They tried to tell us it's too long and at 163 minutes "No Time to Die" is indeed the longest of the Bond movies but don't let that colour your judgement; this is still one hell of a rollercoaster ride and if Daniel Craig, in his final appearance as Commander Bond, is looking his age, remember he's now 'retired' and probably closer in demeanour to a middle-aged spy than at any time in the franchise. You must also remember that the Craig Bond's, unlike those of his predecessors, have followed a trajectory from "Casino Royale", (the first of the Ian Fleming novels), right through to the present, each one a kind of sequel to the one before and while Craig may not be everyone's favourite Bond he is, at least, unique in that respect. You might even say the entire Bond saga belongs to him.
The next point to consider, of course, is is it any good or rather is it as good as the others and the answers to both questions is a resounding yes. This is an action flic of the first order, exciting, funny and, for the most part, intelligent. It's also surprisingly old-fashioned. Here is a Bond movie that goes back to the roots of the franchise, all the way to "Dr. No" in fact. The gadgets are still there and used to good effect but this is a much more character driven piece and in Rami Malek it has one of the great Bond villains, (could Malek become the first Bond villain to pick up an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor?).
Admittedly the plot is quite far-fetched. We may not be in "Moonraker" territory but you may still have to see the film twice just to figure out what's going on. Also in keeping with previous Craig Bond's it's not afraid to introduce plot twists that should have a lasting impact on the series, presuming, of course, that the producers wish audiences to take any forthcoming films seriously. In what we now know will be his last appearance in the role it would be nice to say that this is Craig's film and while he certainly brings gravitas to the part it is Malek who steals the movie and if the film itself isn't quite the best of the series it's certainly up there. If this doesn't bring the punters in, nothing will.
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