‘No Time To Die’ Was The Perfect End To Daniel Craig’s James Bond
Universal Studios
Daniel Craig and Ana de Armas star in No Time To Die, the final installment of Craig’s James Bond portrayal.
November 6, 2021
Daniel Craig’s last movie as James Bond, No Time to Die, had high expectations to fulfill. Craig has played Bond for about 15 years now, and seeing someone else playing the character is definitely going to be a huge adjustment. Nonetheless, this movie was clearly written to make an impact, and that’s what it did.
As usual, the action sequences are as exciting and high risk as usual in this franchise. The diverse areas where various scenes in the movie are filmed are nothing short of stunning, as Bond moves from Italy to Norway to Jamaica and London. This movie in particular was shot in much more of a “darker” way, with the first scene happening in an isolated cabin next to a frozen lake. The overall tone is a lot less lighthearted than previous movies. Overall, this movie was very experimental in both how it portrays its characters and how the plot itself was executed.
The side characters are given much more depth and character development. Paloma (Ana de Armas) definitely deserved much more screen time, as she fights stylishly beside Bond in the beginning of the movie – she is someone I would definitely like to see more of. Nomi (Lashana Lynch) is shown to be just as dangerous and quick-witted as Bond himself and equally worthy of holding the 007 title. Q (Ben Whishaw) is given a much more important character, being there to actively aid Bond throughout almost all of the movie.
Madeleine (Lea Seydoux) in particular is given a much more prominent role than women in previous movies. She isn’t there just to be a side character that only exists to help him; she has her own person with her own goals and motives that intertwine with but are separate from Bond’s. She alone is just as entertaining to watch as Bond himself, and her presence breaks many stereotypes the franchise has built up over the years.
James Bond is given much more complexity and is shown as being much more emotional than in previous movies. In a way he is more like an actual person; he acts and is treated as much more human, rather than staying as a one-dimensional character, and all the events that have taken place in previous movies are shown to have actually affected him.
No Time to Die displays how Bond has evolved over the years, or movies, and almost compares the newer movies to older ones. Every James Bond who is played by a different actor is different. They have all created their own versions of him, and Daniel Craig’s might be the most impactful.
One of the key differences between Craig’s version of Bond and the previous ones is that he isn’t immortal. In previous movies, no matter how dangerous the situation or how low his chances of survival are, he could simply fire a few guns and punch a few people to make it out alive. This Bond, however, chooses not to charm or fight his way out of all of his problems; instead, he allows time to catch up with him.
Despite all of this, however, the plot was far from perfect. The movie was two hours and 43 minutes long and sometimes, more isn’t always better. It moved either too slow or too fast and its featured villains were disappointingly bland. But while it is most certainly not a perfect movie, it fits perfectly as Daniel Craig’s grand finale, and it will definitely have an impact on the James Bond franchise as a whole.
