No Time to Die

What “No Time to Die” lacks in writing it makes up for in action

By Lukas Levin

No Time to Die is that mindless fun. Of course, it’s laden with its blatant misogyny, plot hole-filled writing, and alcoholism. Despite these issues, it manages to maintain itself as an enthralling action flick.

The film follows the story after Spectre (2015), as Bond has retired from a life of espionage and action to somehow be roped back in by some ambiguous villain with a physical deformity. This film follows the last installment of Daniel Craig’s James Bond, as he’s foreshadowed in many interviews prior.

Although consisting of a writing team of six men and one Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the film still manages to leave a lot of holes that don’t seem to be answered. For example, Rami Malek’s Lyutsifer Safin is motivated by another nebulous issue that he ultimately uses to compare himself to Bond to point out the classic cliché that “they’re not so different after all.” Nor is he menacing or convincing as a villain and more so just odd and creepy. 

The script itself lacks strong female characters while highlighting the most women I’ve seen in a Bond film to date. None of these women, including those with no romantic relationship to Bond, exist outside the male gaze or without first being sexualized by Bond himself. 

With all of this said, if you can turn off your brain and look past the inherent structures of the Bond genre, you will be able to immerse yourself in a movie with some of the coolest action and set pieces to date.