No Time to Die

 3/4

Starring: Daniel Craig, Lea Seydoux, Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch, Rafe Fiennes

Rated PG-13 for Sequences of Violence and Action, Some Disturbing Images, Brief Strong Language and Some Suggestive Material

James Bond has proven himself to be cinema's most enduring and adaptable franchise.  As long as the requisite mix of dry wit, sex, and of course, action, is mixed in the proper proportions, the film will be a success.  Directors and actors come and go, but 007 endures.

The adventures featuring Daniel Craig are more grounded and serious than the popcorn fun of the Brosnan entries, but this is easily the darkest and bleakest Bond movie I've ever seen.  Everything in this movie has been given tremendous weight, from the dread-filled plot to Bond himself.  This is not a happy movie.

James Bond (Craig) has retired from service.  He's living off the grid in Cuba, doing odd jobs for his old friend Felix Letier (Jeffrey Wright).  Felix needs his help again, this time tracking down a missing scientist.  Bond turns him down, but then he realizes that not only the CIA and MI6 are interested in the scientist, but they are at odds with each other.  Bond can't ignore this and goes back to work.  This brings him in contact not only with people from his past, but a villain with a diabolical plan.

What's interesting about "No Time to Die" is the change in Bond's character.  This isn't the suave, debonair James Bond we're used to.  Here, he's more weary, more vulnerable and more emotional than we've previously seen him.  The jet-setting, adventurous lifestyle of James Bond seems glamorous, but there's a price to pay for it.  Bond is filled with regret and pain.  How lonely it must be to be to be unable to trust anyone or to allow yourself to fall in love.  You don't have to imagine it; it's all right there on the screen.

Daniel Craig has always been a good actor, and despite many fans' protestations at his casting he has proven himself to be the most popular Bond since Connery.  The actor owned the role from his first appearance on the screen in "Casino Royale," but while he was allowed to show more shades of the character than Brosnan was, never before has he reached this level of depth.  Craig never loses the presence or the charm needed to play the character, but he acts a lot with his eyes to show Bond's weariness and hurt.

Villains in Bond movies have usually been the showiest roles, and that's no different here.  From the devilish malice of Alec Trevelyan in "GoldenEye" to the menace of Silva in "Skyfall," the best villains prove to be a perfect match for Bond on some level.  Never before, though, has Bond faced a villain as menacing and twisted as Safin (Malek).  Channelling Klaus Kinski's Nosferatu, Rami Malek becomes the most disturbing villain since Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning turn in "The Dark Knight."  Safin is clearly mad, and that makes him scarier.

"No Time to Die" brings back all of his surviving contemporaries, including Ralph Fiennes, whose M is filled with more regret than Bond, and Lea Seydoux as Madeline, his love interest from "Spectre."  Newcomers include a spicy Lashawna Lynch as the new 007 ("it's just a number") and the new it-girl Ana de Armas as the spunky Paloma.  de Armas is delightful; I wish she had more scenes.

Like director Cary Joji Fukunaga's earlier film, "Beasts of No Nation," this is a dark and gloomy affair.  And while there is plenty of excitement and dread generated in the story, the action scenes are in many ways the weakest element of the film.  They're nicely staged, but they don't have the "pop" that we expect from a James Bond picture.  Perhaps it's because the film is so grounded or the story is so bleak, they feel muted.

As well done as the performances are, the film has its problems.  The main one is due to the script, which needed another rewrite.  It's a bit of a mess, with characters not precisely defined.  Safin's endgame in particular is not thought out, which is a let down.  It also relies heavily on "Spectre," which, considering how lame that film was, doesn't make revisiting it an enticing prospect.

Still, when all is said and done, "No Time to Die" remains a James Bond picture.  Even with the risks and changes it takes, it sticks to the formula.  There are the women, the gadgets, the action, and they're generally mixed in the proper proportions.  So even with the script-related warts, it earns a hearty recommendation from me.



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