Well, it's finally here. Perhaps the most eagerly-awaited James Bond film ever, "No Time to Die", had its world premiere in London earlier this evening. Simultaneously, MGM and Eon Productions invited journalists to view the first screening of the film simultaneously in other parts of the globe. Cinema Retro was invited to attend the New York IMAX screening at the AMC theater at Columbus Square. Upon entering the theater, attendees were presented with official 007 studio swag followed by free popcorn and drinks. Thus, it wasn't just the popcorn that was buttered up by the time the film began. After a wait of six years since the release of the prior film, "Spectre", I must say that when the gunbarrel opening appeared, I was reminded of New York Times film critic Vincent Canby who wrote of Sean Connery's return to the role of Bond in "Diamonds are Forever" that it was enough to make a viewer weepy with gratitude.
Because of MGM and Eon's impressive achievement in keeping key plot surprises secret, I will not divulge them here. Instead, I'll give a bare-bones breakdown of important elements.The film finds Bond living blissfully in self-imposed retirement with the love of his life, Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux in a marvelously understated performance), with whom he rode off into the sunset at the end of "Spectre". However, their seemingly perfect existence is torn apart by developments that cause Bond to reject her and promise he will never see her again. When they are reluctantly reunited later in the film, it opens a Pandora's Box of disturbing revelations with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.
The Pre-Credits Sequence: Probably the longest such segment in any Bond film. If you walked in a minute late, you would be forgiven for suspecting it was the wrong theater. We find a mother and her young daughter living in isolation in a barren wasteland when a mysterious, unnamed villain arrives and puts into motion the basis of the story line in a chilling and disturbing fashion. The scene is disturbing and highly effective.
The Credits: Daniel Kleinman comes through again with the traditional style that was pioneered by such geniuses as Maurice Binder and Robert Brownjohn. Billy Eilish's crooning of the haunting title song works very well indeed in conjunction with the title credits' images.
The Script: Eon wisely enlisted the services of veteran Bond screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who initiated the Daniel Craig era with "Casino Royale". They know the character intimately, and with an assist from Phoebe Waller-Bridge and director Cary Joji Fukunaga, they deliver the goods with a complex but highly intelligent script. No other Bond actor has had the luxury of having a script specifically tailored to be his final Bond movie and the writers have come through impressively for Craig.
The Direction: Fukunaga distinguishes himself very well indeed in the action scenes but he is an actor's director and he gets the most out of his distinguished cast, with Daniel Craig giving what is arguably his best performance as Bond.
The Villains: It helps when you have two Oscar winners as your main villains. Rami Malek is superb as Safin, a creepy, aristocratic type who lives large and recalls the images of classic Bond villains of years past. Christoph Waltz's Blofeld appears primarily in only one scene, but it's pivotal to the plot and the interplay between him and Bond is riveting.
The Score: Another Oscar winner, Hans Zimmer, provides a highly impressive score that includes John Barry's "We Have All the Time in the World" from "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". He also doesn't stint on using "The James Bond Theme" often and in its original format without any modern "improvements".
The "New" 007: When Bond returns from retirement, it's well known through press leaks that he finds there is a new Agent 007: the young female agent Nomi. As played with gusto and wit by Lashana Lynch, the character trades humorous barbs with Bond but the situation is never overplayed and the two make a good team when the going gets rough. As for criticisms that it was a politically correct move to introduce this character, remember that Bond has often been teamed with kick-ass female agents going back to the early days of the series. However, the female agent winningly played by Ana de Armas does seem superfluous and appears to have been inserted just to showcase a somewhat humorous action scene. The character is then all but retired without any further development.
The film is peppered with appearances by the usual reliable players: Ralph Fiennes, especially good as a deeply troubled "M", Rory Kinnear as his Chief of Staff, Tanner and, of course, Naomi Harris as the ever-present Moneypenny. Ben Wishaw's "Q" has a major role this time around and the film is all the better for his portrayal of the quirky gadgets genius. Jeffrey Wright reappears as Felix Leiter, Bond's CIA colleague, and for once, he is given a meaty role of great relevance to the plot.
There have been concerns over the film's lengthy running time of 163-minutes but it never sags, although the sheer number of action scenes become repetitive despite the fact that they are all exciting and thrillingly staged. I've also never warmed to seeing Bond running about mowing people down with machine guns and that remains the case with "No Time to Die". By the time the movie ends, the body count rivals the climax of "The Wild Bunch". I always look to the earlier Bonds wherein 007 was somewhat judicious in his killing. (I believe in "Goldfinger", he only shoots one henchman in the course of the entire film.)
There are wonderful homages to past Bond films and literature and literature strewn throughout the movie from portraits of prior "M"s to a reading by the current "M" of words written by Ian Fleming. Bond purists will love it. I also enjoyed the fact that Safin lives like the Bond villains of old. He has a private island complete with a poisonous Garden of Death (inspired by Fleming's novel "You Only Live Twice"). He also has a big operation complete with an army of henchmen just as some of his predecessors did.
Since the script continues on from events seen in "Spectre", I would suggest revisiting that film before seeing "No Time to Die". I didn't and because I hadn't seen "Spectre" since the premiere in London in 2015, I was a bit rusty on some of the interactions with the characters. For those less acquainted with the Craig Bond films, it would also do to watch "Casino Royale" again, as elements of that plot are also relevant. I would also advise everyone to stay to the very end of the credits for reasons that will become apparent after the film's emotional ending.
"No Time to Die" is perhaps the most ambitious Bond film in terms of character development. It succeeds on every level and really should be seen in its dynamic IMAX presentation. It is a fitting finale to the Daniel Craig era and when the theater lights went on at the conclusion, I was missing him already.
(The film opens in the U.S. on October 8 but there are advance screenings on October 6 and 7.)