For a franchise that will be celebrating its diamond jubilee soon, Bond has done well to survive through many wars, cold and hot, political movements and viruses that have stopped the gears of the world from turning. No Time To Die is here to keep up that trend, by giving us one of the most important Bond movies in the franchise. Acting as the swan song for Daniel Craig as 007, the movie takes some definitive steps to wrap up many of the plot points, established since 2006’s Casino Royale, compounded with some gritty, thrilling action and the suave of Bond that has long been established. 

Picking up immedistely after the events of Spectre (2015) the film has a surprising reference to a previous entry in the James Bond franchise which immediately surprised me. I won’t spoil it, as it was pleasant to stumble across, but its comparisons are obvious, to say the least.

As far as negatives go for this movie, Rami Malek as the villain Saffin was underwhelming, to say the least. Malek is a great actor who has a sometimes been cast as a quiet, soft spoken individual in many other shows and films, but this isn’t the best use of that trope.

However, Lashanna Lynch as the new 007 steals the show. The script is clearly tailored for Craig and Lynch to compliment instead of compete against each other. 

I can’t say that if you dislike the Craig era, this film will win you over; that time has long passed. But if you are a Bond fan, you definitely won’t want to miss this entry. 

By Christian Thomsett