Review, A Reggie Review of 007 'No Time To Die'

Just like how Ian Fleming's popular MI6 agent, James Bond 007, takes regular sabbaticals; only to return to form at the drop of a hat... I'm back to review the newest instalment in the hit franchise; 'No Time To Die'.

I will try to keep this spoiler free (until the announced spoiler section at the bottom) but as normal, there may be a few minor details divulged you may not wish to know ahead of seeing the movie yourself so be warned.

"If we don't do this, there will be nothing left to save!" - James Bond

As with all Craig's 007 movies, 'No Time To Die' is cannon to the previously released in the series therefore it would undoubtedly help to have some understanding of what came to a close in the previous movies (mainly that regarding Blofeld and Spectre) if only to add some weight and gravity to the main characters and their ongoing development.

The opening to the movie is a lengthy flashback, setting up the villain 'Safin', played by Rami Malek rather than a high octane fight seen in previous instalments of the saga. The change of pace, so early on, is somewhat jarring but sets up the 'second intro' to the movie rather well so don't be too worried.

With Blofleld in a high security prison and Spectre seemingly defeated once and for all, James looks to once again retire; this time with Madeleine Swann, played by Lea Seydoux, and hopes to leave his life as a 00 behind. Now as fun as it would be to watch a 3 hour film of Bond sunning it up in a retirement home, things don't go quite to plan, and Swann's past ultimately catches up to her, throwing chaos into the initial tranquil opening scenes of the movie.

This is where we get our first splash of action and my how it doesn't disappoint. The location, the vehicles, the gadgets, the danger, the stunts, the shock... it's all there early on and we are even treated to our first (of many) witty one liners from Bond, which nicely took me back to memories of the older generation of 007 movies when the odd but funny quotes were all the range. The movie does well to give subtle nods here and there to the aged formula, whilst also retaining a modernised look at the agents, the lifestyle and modern day values we implore today.

"License to kill, history of violence... I could be speaking to my own reflection. Only your skills will die with your body, while mine will survive long after I'm gone." - Safin

Over the course of the film there are copious amounts of characters to get invested into but some of the better performances come from the side characters; with Ana de Armas's nervous yet humorous 'Paloma' being one of my favourites, and its these intricate new faces that keep the lengthy movie feeling fresh and interesting throughout. Sadly it's the main characters that fall flat, with Rami's - Safin, being one of the worst villains I've seen in a bond movie for a while. The character isn't nearly fleshed out enough nor do we really have a good insight into his plans or motives for being evil.

Lashana Lynch does a good enough job at bringing 00 agent, Nomi, to life with a steadily developing character and personality; however she's not half as interesting as she should be at this time (as an introduction to the character its fine but is lacking anything weighted to invest into) I'll discuss thoughts on her in more detail later.

The progression of the film is fine, with very few scenes being exhausted of tension or action and with very little being boring enough to be cut. However, as with most other Bond films, the plot is just a simple cat and mouse act, one chases one then one chases the other and then x gets captured so x chases them again etc so don't be expecting anything breaking that repeated pattern of events. It's the stunning set locations (which include Norway, Italy, Faroe Islands and Jamaica to name a few) that help keep the pace and plot of the movie feeling fresh and vibrant throughout, resulting in some beautiful and varying shots for all to appreciate.

The opening song by Billie Eilish, of the same name as the film, is a haunting yet beautiful track with a melody that can be heard on various occasions throughout the movie; with Hans Zimmer's operatic team twisting the tune to suit the purpose of the scene even making an occasional sad lullaby like undertone to the later parts of the movie. There are also trills and sound bites from the classic movies thrown in throughout which again feeds into a nice feeling of nostalgia and homage to the greats.

“The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.” - M

!!! SPOILER TIME !!!

It's not unknown now that this is Craig's final stab at James Bond, 007, and the film does a great job of bringing his saga to a definitive close in a way that leaves the audience holding back tears with the final scenes coming to a close following Bonds final sacrifice, his life. In my opinion with the whole film being focused around James saving the woman he loves and having to come out of retirement once again in order to save the world, it would have been nice to see Bond finally holster his gun and get the much deserved 'happy ending', however the writers clearly wanted to leave no chance of his return or speculation on the characters reform.

My only real concern now is what they plan to do next with the 007 film franchise. It's heavily implied that Nomi will reclaim her title as 007 (she was assigned the number in Bonds absence) and the films that follow will perhaps follow her on missions across the world. However; with the character being cold at times, coupled with her worryingly killing an unarmed scientist in a horrific manor, I'd be more interested in seeing her return as a villain of sorts (similar to Sean Bean's 006 in Goldeneye) and perhaps Paloma being the next protagonist we follow.

All in all, the film doesn't disappoint and fans of the action packed 007 movies will surely be left satisfied enough but it doesn't quite hit the high marks of Casino Royale or Skyfall for me.

Reggie Reviews - 7/10

Trailer