My knowledge and experience of the Bond franchise before Daniel Craig controversially stepped into the role is pretty non-existent and what I have seen I didn’t really care that much for, the whole thing feels a little cheesy and outdated for my tastes. Even within the Daniel Craig era, my experiences with the legendary agent have been a little hit-and-miss. Casino Royale was good enough to sell me on the merits of Bond but Quantum of Solace was a little too middle-of-the-road (from memory, at least). Skyfall was an absolute hit, completely knocking it out of the park and making me genuinely excited for Craig’s fourth outing as 007, Spectre. Unfortunately, Spectre was so spectacularly bad and instantly forgettable that I almost gave up on the franchise completely So the real question is, where will No Time To Die fall in the grand scheme of things? Will it reach the dizzying heights of Skyfall or will it be down in the gutter with Spectre?

For those of you that need a refresher (I did), the events of Spectre see Bond discover the existence of a secret shadowy terrorist organisation known as S.P.E.C.T.R.E., ran by a man named Blofeld. The film’s finale sees Bond saving the world once more, capturing and imprisoning Blofeld – although the organisation itself still remains at large – and driving off into the sunset with his new found love, psychiatrist Madeleine Swann. No Time To Die starts with the couple, blissfully in love, on a road trip through the Italian countryside but a life lived in the shadows breeds paranoia and distrust, and when Bond is ambushed whilst visiting the grave of Vesper Lynd (from Casino Royale) he believes Swann to be involved and is forced to abandon the woman he loves.

Five years pass and Bond is enjoying a tranquil, but lonely, life in Jamaica when he is visited by an old friend from the CIA in need of a helping hand. The mission, to rescue a kidnapped defector scientist, takes a deadly turn and leads Bond onto the path of a mysterious new villain with a deadly new technology that in the wrong hands, can put the entire world at risk. In order to save the world once again, Bond must return to active service and reunite with some familiar faces including Blofeld and his estranged love, Madeleine Swann.

It’s no secret that No Time To Die faced it’s fair share of issues from the mantle of Director changing from Danny Boyle to Cary Joji Fukunaga, late additions to the writing team and, of course, the numerous scheduling delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and it’s hard to say how this may (or may not) have impacted the film overall.

Whilst I liked the decision to replace the traditional disposable Bond Girl with some kick ass agents they weren’t used to particularly great effect. Lyshana Lynch’s Nomi, the new 007 following Bond’s presumed death/retirement, gave off a bit of a twat-ish vibe and acted as little more than a glorified taxi to Craig’s Bond. On the other hand, despite being on screen for only a short amount of time, Ana De Armas’ fresh faced CIA agent Paloma was sweet and endearing yet still kicked ass with a great fight sequence.

Rounding out the cast are returning cast members; Ralph Fiennes as head MI6 honcho ‘M’, Rory Kinnear and Naomie Harris as M’s right hand man and woman Tanner and Moneypenny, and my personal favourite ‘Q’ delightfully played by Ben Whishaw. None of which have a huge amount of meat on their bones with regards to impacting the story. In case they don’t return, it was nice to say goodbye but I do feel that they could each have played a much bigger part.

I think, then, it goes without saying that the bulk of this film rests squarely on the blond Bond’s shoulders, more so than usual, and he delivers a performance that is heavy with emotion and somewhat melancholic in nature. The plot itself was a great swan song to Craig who, despite the initial misgivings, wound up being a much loved and successful iteration of the character. Unfortunately though, I did feel that in its efforts to tie up his story they sacrificed on delivering show-stopping action sequences or even fleshing out a decent villain.

Bond’s villains are just as iconic as its women but Rami Malek’s Lyutisfer Safin lacked the gravitas that we have come to expect from the franchise. In all honesty, Safin could have been cut from the film entirely and it wouldn’t have made a huge different to the plot which is a shame because I know Malek, and the film, deserve better.

From a high octane car chase through the cobbled streets of scenic Italian village, Matera, to an atmospheric battle of stealth in a misty Norwegian forest to a tightly choreographed gun fight within the claustrophobic walls of a tower staircase when No Time To Die did give us action, it really gives us action. Less sop, more shots in my opinion and this would have been up there with Skyfall instead it winds up middle of the pack.

“I’m going to tell you a story about a man. His name was Bond, James Bond.”