Review of No Time to Die (2021) by Moviemitch96 — 12 Oct 2021

Well... Here it is. The end of an era. In his fifth and final act, Daniel Craig's James Bond finds himself forced out of retirement after trying to settle down in favor of a quiet life with Madeline Swann (Lea Seydoux), his love interest from the previous film 'Spectre'.

He is soon tasked with stopping an evil mastermind (Rami Malek) from unleashing a mysterious poison upon the world, all while grappling with demons from his past. I gotta be honest, I was really dreading this being the farewell film for Craig's Bond, as he's come to be my absolute favorite actor to portray the iconic British spy over the years.

His grounded, flawed, and realistic approach to the character has been unlike any other Bond actor who's come before him, making him a very sympathetic hero. So because I was so sad to see him go, I knew that this film would have to do him and his legacy he's created over the past 15 or so years of portraying the character some pretty solid justice, and fortunately I can report that justice is well-served for his bow-out here.

All loose-ends are tied off fittingly, and Bond is truly given the justice and sendoff that he deserved. On top of that, the action sequences are as intense and thrilling to watch as they've ever been in the series.

As far as performances go, Craig humanizes Bond more than ever here, and presents him as vulnerable and hesitant, which is something we've never fully seen in the character before. The amount of depth and layers that Craig adds to Bond here with his performance is truly remarkable.

Rami Malek is also worth singling out here. Despite playing a rather stereotypical-feeling Bond villain, he manages to make the most of it in a rather subtle and understated yet ultimately chilling and sinister way.

Other returning cast members such as Ralph Fiennes as M, Ben Whishaw as Q, Jeffrey Wright as Felix, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, and Christoph Waltz as Blofeld are all on-point with their performances as well.

The addition of some new kick-ass Bond women from actresses Lashana Lynch and Ana de Armas are also a warm welcome. As far as the story and sendoff goes, it does feel a little bit typical of a Bond plot, and while the farewell to Craig's Bond is rather fitting like I said, I will say that there were some aspects of it that felt a little bit rushed and predictable in the final moments, but is mostly overshadowed by the overall buildup to his final moments and the rest of the film's performances and stellar action.

I'll truly miss Craig's Bond, but his final film here was a certainly worthy conclusion that's right up there with 'Skyfall' as possibly my second favorite Craig Bond film behind 'Casino Royale' as my favorite.

Whoever replaces Craig from here certainly has large shoes to fill and quite the franchise to carry from here.