You may argue that No Time To Die is the Bond film to end all Bond films. The 25th official 007 film, which is already a smash in the United Kingdom, ends Daniel Craig’s 15-year reign as James Bond with a bang (just don’t anticipate a post-credits sequence).
“In Daniel Craig’s final excursion as the suave superspy, James Bond finally gets a life,” Richard Trenholm wrote in CNET’s No Time to Die review, which is already available in the United States and will be released in Australia on November 11. “The result is an epic, dramatic, and emotional swan song that throws everything it’s got into the wall to create a really unique chapter in the series.” This is especially true of the daring and unique conclusion.
Infiltration
Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek), a bioterrorist, drags Bond’s former girlfriend Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux) and her daughter Mathilde to his typical villain lair on an abandoned World War II island base between Japan and Russia. Madeleine had earlier sworn that Mathilde was not Bond’s child, but her startling blue eyes suggest otherwise.
Madeleine’s father, the late Mr. White, murdered Safin’s family on behalf of the terrorist group Spectre when Safin was a young boy, so he murdered Madeleine’s mother to avenge Mr. White. Madeleine became caught under ice while attempting to flee the attack, but Safin rescued her and grew smitten with her like a big weirdo.
Safin has already compelled her to participate in his plan to eliminate Spectre with Heracles, a DNA-based bioweapon containing nanobots that target specific individuals. Bond unwittingly completes her task to assassinate Spectre commander Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) as part of Safin’s retaliation (cue maniacal laughter). But there’s more: Safin aims to launch Heracles globally from his base, infecting millions (laughter intensifies).
Bond and Nomi (Lashana Lynch), another 00 agent, penetrate the island and appear to be successful in unlocking the silo doors for a missile strike authorized by M (Ralph Fiennes) to destroy Safin’s base. Nomi departs with Madeleine and Mathilde, but Bond stays behind to ensure the base is destroyed.
Bond’s Destiny
Bond hurries back to reopen the silo doors, which are about to close. Is it possible that it’s a trap? It most emphatically is.
Safin gets the upper hand on Bond, shooting him many times and infecting him with nanobots linked to Madeleine’s DNA, ensuring that he can never touch her or Mathilde again without murdering them. He’s such a jerk.
Bond executes Safin numbly and re-opens the silo doors, but it’s evident he doesn’t have time to flee. He climbs a ladder to the roof, where he telephones Madeleine to tell her he loves her.
He tells her, “You have all the time in the world.”
“She has your eyes,” she remarks, implying Mathilde is his daughter.
“I understand,” he says as the rockets strike the base. “I comprehend.”
As a result, Bond is immersed in the blasts.
James Bond Dies?
Yes, 007 is killed for the first time in the character’s 59-year film career (and 68-year book history). The title of the film lied to us. It’s also quite conclusive; he’d been gravely injured by Safin, and the missile strike wiped out the island. However, the famed spy appeared to be at peace with his fate.
This occurs after Bond became a father for the first time (that we know of) and appeared to be ready to settle down with Madeleine and Matilde, which makes it all the more painful. Please excuse me; I have something in my eye.
What Happens Once He Dies?
M gathers Nomi, Moneypenny, Tanner, and Q (Naomie Harris, Rory Kinnear, and Ben Whishaw) for a heartfelt toast to their late colleague, during which M reads a quotation from novelist Jack London.
“Man’s proper job is to live, not to exist,” he claims. “I’m not going to waste my days trying to make them last any longer.”
This was previously used in Ian Fleming’s novel You Only Live Twice, where it appeared in Bond’s obituary when everyone assumed he’d died.
The last scenes transport us to the picturesque Italian mountainous city of Matera, where we first saw Madeleine and Bond at the beginning of the film. She’s driving with their daughter this time.
“I’m going to tell you a story about a man, Mathilde,” Madeleine adds. “His name was Bond, James Bond,” said the narrator.
The credits roll to the music of Louis Armstrong’s We Have All the Time in the World.
What is the Significance of that Song?
We Have All the Time in the World is a song from the 60’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
The title is darkly ironic, as it is taken from Bond’s final statement after his new wife, Tracy, is shot and killed by Blofeld’s goon.
No Time To Die is similar to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service in that it shows Bond maturing as a person and seemingly eager to leave spycraft behind in order to settle down. In both cases, fate intervenes – and something looks to have gotten back into my eye.
Is there a Scene after the Credits?
There is no post-credits scene in No Time To Die, but if you stick around until the end, you’ll witness the legendary lines “007 will return.”
The term has never been more comforting, yet we still don’t know who will succeed Craig.
007 of the Future
According to Deadline, producer Barbara Broccoli told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that the search for the next Bond actor will begin in 2022.
“We want Daniel to have a happy time,” she stated. “We’ll start thinking about the future next year.”
The Bond franchise has always been a little hazy in terms of continuity; newer actors’ films occasionally linked to events from a prior era, making it appear as though Sean Connery, Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan were all playing the same person.
However, in 2006, Craig’s first film, Casino Royale, relaunched the franchise. So his films are a self-contained series, and the death of his version of the character completes the narrative loop. Mr. Bond, farewell.
If Broccoli and co-producer Michael G. Wilson are feeling particularly bold, Bond’s nephew featured in the 1991 animated film James Bond Jr. Maybe it’s time to pull young Bond out of the shadows?