Sentimental Spy – review of the film “No time to die”

Declining Bond

And we start almost idyllically. We are moving to sunny Italy, where James Bond (for the last time personified by Daniel Craig) – no longer 007 – carelessly uses the charms of a spy retirement alongside his beloved Madeleine (Lea Seydoux), ready to start a new stage of his life, away from dangerous missions and international turmoil. The ghosts of the past, however, quite quickly remind us of their existence, when the moment of reflection on the grave of the lost love turns out to be a death trap, and inconspicuous passers-by – the ends of the tendrils dissolved by the ex-agent’s enemies waiting for life. Convinced of his companion’s betrayal, Bond escorts her to the nearest railway station, and he disappears.

Evil, however, waits neither for a former agent, nor for an invitation. Only five years pass, when the prototype of Heracles – a highly specialized biological weapon – is stolen from the secret laboratory of MI6, and the scientist working on it – kidnapped. The tracks lead to the mysterious Lucifer Safin (Rami Malek). At the request of an old friend Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), Bond decides to come out of hiding to undertake the final mission.

Bond self-aware

Bond purists will be displeased – It is not time to die, continues Casino Royalethe trend to dismantle the superspy statues phantasm. In the jubilee installment of 007, he will devote more time than ever to reflection and reflection on the essence of his vocation and the real consequences of his actions. James Bond with the face (and melancholy eyesight) of Daniel Craig is an introspective and consistently humanized Bond, distancing himself from the iconic perfectionism and undisturbed self-confidence of previous incarnations. “The world is changing,” says Nomi (Lashana Lynch), heiress to the infamous code name, at one point. “And yet it stays the same,” retorts the agent. And it is impossible not to notice how accurately a short exchange of sentences captures the entire narrative in words, standing in a clear separation between the classic determinants of the cult series, a kind of “skeleton” of the James Bond character, and nuances,

The hero himself evolves, but not diametrically – yes, he will sometimes allow himself to make a mistake or two, but usually has an accurate point up his sleeve. In everything and in the face he convinces (especially the viewers, and maybe himself?) About the power of affection and the will to settle down, but this does not prevent him from being seduced by beautiful, barely encountered, strangers. It seems, then, that this progress is primarily about the environment – and how it has dealt with the five-year absence of a once-indispensable piece of the puzzle. Again and again, the bubble of the Bond myth will be pierced by both familiar and completely new faces, verbalizing the absurdities of the series and ironically playing with the expectations of viewers accustomed to certain canonical patterns.

Timeless Bond

Although the films from the series about Her Majesty’s favorite agent were never original works, but a well-coordinated collective work, in No Time to Die you can see the influence of some of the creators involved in the project. One can only guess if the aforementioned self-referential interjections and good-natured teasing did not come from the pen of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the authors of the wonderful series – Fleabag * and Killing Eve , and the long shots and sequences were not born in the mind of Cary Joji. Fukunaga – director and screenwriter also associated primarily as creating for the needs of smaller screens (eg True Detective).

The technical side of the film presents the highest level of production. Pictures of Linus Sandgren look impressive on the big screen – both postcard landscapes and climatically foggy forests, as well as vibrating Jamaican discos and lavish parties (one of the showcases of the series). This time they are illustrated by Hans Zimmer, but he does not deviate from the standards of the series.

Bond shaken, not confused

No time to die is not only the jubilee, but also the longest version of the adventures of the famous spy. The colossal length (less than three hours) makes itself felt at times, but it is hard to expect less from saying goodbye to one of the most interesting incarnations of the cult figure. The defeat of fertility, one would like to say – the multitude of plots and characters from both the agent’s past and the potential future of MI6 (for example the great episode of Ana De Armas), as well as the perverse play with the well-worn patterns of the cycle make the main plot – more than life and weighing the fate of the world is just happening – it smacks of anachronism. The biggest victim seems to be Rami Malek, whose Safin – despite his strong entry into the suspenseful opening sequence of the film – is a god-horror, as if from a different era, belonging to the category of classically exaggerated opponents,

Daniel Craig says goodbye to the role with dignity and no shame. No time to die is perhaps not the best part of the series, it is not even the best installment of the current “era” of 007 films, but in retrospect it may turn out to be one of the most interesting – sentimental, flirting with the idea of ​​revising what has been done so far **, while keeping safe closeness to the classical canon. Is new coming?

* It is worth stating that 007 never destroys the fourth wall, addressing the viewers directly.

** Cary Fukunaga openly criticized the ubiquitous sexism of the early installments of the series.

We would like to thank Forum Film Poland for inviting us to the film No time to die!