a more secondary antagonist. Meanwhile, Madeleine Swann, Bond’s romantic interest from Spectre reprises her role. 

Establishing a backstory is essential if you want the audience to invest in a character’s development. But in No Time To Die, this feels extremely contrived. Especially when it comes to the spies’ love life. 

Director Cary Fukunaga has ramped Bond’s emotional story up to 11. For years we have been told that Bond is outdated. As far back as 1995’s Goldeneye, M informed Bond that he was a sexist, misogynist dinosaur, a “relic of the Cold War past”. It didn’t help when Fukunaga described the character as a rapist. To inject a bit of female empowerment into the franchise, Phoebe Waller-Bridge was hired to work alongside veteran Bond writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. 

As evidenced when Bond arrives at MI6 to learn he has been replaced by a non-white, non-male agent named Nomi. Played by Lashana Lynch, she is younger, smarter and more capable than Bond. But his quintessential English charm soon wins over our temporary 007, and she soon insists M must give Bond his old title back. As this is supposedly Craig’s final outing as the super spy, there have been countless calls for his successor to be played by a woman. Luckily producer Barbara Broccoli put her foot down and categorically denied this.  

Rami Malek is also back as Bond’s arch-nemesis Lyutsifer Safin. Now sporting a somewhat menacing facemask to cover his chemically scarred face, he really gets under Bond’s skin (no pun intended). In keeping with the emotive storyline, it is revealed that Safin has a rather sinister and complicated history with Swann, and this puts Bond’s relationship with her in serious jeopardy. A beautiful soundtrack from Hans Zimmer reinforces the emotional resonance.

Visually, No Time To Die is pure panoramic perfection. Stunning, technically proficient camerawork effortlessly captures breathtaking sunsets and landscaped vistas. Credit must go to cinematographer Linus Sandgren of La La Land fame for some gorgeous colour work. A captivating and stunning 23-minute opening sequence set in the Italian mountain town of Matera will placate even the harshest of critics. 

A Bond film is nothing without gadgets. And it’s quite clear that Q has been busy. We learn that he’s been developing a device called a Q-Dar – let’s just say it’s more suited to Ann Summer’s than MI6. 

Towards the end of the film, we are introduced to a stealth glider which instantly brings to mind Little Nellie, the gyrocopter from You Only Live Twice.

Malek’s performance as Safin is a bit one dimensional – reminiscent of Jared Leto’s portrayal of The Joker. It is common knowledge that all good Bond villains are driven and motivated by world domination – encapsulated perfectly by Javier Bardem in Skyfall. 

In No Time To Die, the character appears to be driven purely by revenge. Change is good, but Malek adds no depth to the role. I agree with Alan Partridge: stop getting Bond wrong.

No Time To Die vacillates between the ridiculous and the sublime. Stunning death-defying action sequences give way to an often contrived and convoluted plot. The scene where Bond travels to Cuba to track down the scientist feels incredibly drawn out and goes nowhere. 

Although a thoroughly enjoyable film, it is a bit long – it clocks in just short of three hours. The serialised nature that defines Craig’s legacy as Bond means the average viewer has to try and recall 15 years of interwoven backstory – as evidenced during my screening when I overheard someone close to me say, “wait, I thought he died in the last film?”

The last two Bond films (Skyfall and Spectre) drew a combined worldwide box-office just short of $2 billion. With an initial budget of $250 million, the protracted delay and mounting interest payments have caused this to skyrocket. 

No Time To Die needs $900 million to break even. But if anyone can rise to the challenge, it is Bond. 

No Time To Die won’t leave you shaken. But it might stir you.