Eps 27: James Bond Just Learned It Could Have Easily Been More Than His Eye
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Louis Miles
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With No Time To Die, Bonds 25th movie, coming out in cinemas, fans such as myself are going to be thronging theaters for Daniel Craigs last appearance as British Secret Service Agent James Bond, in what is shaping up to be a crucial moment in the films almost 60-year-old franchise. We knew No Time To Die was going to be Daniel Craigs final film as James Bond, but what we did not know was James Bonds death would occur during No Time To Die. Every Bond film is its own version of chaos, and making No Time To Die, Daniel Craigs fifth and final film as James Bond, was no different.
Despite the films title, 007, Daniel Craigs famed spy, did, in fact, die. Even before Daniel Craigs signing of No Time To Die, Craig had been signaling his willingness to step away from the Daniel Craigs James Bond role for years, and in fact, might well have done so earlier had his version of the character not been so well received and so well received. Now, barring the Bond movie universe going the way of the superhero movies, and beginning to revive characters using time travel, quantum mechanics, and any other cinematic magic writers could conjure, Daniel Craig may well move on from 007 for good.
Bond has never truly been a place, because you cannot truly embody a fantasy if you do. Even Sean Connery, the man who made James Bond an icon, wanted to see 007 die after playing him seven times .
Intentionally or otherwise, these five movies have returned Bond to his original ideas. This refusal to set a film continuity for the franchise changed dramatically with Casino Royale , the first to feature Daniel Craig as its titular character. Daniel Craig in Casino Royale . This script is basically what happens whenever another Bond is introduced -- Craigs Bond, though, makes continuity a major issue, and this may mean that a different approach is needed going forward.
The introduction of baby Bond seems to fit the theme of times moving on, with us or without. It felt meta, in that Madeleines narrative-time narrative for Baby Bond felt as though the director was telling us, This is a story, and that is the end of this version of history. I was really taken, Michael, by your meta-analysis of Baby Bond, and especially Madeleines story-time narration.
The issue here is that all this doom-laden gravitas feels generic - and has felt generic, I would say, ever since the conclusion of Casino Royale, Craig Bonds first, and to date, best. While not an especially prominent feature in Bond pictures for decades, that phrase has gained renewed prominence in No Time To Die by Daniel Craig; audiences at my screenings actually cheered as the words appeared onscreen. There is no post-credits scene at the end of No Time to Die No Time to Die, but we get these words -- an obligatory promise that has appeared, in one form or another, at the close of every Bond movie since Goldfinger.
As an homage to Daniel Craig), however, No Time to Die harps on its earlier Bond films so mercilessly that anyone who has never seen them, or failed to cop a copious amount of notes, is left hanging. No Time to Die revealed that the rumors of Madeleine being an ethereal operative were simply James Bond having his head twisted by his adopted brothers. It is difficult to tell what parts of No Time To Die were dreamed up by Billie Eilish and what came from the usual Bond writers, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, but the jokey tone, biting dialogue, and sympathetic female characters certainly have that Waller-Bridge vibe. Director Cary Fukunaga had already shot the films finale - the real send-off for James Bond - weeks before.
Ultimately, anyone who took on the mantle of British spy James Bond faced challenges that went beyond the films half-century of history, and Craigs masterful performances. The most promising womens spy film might actually be a spin-off of the franchise, possibly set in Cuba and featuring Ana de Armas, breakout star of No Time To Die . As producers for the Bond films ponder who to follow Craig, these questions that I am asking, I imagine, could make the selection more difficult.
Knowing James Bond would not only never get to see Madeleine or Mathilde again, but also that the nanobot infections would ultimately spread on his path, Bond allows himself to be burned. As 007 leaves Villains Lair, he simply keeps walking straight into the enemys gunfire, shooting at the men with his assault rifle.