NO TIME TO DIE

Or is there? by Rich Paschall

The final Daniel Craig outing as James Bond is a mega-thriller of epic proportions. The two-hour and forty-three-minute movie has no shortage of fight scenes, car chases, and shootings. All the Bond elements are on full display. You may have seen many of these elements in previous Bond films, but it is entertaining, nonetheless.

The feature opens with the iconic “gun barrel” scene. Bond walks right to left. At the center of the screen, he turns and fires. This is played out with that James Bond music that we have come to love. The Bond theme has permeated 25 consecutive films. The music is usually the same, with some variations through the years. You may notice that it is not the James Bond actor in the first three sequences.

The opening of No Time To Die is followed by a scene from years earlier, which is an important “backstory” to the new adventure. Then we roll the opening credits, and it is an opening that fits the style of many Bond films’ opening credits. Billie Eilish performs the No Time To Die official soundtrack theme.

This time out, James Bond has retired and is living in Jamaica. He literally gets blasted back into service when an attempt is made on his life. Felix Leiter, a CIA operative, returns with a request for Bond to assist with a case. A weapon has been stolen and a new “OO7” and the CIA are searching for it. Eventually, Commander Bond will return as 007. Who else could save the world?

Rami Malik is the evil crime boss who is determined to use a DNA weapon to take over the world. His central location is a facility on a remote island. Bond and another “00” agent (Lashana Lynch) must find a way onto the island to rescue Bond’s former lover Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux) and her daughter. They must also destroy the facility and kill the bad guy. There are plenty of guards on the island, so Bond has a lot of work to do.

M (Ralph Fiennes) was in charge of the DNA weapon that got away from MI6, and the master criminal, Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) may hold the key to its recovery. Blofeld is already imprisoned in a secret British facility.

The Quartermaster or just Q (Ben Whishaw) is back to provide gadgets and technical support, and Miss Moneypenny is back as secretary to M. The common themes or devices used as plot elements for the Bond films go all the way back to the beginning. They are updated for the 21st century. They still work, however. No Time To Die is an epic we would expect from the Bond series.

James Bond

SPOILER ALERT

James Bond Will Be Back. OK, that may not be a secret. If you stayed until the end of the credits, you would have seen the declaration. It is usually there. This time, you may wonder how that is going to happen.

The ending seems to suggest the demise of the secret agent. There are a couple of possible solutions. One is that he didn’t get killed, and there will be an explanation of how he lives on, no matter how unlikely. The other possibility is that the series will start over or “reboot” once more. There will be a new James Bond, so why not a new start?

The five 5 Craig films were spread over 15 years. One was hampered by a screenwriters’ strike, and the final film was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. When No Time To Die was finally finished, audiences were still reluctant to go to the cinema. Although the Box Office did not do as well as the previous two Craig films, it still was an excellent return for the cost.

When Amazon acquired MGM / United Artists and their entire catalog of movies, they received the Bond films as well. MGM/UA was the distributor. Barbara Broccoli, producer of the Bond films, reportedly was offended that Amazon just saw Bond as “content.” Perhaps her comment that Amazon execs were “f*cking idiots” did not sit well with Jeff Bezos.

He told Amazon/MGM, “I don’t care what it costs, get rid of her.” All Bond films have been produced by the Broccoli family since the very beginning. It cost Amazon 1 billion dollars to buy out Broccoli.

Odd spinoff and marketing ideas were among the reasons Broccoli thought the Amazon moguls were idiots. We will likely soon learn the new team for the feature and the new Bond, James Bond.

RELATED:
Bond, James Bond, The Sean Connery Years, Part 1
Never Say Never Again, The Sean Connery Years, Part 2
Moore Bond, The Roger Moore Years, Part 1
For Your Eyes Only, The Roger Moore Years, Part 2
Bond Is Back, The Timothy Dalton Years
Goldeneye, The Pierce Brosnan Years
Bond Reboot, The Daniel Craig Years

See also: “James Bond Producer Slams Amazon As ‘F**king Idiots’: Report,” by David Moye, HUFFPOST, huffpost.com December 20, 2024.
“Jeff Bezos Told Amazon/MGM, “I Don’t Care What it Costs, Get Rid of Barbara Broccoli” by Jordan Ruimy, worldofreel.com, March 7, 2025.
“‘Get Rid of Her’: Why Jeff Bezos Ousted James Bond Producer,” by Eboni Boykin-Patterson, Daily Beast, thedailybeast.com March 7, 2025.

6 thoughts on “NO TIME TO DIE”

      1. Good point. Change can sometimes be good. Sometimes not.
        I thot Cumberbach might be interesting choice. Not sure he’s up the
        physical stuff tho.
        Henry Cavill’s name if being thrown around.
        Problem is that a long term committment might be involved?
        Still waiting.

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Strange how the obvious question of ‘who’s next’ is not resolved yet. Obviously a hugely important decision that they are struggling with. Shows how good Craig was that they haven’t found anyone that match what he brought to the roll.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I don’t think they will return to the Sean Connery or Roger Moore type. They will look for someone more serious. Of course, with Amazon in charge, anything could happen.

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