The end of an era. The movie that took FOREVER to make. So many director changes. Then a pandemic. But it’s here and I saw it twice in order to write this review!
Plot in twenty words or less: Bond has trust issues and dies shortly after finding out he’s a father. Also the UK dabbles in biological weapons.
How it’s aged: This question was much more relevant when I was watching the old movies, but given how ridiculously long it took for this movie to come out, I think it’s still kind of a relevant question to ask. Part of me wonders if the sudden jump to “five years later” at the beginning of the film was to accommodate the lag time in filming? Or was that always going to be part of the storyline? How much of the biological weapon nanobots storyline had been written or filmed when the COVID-19 pandemic began?
Something that was just weird and/or WTF y’all: Q presumably has a very high security clearance. Do we think he can actually get into the MI6 computer system from his kitchen? Or does Q have a remote work option? Also, during the chase scenes with Bond, Madeleine and Mathilde in the car, my friend Birdie* leaned over and said “there is no way this kid would ever be this calm.”
Obligatory feminist commentary: The big PR buzz (two years ago!! that’s how long this movie has taken!!) around No Time To Die provoked a huge amount of obligatory feminist commentary already with the casting of Lashana Lynch as a 00 agent assigned as 007 after James Bond had presumably left MI6 service. This predictably provoked huge amounts of sexist and racist commentary from many Bond fans. I think what’s more interesting to think about is…. why did she ask M to give the 007 code name back to Bond before the mission to Safin’s island? The death of Bond at the end troubles the continuity theory, but I can’t help but wonder if her giving the code name back to Bond has something to do with character continuity or transitions in the next movie.
Completely hypothetical cultural reference points: The faceless groups of people in suits working to scoop around bits of stuff out of the water of the nuclear bunker was classic Cold War-era Bond.
Superficial Thing that did not Amuse Me: In the opening scene with Madeleine as a child, she is playing with some kind of thing that seems like an off-brand Tamagotchi. She is presumably in her thirties or maaaaaybe early forties placing the opening scene presumably in the late 1980s or early 1990s. The timing for this kind of childhood technology seems off to me.
Superficial Thing that highly Amused Me: Bond grabbing a martini from a tray at the Spectre party in Cuba, downing it, throwing the glass across the floor while storming out the building is a whole mood. It’s hard to make binge drinking look this cool.
Interesting and possibly dubious thing I learned from Wikipedia: Phoebe Waller-Bridge is only the second woman to have a Bond movie screenwriter credit – and the first since the Sean Connery era (!!). Daniel Craig requested her to do the script rewrite (!!!!).
Some closing thoughts on the end of the Daniel Craig era: Did you make it all the way to the end of this review? Congratulations. I bet if you read entire movie blog reviews by a total amateur, you have a 50/50 shot of also watching the end of the movie credits. In which case you’ll already know that at the end of the No Time To Die credits, the final screen rolls by assuring us, once again, that “JAMES BOND WILL RETURN.” Phew!!! I for one, am quite relieved because I’ve been a touch worried that this is truly the end of the Bond line and the Broccoli family was trying to put off telling everyone as long as possible.
Reader, I cried at the end of No Time To Die (both times). I didn’t read many spoilers and kept myself relatively in the dark about the plot, but I also knew Daniel Craig was going to be truly Done and my mom (who is living her best retirement life and doing things like seeing Bond movies in the middle of a Thursday while enjoying a $5 martini) warned me it was a tear jerker so I was relatively prepared to say goodbye. But I did not see the death of Felix Leiter coming in this movie, and that fucked me up. I think there are a lot of questions around whether the other prior movie background characters like M, Q, Moneypenny, and Tanner will be around in the next installment. With the death of Felix, this brings up huge questions for me. Or maybe the Brits are just sick of dealing with Americans.
I don’t have strong feelings about who the new Bond should be, except that I still feel that the next Bond needs a lighter touch. I always want Bond to have swagger, but please let the next one also have some joie de vivre and to make me laugh a little bit more often. Uh, maybe more women screenwriters could help with this? For some time I was Team Idris Elba for the new Bond, but I am slowly shifting to thinking we need a younger Bond for at least a 2-3 movie run. That said, I’m not super into Ralph Fiennes as M because Judi Dench set the bar so high, and Idris Elba might be the next best M since Judi Dench.
Saying goodbye to Daniel Craig as Bond feels momentous and sad, even if it’s very clearly time for a new Bond. Daniel Craig is my second favorite Bond (Roger Moore is King), and now holds the record as the longest-running Bond actor. I started this blog eight years ago during the Daniel Craig era, during a period in my life when I was living with a great deal of uncertainty about my future related to my career and finishing grad school and where I would live next. Starting the Bond blog and having my ritual of watching a movie every few weeks was a great anchor, but it also gave me a small sense of agency and control over one small bit of my life when I felt like so many aspects of my life were in the hands of others – a sense of frustration and alienation that Daniel Craig’s portrayal of Bond also frequently grappled with. I’ll miss Daniel Craig quite a bit. Cheers to what he does next, and to the new James Bond’s return.
Martini rating: Five martinis 
Administrative information concerning this viewing:
Drinks consumed: Beer (Round 1 & Round 2)
Food eaten: Salad with grilled chicken (Round 1), Twizzlers (Round 2)
Viewed on: October 25 (Round 1), November 4 (Round 2)
Viewing Partner: Husband, Fausto Fildalgo Cide, Brigitte Mancrusher (Round 1), Birdie Bisous (Round 2)
*Not their real names. All my viewing buddies have chosen their Bond aliases.