No Time to Die

 It wasn't 2015, or 2020, but this year, when Daniel Craig, the sixth James Bond, the first Bond I saw theatrically, has his final, for real this time, mission. It's a tall order for Bond's 25th overall mission, No Time to Die, which was written by director Cary Joji Fukunaga with three other writers.

This time, James and his one true Bond girl, Madeline Swann (Léa Seydoux) enjoy a peaceful retirement in Matera, Italy. That is, until she inadvertently leads him into a Spectre ambush. He gets her on the next train out. 

Five years later, James is recruited by his CIA buddy, Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), to a new mission. Spectre stole a nanobot virus, the Heracles, which kills anyone with specific DNA. But its creator, Dr. Obruchev (David Dencik), is working for the true villain, Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek), on a plot to destroy Spectre. Safin, as seen in the prologue, once tried to kill, then saved, young Madeline. He wants her for himself.

Bond's mission is to find Obruchev and stop Safin's plots. Does it sound convoluted? Ultimately, I don't think it is. Bond and Madeline's story is an engaging one even if one hasn't seen Spectre rather recently. We see their relationship - and her encounter with Safin - established in the 22 minute prologue. We understand the threat posed by the Heracles and its creators. We get to see Bond come to terms with his past, especially his lost love Vesper (Eva Green), who perished in Casino Royale. It leads to an almost unthinkable ending. It all plays out in a massive 163 minute runtime.

Among the new characters is Nomi (Lashana Lynch), the newest Agent 007. She's a strong partner for classic 00 and the confusion between them is kind of funny. Ana de Amares makes the most of her limited screentime as Paloma, an agent who helps Bond out in Cuba. Malek as Safin is sure to be among the franchise's most memorable villains. His soft-spoken entitlement complex makes him as creepy as his porcelain mask. Obruchev is such an unlikable twit that you might wish for his death long before it happens. There's also Mathilde (Lisa-Dorah Sonnet), Madeline's five-year old daughter. It takes a long while to establish who the dad is but it's still emotional.

Hans Zimmer's score perfectly punctuates its romantic and action moods. Its somber title song by Billie Eillish and Finneas O'Connell exemplifies the former. Expect to hear it a lot in the score. Production designer Mark Tildesley gives Safin an impressively bleak villain base. Its scale is helped by Linus Sandgren's cinematography, which includes some amazing aerial shots of London. Editors Tom Cross and Elliot Graham put us on edge once Safin first appears in the prologue. We can tell what's gonna happen instantly.

No Time to Die is a strong finale to this Bond cycle. The end credits promise "James Bond will Return," but I hope it'll take a while. It feels like a grand finale even if it's not. You'll need all the time in the world to process its finale. What a way for Bond to go, that's what I'll say. It really earns its massive length. See it on the safest screen you can find.