Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (Jane Eyre; Beasts of No Nation; True Detective (TV series)) and starring Daniel Craig (Skyfall; Spectre; Quantum of Solace; Knives Out; The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn; The Golden Compass), Léa Seydoux (Spectre; Midnight in Paris; The Lobster; The Grand Budapest Hotel; Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol; Inglourious Basterds), Ana de Armas (Knives Out; Blade Runner 2049; The Informer), Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody; Mr Robot; Papillon; Night at the Museum; Ain't Them Bodies Saints), Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient; Schindler's List; The Grand Budapest Hotel; The Constant Gardener; Red Dragon; The Dig) and Ben Whishaw (The Lobster; Mary Poppins Returns; The Personal History of David Copperfield; Spectre; The Danish Girl; Paddington).
Action adventure, 163 mins, 12+
Daniel Craig's final outing as 007 sees him retired and settled down (married?) with Madeleine (Léa Seydoux) whose past catches up with her in a 25-minute opening sequence, only after which does Billie Eilish's theme song spark the opening credits...
In true James Bond style, his globetrotting exploits see the film's characters in Italy, Jamaica, Norway, London and near Japan too.
The film's synopsis informs us rather blandly "James Bond has left active service. His peace is short-lived when Felix Leiter, an old friend from the CIA, turns up asking for help, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology". So far, this tells us (almost) nothing, but it also tells us that is going to be an action film where James Bond is after the bad guy, Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek), and we see very early on that he has a glamorous woman on his arm, Madeleine, with Paloma (Ana de Armas) on the evil side.
The film originally had Danny Boyle to direct and co-write the screenplay with John Hodge; however, both left due to what were described as "creative differences", with Fukunaga, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and others brought in to replace them - one can only imagine what could have been...
This was a fitting parting for Daniel Craig: while it was good, and riveting in parts, it didn't quite scale the heights of Skyfall. Unusually for Bond films, one of the central characters was a child which in one way made it feel a bit less "Bond" and more a regular action film. James Bond had not been portrayed in this way before, and maybe it was time that he had been, but it sort of took away from his legendary persona.
However, there was plenty to remind us of the British Secret Service, with M (Ralph Fiennes) and Q (Ben Whishaw) both featuring in several scenes, the latter supplying the customary couple of gadgets. There are car chases too, underwater scenes and plenty of explosions.
It was the same but different...
So, the one question on everyon's lips is "Which actor will be the next to play James Bond"? Answers on a postcard, please...
No Time to Die is currently being screened at Kinepolis and Cinextdoor.
