When MGM/Sony announced Daniel Craig as the newest James Bond in 2005, the feedback wasn’t too different from the reaction to the material heard in Dave Chappelle’s most recent Netflix special. The press produced scores of articles trashing the choice while fans of the character threatened to boycott the films if he remained in the role. All of that came before a single scene of Craig’s debut as Bond, Casino Royale, was ever shot.
Fast forward 15 years, $3.2 billion in box office gross from four films, and a ton of backtracking, we’ve reached the end of Craig’s tenure as the iconic agent with his fifth and parting turn as 007 in No Time to Die. Picking up not too far after the events of Spectre, a retired Bond returns to action for a mission that involves rescuing a kidnapped scientist and foiling a mysterious villain’s plans to use a deadly new technology to bring the world to its knees.
The last cinematic farewell we saw of this magnitude was when Hugh Jackman said goodbye to Wolverine with Logan, and it was absolute perfection. With everything Craig has given to the James Bond franchise, is No Time to Die the fitting sendoff he warrants?
Watching No Time to Die was an experience akin to witnessing a similar circumstance in a different setting on April 13, 2016 - the final game of the late, great Kobe Bryant’s career. There’s an outstanding individual performance and some flaws.
In his last act on the court, Bryant put on a farewell performance for the ages scoring 60 points using the moves and scoring prowess that made him great. Craig does the same with his time in that same position in front of the camera. He shows the range that made his detractors look foolish for initially hating his selection with transitions from debonair to certified head bussa with ease and a lighter side courtesy of a much lighter Bond script than usual.
Craig does receive some support from Lashana Lynch and Ana de Armas as they are the D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson, respectively, to Craig’s Bryant. The ladies were highly entertaining in their limited screentime in their banter with Craig and their action sequences. Also, like Russell and Clarkson, Lynch and de Armas might be better independent of the star they supported because they held their own. It would be wise for the studio to explore creating a spinoff for the ladies similar to what the Fast and Furious franchise did with the Hobbs and Shaw characters.
Sadly, some elements undermine the performances of Bryant and Craig. For Bryant, it was an ugly first half in which he shot poorly and the lost athleticism was evident. In Craig’s case, it was the script, which 1) continued what’s become an ongoing problem of not maximizing the use of Bond villains and 2) had far too much lightheartedness.
The issue with the villain is glaring because there is never a good reason to restrict a talent like Rami Malek to limited minutes in a 2 hour and 43-minute movie. While the increased focus on the human sides of Bond is welcomed, it shouldn’t have come at the cost of almost erasing the villain, especially with that runtime.
Sean Connery was the blueprint. Roger Moore ushered him into the modern era. Pierce Brosnan brought him back to life after Timothy Dalton’s stint bored everyone to death. Nevertheless, Daniel Craig is the best James Bond of all time because he made the franchise relevant to audiences who evolved beyond the Bond films of old and demanded more complexity and authenticity in their action-thriller movies. His work in No Time to Die is yet another example of why it makes sense to mention him as such. With the range to portray the most realistic and entertaining Bond, Craig almost single-handedly carries the film to a quality it lacked the foundation to attain.
The void of a true villainous presence is problematic and hurts No Time to Die tremendously. It's understandable that this is meant to be Craig’s show is understood, but the film would have made it so much better if his adversary was given more attention.
However, that flaw is still not enough to make me throw the whole film away. If you’ve followed the Bond series, No Time to Die is a must-see, at least just to see the best Bond ever do it one more time. Otherwise, it’s still a solid watch.
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