Reviewed by Victor Rebikoff.
Director: Gary Joji Fukunaga, MGM and Universal Pictures, M 163 Minutes.
The 25th Bond movie in the series, delayed for two years due to the COVID pandemic, has finally hit the big screen and is the last time that Daniel Craig will play the popular Bond character.
At the helm of the huge production (which runs for 163 minutes) is from novel filmmaker Gary Joji Fukunaga (TV Series – ‘True Detectives’), his first time in directing any Bond film.
The opening scenes first reveal (Bond’s lover) Madeleine as a young girl seen witnessing her mother’s murder by Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek – ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’) in a kabuki mask before following on from the closing sequence of the previous Bond movie (‘Spectre’).
Five years later Bond, having left the secret service, is holidaying in Italy with Madeleine (Lea Seydoux), accepts her suggestion to visit the grave of former lover Vesper Lind (‘Casino Royale’) but finds himself under attack from Spectre assassins.
Bond then blames Madeleine for her betrayal prior to breaking off their relationship just as CIA agent Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright – TV ‘Westworld) asks him for help to rescue kidnapped scientist Obruchev (David Dencik – ‘Serena’) unaware of his Safin connection.
This sees Bond return as a secret agent unaware of agent Nomi (Lashana Lynch – ‘Captain Marvel’) replacing him as 007 in time to join forces to thwart the spread of the bio – chemical virus that attacks an individual’s DNA.
With the backing of M (Ralph Fiennes) and Q (Ben Wishaw), Bond along with Nomi infiltrate the island where Safin has mass-produced significant supplies of the lethal chemical before finding that Madeleine is being held as Safin’s hostage.
Following Nomi’s disposal of the treacherous Obruchev it remains for Bond to deal with Safin in a do-or-die scene, rescue Madeleine and destroy all the deadly capsules containing the ‘weapons of mass destruction’ before blowing up the island.
Some may question whether Fukunaga’s overlong production with its serious and somber tone has achieved its objective in pleasing most of the Bond fans since the series began in the ‘60s.
In particular has Fukunaga’s movie actually provided a swansong for Craig in his final appearance by sending him off with a bang or should he have had the opportunity to ride into the sunset with his beloved Madeleine.
Without any doubt Craig’s performance has been incomparable, cementing him as the best ever bond which is complemented by Seydoux’s pleasing portrayal as Madeleine – in spite of Malek playing only a minimal role in the overall plot.
Although ‘No Time to Die’ has many emotive and explosive scenes it still delivers an enjoyable and exhilarating experience; alternatively should ‘No Time to Cry’ be more appropriate due to Bond’s dramatic demise and the emotionally-charged song “We have all the time in the world” (sung in the Bond movie ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’)
Vic’s Verdict: 3 ½ Stars