In 2005,
Christopher Nolan changed the landscape of franchise films with his dark,
gritty Batman Begins. A similarly dark and gritty reboot of James Bond
followed with 2006's Casino Royale. I thoroughly enjoyed both Nolan's
Batman trilogy and Casino Royale. They're excellent films and they felt
fresh and different at the time. But after director Cary Joji Fukunaga's No
Time to Die, which will be Daniel Craig's final outing as Bond, I find
myself longing for a sense of fun and adventure to return to franchise films.
Bond finds out
his love Madeleine (Lea Seydoux) has a secret association with new supervillain
Safin (Rami Malek). Safin is developing a bioweapon that will turn individual
people into weapons infecting specific targets.
At 2 hours and
43 minutes, No Time to Die is easily the longest Bond film ever,
probably because it's trying to find stuff to do for all of the old characters
while still introducing new ones like the spy Nomi (Lashana Lynch). The best
new addition is Ana de Armas (Knives Out) as Paloma. Sadly, her role is
far too small but she is a delight.
It's hard to discuss the rest of No Time to Die without spoilers. It's by no means a bad film, and Craig has done a good job as Bond. But it's too long and too dour for me to ever think I'll want to re-watch it.
**1/2 stars (out of four)
