No Time To Die

"Don't fuck with the formula." A quote often attributed to The Beach Boys lyricist Mike Love. If it ain't broken don't fix it. If it's working well just leave it alone. Yadda yadda yadda. When the credits roll at the end of No Time To Die you'll be happy director Cary Joji Fukunaga and his writers didn't listen to that trite nonsense. Your arse might be numb from sitting too long but you'll be glad with what you've watched.

59 years. 25 films. 4 M's. 79 Bond women. 6 actors playing the part if you don't count David Niven and we won't. 1000's of bullets. 163 minutes of No Time To Die. Yup, 163 minutes. A ridiculous running time. We don't even get to Billie Eilish's drudge of a song for about 30 of them. Then a saggy midsection rocks up and you could easily lose 15-20 minutes of exposition that would have never existed in earlier Bond films. But despite all of that, when No Time To Die hits it hits hard and long time Bond fans will, like a badly made Vesper cocktail, be both shaken and stirred, because this one adds something to the mix that's been missing for a long long time, genuine emotion. Certain corners of the internet scoffed when Phoebe Waller-Bridge was announced as a screenwriter but the Fleabag genius has certainly brought something new to the table.

Bond (Daniel Craig, never better in the role) is a happy clam. He's retired from M16. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) is by his side and the demons of his past seem to have been laid to rest. Well he thought so anyway. Back in London a heist at a chemical weapons lab sets things tingling and 007 is up for her next assignment. Yup. Her next assignment. The newest 00 agent is Nomi (Lashana Lynch) and she's every bit as lethal as her predecessor and soon she finds herself clashing with Bond as both try to track down Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek), the evil mastermind behind the crime, a man with a link to those Bond holds dearest.

This one was worth the wait. That opening flashback, car chases that will have you gripping your chair, a brutal and vicious bodycount that stretches the limits of the 12 certificate to breaking, a blend of grit and silliness that succeeds where Spectre failed miserably, a Cuban gunfight that shows us the future of the franchise might just be in the hands of the women of the world of espionage, a post mortem one liner that Sean Connery would have been proud of, getting to see Bond using his licence to kill justifiably and without mercy, the return of a real bad guy lair ™. It's numerous new spins will bring in new Bond fans but long term fans will have a ball here too and despite it being the 25th film the need to shower us with nods to the past is kept lowkey enough that one powerful use of a much loved piece of music may threaten to bring a tear to your eye.

Speaking of eyes, a Safin henchman has a bionic one that leads to a brilliant crowd pleasing moment late in the story and it's one of many wonderfully silly plot points throughout. Craig's time as Bond has often being accused of being too serious but here it's nice to see absurdity being embraced once again. Craig himself finally looks and feels truly comfortable in the lead role and the franchise is going to miss that sardonic, brutish edge he brought to the part but if this film's supporting cast carry on into the next films you get the feeling we'd be in safe enough hands. Lashana Lynch's new spin on 007 brings with it crunching physicality and knowing wit while Ana de Armas's CIA agent Paloma delivers the fun. Her small part definitely feels like a placeholder for future films and you can't see anyone complaining about her potential return. Rami Malek as Safin though. He doesn't make much of an impact to be honest, his scheme is nefarious enough but he's no physical match for Bond and the old trope of disfigurement = villainy was played out decades ago so it's lucky the film has hefty parts for Ralph Fiennes (M) and Léa Seydoux to make up for his wimpy presence. Her role as Madeleine marks the first time a relationship has continued into another film and hers with James is what gives the film a real frisson of danger. Bond has loved and lost twice before and surely it can't happen again....

No Time To Die is out everywhere from today. The baddie is a disappointment and the running time requires a very comfortable chair but you're guaranteed to leave the cinema on an all time high.