James Bond is the quintessential superspy who gets the girl while sipping on shaken martinis. This does not change in the latest movie starring Daniel Craig as James Bond, ‘No Time to Die,’ released October 8th, 2021. Due to the postponing of this widely anticipated release, Craig is now the longest running Bond actor.
The movie had all the iconic cliches of a Bond movie but it didn’t feel ironic or self-aware, which is something many later installments of franchises aim for nowadays. They pulled no punches with over-the-top explosions and monologuing villains all being prominent in the movie. Since it is Craig’s last movie as Bond, it makes sense that they would lean heavily on what made the spy so iconic to begin with.
Still, sometimes it felt like the movie relied too heavily on nostalgia, instead of focusing on adding something new to the franchise. Occasionally, there’d be callbacks to previous movies or cheesy one-liners that didn’t feel completely natural with what was going on on-screen.
Craig, once again, proved himself to be worthy of the role, with a type of acting that fit in well with the stoic, suave character. Still, he proved with ‘Knives Out’ that he’s capable of more versatility and much of it was used in this movie’s more emotional beats.
Additionally, ‘No Time to Die’ introduced some shocking new characters that hinted towards the continuing of the 007 franchise. Although previously, the quintessential superspy has been played by a variety of actors, this would certainly be a new, unprecedented take on the role, and it would be extremely exciting to see. The character foreshadowed to reprise the role had a great chemistry with all characters that might be brought back in the future and the actor that plays them has the right type of charisma for a familiar but still fresh take on the character.
The film also explored some interesting and compelling dynamics that Bond had with other characters, both new and established.
Although the movie did leave something to be desired in the sense of comedic timing, it was still a good resolution to this Bond’s time on screen. It was as fast-paced and fun as the first Bond movie almost sixty years ago and it was a solid way to end this era of James Bond. It is certain that there will be more 007 content and if there’s anything more exciting than the explosions and the missile-launching luxury cars, it’s waiting to see how they will reprise the roll. Overall, this movie gets a well-deserved 8/10.
Laura Pinto Alton // Staff Writer
