No Time to Die
Year: 2021
Rating: PG-13
Length: 163 minutes / 2.72 hours
Daniel Craig is my James Bond. I was too young for the Pierce Brosnan version of the secret agent, so when a re-do of Casino Royale (2006) came out, I was impressed that this decades-old franchise could take some cues from recent successful action films like The Bourne Identity (2002). Having seen a smattering of other Bond films over the years, the five-movie quintet that ended with No Time to Die (2021) felt bittersweet. Even if there were constant rumors that Daniel Craig was done with the role after Spectre (2015), I’m glad he stuck the landing with this movie.
Now, I’m fairly biased when it comes to Bond films. I think Skyfall (2012) is the peak of the franchise. Not only did it cover Bond’s backstory, but it also pulled a huge twist right at the end to connect it to every previous Bond film, which had me exclaiming in the theater. With this in mind, I appreciate how the five Daniel Craig Bond films have kept a sense of continuity between themselves and weren’t just one-offs with “Deus ex Machina” results. What’s great about this approach is how perfectly No Time to Die wraps up all the loose ends.
I can also appreciate how No Time to Die subverted the standard tropes of Bond films. This ties directly to how all actions in this sub-series of the Bond franchise have consequences. I don’t want to get into too many details so as to not spoil anything, but this movie showed that adapting to modern sensibilities would not be the end of the world. After all, a character like James Bond isn’t the role model he once was in the misogynistic 1960s.
A fitting end to Daniel Craig’s tenure as James Bond, I give No Time to Die 4.5 stars out of 5.
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