All the Time in the World: "No Time To Die"

Major Spoilers Below

"We have all the time in the world" James Bond (Daniel Craig) says to Dr. Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux) as they're driving in Italy near the beginning of No Time To Die, Craig's fifth and final Bond film. The line and the instrumental version of Louis Armstrong's song are poignant homages to On Her Majesty's Secret Service but fans also know these words are a sign of bad things to come. It's fitting that Craig's final film would reference On Her Majesty's Secret Service since his first, Casino Royale, was that film's spiritual heir, with both films showing Bond genuinely falling in love and suffering heartbreak  No Time To Die comes full circle, not just back to Casino Royale, but back to first truly emotional James Bond film.  

Just as Bond's murdered wife Tracy loomed over the previous iterations of Bond, the spectre of Eva Green's Vesper Lynd still haunts Craig's Bond. Bond had supposedly put her behind him at Quantum of Solace's conclusion but her impact on his life was still felt in Skyfall, despite the film never mentioning her. Bond was ready to retire to be with her but when he was presumed dead in Skyfall and had an escape from the service there was no one to keep him away when MI6 was attacked. Spectre brought her back to the forefront and introduced Madeleine as a second chance at happiness. The film ended with Bond retiring with Madeleine, which is where No Time To Die picks up. 

Madeleine persuades Bond to visit Vesper's grave but there an attack by Spectre agents occurs, which leads him to believe Madeleine, like Vesper, has betrayed him. Bond puts Madeleine on a train, which leads in to the title sequence and Billie Eilish's theme song. The transition between the pre-titles and the song reflects the transitioning of Bond and Madeleine's relationship,  making it an uncommonly affecting way to end the pre-credits. And the lyrics- "Was it obvious to every one else that I'd fallen for a lie." "Fool me once, fool me twice." portray Bond's emotional state, talking not just about Madeleine but Vesper as well.

I think it was inevitable that the tragic love story between Bond and Vesper could never be replicated but Spectre still didn't do enough to make the Bond and Madeleine relationship as potent as it could've been, which does hurt this film a bit. However, I think the beginning break-up does have real weight. And emotionally the film gets over the finish line due to Craig's performance and this Bond's whole arc across the five films. The film also adds even more emotional depth to Bond by giving him a daughter named Mathilde. 

Yes, Bond has a daughter, though Madeleine denies he's the father. Family, especially the loss of family, is the central theme in No Time To Die and actually has been a theme running throughout the Craig films. In Casino Royale he was a loner but found someone with whom he could have  a family. When Vesper betrayed him it turned him back in unattached bachelor. In Quantum, Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko), wants revenge for the death of her family. Judi Dench's M was a mother figure to Bond across the first three films and he lost her at Skyfall's climax. In Spectre, Blofeld (Christoph Walz) was Bond's presumed dead foster brother and Madeleine was dealing with the death of her father, Spectre member Mr. White.   

No Time To Die continues the loss of family theme by beginning with a flashback of  Madeleine's mother being killed by assassin Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek). Safin is looking for her father because he wants revenge against Spectre for killing his family. Then Madeleine loses the father of her child when Bond pushes her away. And even the main villain plot revolves around family members. The film's Macguffin is  a bio-weapon designed around D.N.A based nanobots, a stolen MI6 project called "Heracles" being overseen by Bond's former boss, M (Ralph Fiennes), which can pass on from one family member to another. Bond is infected by Safin with the nanobots, meaning he'll kill Madeleine and Mathilde if touches them does. Bond stays behind when Safin's base is destroyed by missiles. The loss of family theme payoffs with sacrificing yourself for your family.  

I want to discuss Safin, who is fascinating in certain ways but needed more fleshing out. It feels like the film is doing of couple of different things with him that don't completely mesh. The first is his plot against Spectre using their theft of Heracles against them. The second is the archetypal Bond villain plot of world domination and the third is his emotional connection to Madeleine. He killed her mother but saved her when she was young after she fell under some ice. When he meets her again he tells her saving someone is like taking their life- they belong to you. These three things needed better blending I believe. I do think Malek brings a steady creepiness to the role, a calmness in the midst of a chaos. Malek has said in interviews that Safin views himself as a hero. In the film he tells Bond they both eradicate people to make the world a better place but Bond is redundant because of Heracles' capabilities.

The "Is Bond still relevant" question is still being asked here, as it was in Skyfall and Spectre. Of course, the answer can never be "no" if the series is to continue. And I would argue asking the question is a way to keep the series relevant and displays self-awareness regarding things about the character that do not fly anymore. Phoebe Waller Bridge is one of the film's screenwriters, along with mainstays Robert Wade and Neal Purvis. In an interview she said Bond doesn't have to change,  just the world around him. That, and you have to treat the women characters with respect. No Time To Die shows the changing world and the franchise's updated view of women through the introduction of  two younger agents-  Nomi (Lashana Lynch), who has taken on the "007" moniker, and Bond's C.I.A friend Felix Leiter's (Jeffrey Wright) bubbly but lethal protege Paloma (Ana De Armas), who kicks more ass than Bond in her brief appearance, even gaining a genuine compliment from him. Both these women could take over the movie from Bond. Armas is so good you wish she stuck around longer and that the film was about her and Bond. 

I feel I liked the early parts of this film- especially the stuff with De Armas- the best-which I think are the most fun. The film's director, Cary Joji Fukunaga stages the action with vigour and the right amount of humour when needed.  The film could've been a little tighter but looking back it doesn't feel like it runs over 2 1/2 hours. Editors Tom Cross and Elliot Graham give the film genuine momentum. Visually it doesn't quite rival Skyfall but Fukunaga and cinematographer Linus Sandgren's have made a very handsomely mounted film. Sandgren's cinematography has some great use of colours, like in the Jamaica bar scene between Bond and Felix, the purple sunset after the titles, and a foggy cat-and-mouse sequence later in the film. 

One last thing: We've come a long way since the blunt instrument of Casino Royale, a man alone in the dark ready to kill a man. By the end of No Time To Die, Bond is in the light, ready to sacrifice himself for his family. The family man Bond couldn't be the franchise's future, so he had to die, allowing the next Bond to perhaps be more traditional.  The world gets to change but to paraphrase Led Zeppelin, the Bond remains the same.   

Daniel Craig Bond Retrospective: "Casino Royale" and "Quantum of Solace"

Spoilers for the films below

With the Daniel Craig era of the James Bond franchise coming to a close with No Time to Die I wanted to look back his at tenure, starting with my favourite, Casino Royale. This movie was a big deal for 17 year old Andrew. And it's incredible to think Craig has been playing Bond since I was still in high school. It was 2005 when he was first announced to be playing Bond and now it's 2021. Crazy. I fell in love with the tragic love story between Bond and Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), the reinvention of the gun barrel, set at the end of the series' first black and white sequence, was so cool. And Craig's performance made him my favourite Bond. While I often say Timothy Dalton is my favourite Bond, re-watching Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace back-to-back I think Craig may be my favourite, though it's always hard to choose. And while I can't say I love this film in exactly the same way I used to, I still feel some of that old love. It's a very nostalgic movie for me.

While Pierce Brosnan's final Bond film Die Another Day was a box office hit it was seen as too fantastical with its invisible car, ice palace and other such things. The decision was made to not only recast but to completely reboot the franchise, taking this opportunity to film Bond creator's Ian Fleming first Bond novel, Casino Royale. When Albert R. Broccoli was first making the Bond films, producer Charles K. Feldman had the film rights to the book which he made in to the 1967 spoof version. Broccoli tried to buy the rights from Feldman but to no avail. When Sony bought Columbia 1999 they got the rights and when they able to distribute the Bond movies, Broccoli's EON Productions was finally able to do the story proper. And the film is actually one of the most faithful Bond adaptations, retaining the basic plot of Fleming's novel though adding a lot more action. 

When Craig was chosen there was plenty of controversy but  the reviews for the film and Craig were maybe the best the franchise ever received until Skyfall. And director Martin Campbell, who introduced Pierce Brosnan in Goldeneye, had for the second time rejuvenated the franchise. Casino Royale was coming at a time where I believe audiences were open to more serious takes on characters like Batman and Bond. I feel people now want something a little lighter, that they're tired of the darker tome. But the film, I'd argue, has the right balance between seriousness and humor. There's a real sense of fun in the reinvention of this icon.

Casino Royale is very much a character study of Bond. It's also an origin story that's not an origin at the same time. Instead of starting with Bond getting recruited by MI6 from the navy or showing his schoolboy days the pre-title sequences jumps right in to Bond carrying out the two kills which will earn him his "00" status. Another film would've taken more time getting to Bond's first two kills but Casino Royale retains an element of mystery regarding Bond's past. The next time we see him he's chasing down a bombmaker in the film's first and stand-out set-piece. While he's a more rough-around-the-edges character, a "blunt instrument" as Judi Dench's M calls him, he's pretty much Bond right from the start- quipping, womanizing, gambling. The only  exception is him not giving a damn whether his martini is shaken or stirred. 

Coming back to the pre-title sequence, it efficiently sets up this version of  Bond as we see him talking calmly to MI6 Section Chief (and traitor) Dryden while cutting to Bond earlier brutally killing Dryden's contact, Fisher, in a bathroom. The black and white cinematography switches between a stark and gritty look in the bathroom to a smoother one in the present. This contrasts the hands on killing of Fisher with one silent bullet assassination of Dryden. Though to be fair, Fisher does come back to life and Bond shoots him as well. 

It takes almost an hour for Vesper to shows up, which makes her introduction more impactful. We've spent nearly an hour with Bond, seeing how he operates, free of emotional attachment. And then he meets the woman he doesn't know is going to change his life. He's never met a woman like Vesper and it changes the dynamic of what the film has been so far. Bond has been a loner, now he's working with someone who's going to challenge him and his ego. The dialogue between Bond and Vesper is the best we've ever had between Bond and his leading lady. It's snappy but also shows them probing each other, challenging each other's beliefs 

Their mission involves making sure terrorist financier Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) doesn't win the high stakes poker game at Casino Royale. Bond foiled Le Chiffre's plan to bankrupt the airline industry, which lost Le Chiffre the money of his clients. If Le Chiffre loses MI6 can offer him protection in return for information. The gambling isn't the most exciting part of this movie but the script by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Paul Haggis adds enough business around the game to up the tension and give us some nice character moments, including Bond being poisoned and Vesper having to re-start his heart. The scene where Vesper is sitting in the shower after Bond has killed several of Le Chiffre's who has come looking for their money. is one the franchise's most genuinely tender scenes as well. 

Just as how the film is simultaneously an origin story and not, Le Chiffre is a traditional Bond villain but also not. He has the physical disfigurement that's a trademark of several Bond villains, the sinister presence, and for the first hour Bond is a trail which leads to him. But Bond stops Le Chiffre's plan before the film has hit the hour mark. Le Chiffre becomes desperate man attempting to pay back his clients, rather than the villain with a world domination plot. The film's true villains are in the shadows, who we'll learn in the next film are the terrorist organization Quantum, who have kidnapped Vesper's boyfriend to get her to help them. And this makes Bond part of their plot as well, since it's him winning the game which gets them their money.  

Bond and Le Chiffre and just both expendable pawns. When Le Chiffre is torturing Bond, he tells him that even if he kills Bond MI6 will still help him. And Le Chiffre is killed because Quantum can't trust him. And this is before the final act. This further exemplifies how Le Chiffre is not the big bad of the film. And the larger threat looms over the happiness Bond and Vesper find with each other. Like On Her Majesty's Secret Service we see Bond given an opportunity for a different kind of life before it's tragically snatched away. But it's inevitable, if not for Bond than for the audience, who know Bond can't quit. There wouldn't be a franchise if he did. But there is odd sense of triumph to the film's final scene, with Bond standing over Quantum member Mr. White (Jesper Christensen), saying the iconic "Bond. James Bond" It's letting us know Bond's not going to be brought down by tragedy.

 

But Bond still has to deal with Vesper's betrayal and his need for vengeance in the next film, Quantum of Solace, a film that was one of the victims of the 2007-2008 writer's strike and displays it's lack of a polished story pretty clearly. I guess it wasn't originally supposed to be a direct sequel but became that later on. Stylistically the film does feel different from Casino Royale- largely I think because Campbell didn't return and Marc Forster ended up directing-and it's plot involving a coup in Bolivia and control over its water supply feels like it could've been in a standalone movie. 

Quantum is best viewed it back-to-back with its predecessor,  since it takes place right after Casino Royale ends, a first for the franchise.  Watching it for this retrospective, I didn't like it quite as much as I had before. It's a little thin and underdeveloped, and doesn't get to have to a true built from the ground up story. And it feels rushed compared to the more thought out prequel. The film has its moments: I like the bits of humour, stylistic flourishes and Craig's performance but it can't help but feel like a disappointment as a sequel to what was a breath of fresh for the franchise.

It was a bold choice to shove us right back in to the story of Casino Royale but I wonder if the story should've been placed some time after, allowing more space to build up its story rather than forgoing a traditional first act. Casino Royale took  time with its story but Quantum of Solace, at only 106 minutes with credits- including the pre-title sequence- is the shortest Bond film and as I said, it's kind of rushed. Bond usually has a more leisurely quality as we follow Bond from one exotic location to the next. But the shorter running time does befit what's an essentially a revenge story. If Craig is the 21st Century's Timothy Dalton then this is his Licence to Kill, a harder edged Bond film where Bond is caught between his emotions and his duty. 

I said the previous film was an origin story that wasn't and I'd argue Quantum is a revenge story that's not quite a revenge story. The film's main villain Dominic Greene (Mathau Almaric) is never established as having been involved with Vesper's kidnapped boyfriend who was being used to blackmail her. The whole point is Bond doesn't know where to direct his anger. As M tells him, he's so full of "inconsolable rage" he doesn't care who he hurts. It turns out Vesper's boyfriend was himself was a Quantum member and his kidnapping was staged to get her to help them. Bond confronts the boyfriend at the end, deciding to spare him and allow MI6 to arrest him. So, it's kind of an anti-revenge story in a way. And see Bond learn restrain, becoming more like the Bond we know other films. 

The revenge/character stuff is set against the backdrop of geopolitical plot concerning Quantum helping General Medrano's (Joaquin Cosio) coup against the government in exchange for control over Bolivia's water supply, with the C.I.A turning a blind eye. The film is obviously going for a plot reflecting real world geo-politics but there's not enough connective issue between Bond's inner turmoil and the main villain plot. There needed a clear turning point where begins to care about the bigger picture. One thing I do appreciate about the film's plot is how it incorporates Bond's C.I.A ally Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), giving Felix a little moral dilemma.  Wright as Felix is great casting and wish he was in these films more. 

What's always remarked about the film is its frantic editing. The editing is very messy in this film but I can see how they were maybe going for something impressionistic. The opera shootout id actually quite good, with the editing cutting between the action on stage with the gunfight. It's one of the most "arty" things ever put in a Bond movie. And I admire the build up to the opening car chase. We're shown glimpses Bond's eyes, guns, and the car in shadows. The music builds and then we're suddenly thrust in to the chase Forster is a more "art house" kind of director than journeyman Campbell so it makes sense while we have more of these stylistic displays.

The film is at its best in its quieter character moments than in its action. The scenes between Rene Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini), who Bond thought had betrayed him in the previous film, have a real warmth to them. Mathis' death features both Bond being comforting and cruel in quick succession. He holds Mathis while he's dying but then throws in the garbage. Bond's relationship with Bolivian Secret Service agent Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko) also has a surprising poignancy to it. Their relationship never becomes sexual. Instead, the film focuses on how they're both broken people looking for closure. Camille wants to kill Medrano for him killing her family. Bond doesn't attempt to lecture her about revenge. He even apologizes for screwing up her shot at Medrano earlier in the film. These are nice character details which make Craig's Bond maybe the most nuanced incarnation of the character. 

Casino Royale began with Bond killing two men and Quantum ends with him sparing one. It's a nice bookend for the duology. M tells Bond she needs him back, to which Bond replies he never left. Bond then drops Vesper's necklace in the snow. This ending actually segues nicely in to Skyfall, where Bond has committed himself to M16 for years, a cog in a machine. And he begins to question his relationship with M and what it means. But that's for next time. See you then.

My Top Ten James Bond Themes

A major aspect of the James Bond tradition is the theme song. Over the past 50 odd years artists such as Paul McCartney, Madonna, Shirley Bassey, Tina Turner, and- for the previous film, Skyfall- Adele, have contributed to this tradition. The latest artist to perform the theme tune for a Bond film- this November's Spectre- is Sam Smith. Last week, Smith's song- entitled "Writing's on the Wall"- was released to a mixed reception. I've only listened to the song once and I feel it doesn't have the invigorating power as "Skyfall". I hope over time it does grow on me; hearing it in a theatre over the main titles will likely add a much needed component.

But now I want to take a look back at the previous theme tunes and discuss my top ten favourite amongst them. This is purely a personal preference list rather than an attempt at objectively ranking the songs. Warning: spoilers for certain films will follow.

10. "The World is Not Enough"- Garbage

An easy joke to make about The World is Not Enough's theme song- sung by Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson- is it's garbage. For me, I enjoy this song's ominous passion- particularly when coupled with it's sci-fi/almost-apocalyptic music video. In the video a robot- played by Manson- kills the real Manson, takes her place at a concert and  kills everyone with a bomb concealed in its body. Also of note: the song appears to be from he perspective of Elektra King (Sophie Marceau)- making this the only theme song to be told from the villain's perspective. 

9. "A View to a Kill"- Duran Duran

The story goes that at a party Duran Duran bassist John Taylor came up to Bond producer Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli and drunkenly asked him when they'd get someone good again to sing a Bond theme. This eventually led to the band and  long time Bond composer John Barry writing the theme song together. At the time "A View to a Kill" was the most high energy Bond theme since "The Man With the Golden Gun." It has a certain goofy appeal- talking about dancing in to a fire- and some vivid imagery- "crystal tears, fall as snowflakes on your body." The song would have been a great way to usher in a new actor as Bond but A View to a Kill has a 58 year old Roger Moore (actually, a stunt double) surf-boarding to the Beach Boys' "California Girls." Still, this is one of the most fun Bond themes in my opinion.

8. "Goldeneye"- Tina Turner

To begin the Pierce Brosnan era of the Bond franchise- and the return of the franchise after a six year hiatus- the Bond producers enlisted the vocals of a legend for Goldeneye's theme song- Tina Turner. Turner is only a couple of years younger than Shirley Bassey (the only artist to perform more than one Bond theme) and the spirit of Bassey is felt throughout the song. Written by U2's Bono and the Edge, the song is one of several Bond songs about Bond himself- or at least about one woman's perspective of him. Turner is the woman in the shadows, feeling betrayed by Bond and wanting revenge. The song feels classic yet works as an introduction to a new age of Bond.

7. "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"- John Barry

The only Bond theme to be purely instrumental- aside from Monty Norman's "James Bond Theme"- John Barry's theme for On Her Majesty's Secret Service encompasses the epic sweep and dramatic energy of the film that redefined the Bond mythology (Bond gets married and then his wife is murdered by his arch-nemesis Blofeld). It's dark, exciting and quintessentially Bond. Moreover, Barry's overall score is arguably his best work in the entire series. And Barry's theme is posed to make to a comeback-a version of the theme is heard in the latter part of the second Spectre trailer. Also of note: David Arnold (composer of Casino Royale and several other Bond films) did a fantastic remix of the theme with the Propellerheads.

6. "Diamonds Are Forever"- Shirley Bassey

Along with the return of Sean Connery to the franchise (after George Lazenby's single outing as Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service), Shirley Bassey came back after seven years to record her second Bond theme (her first being "Goldfinger.") This song has an undertone of tragedy- it's about a woman who's been spurned by love and finds solace in diamonds- they "won't leave in the night." "I don't need love,/ For what good will love do me?" she asks; "Diamonds never lie to me." Love is finite but diamonds are truly forever. It's tragic, with a tinge of anger and defiance. The song doesn't fit Diamonds are Forever's campy tone but on its own terms it's the most emotionally haunting of all Bond songs.

5. "Skyfall"- Adele

After Casino Royale's rock-infused "You Know My Name" and Quantum of Solace's Alicia Keys/Jack White sing-off "Another Way to Die," the series went down a more classical route with it's theme for Skyfall. "Skyfall" begins with "This is the end," seemingly commenting on Bond's (Daniel Craig) death in the pre-title sequence; It even mentions drowning (which is what almost happens to Bond). In the film Skyfall is the name of Bond's childhood home; but in the song the sky is literally falling- with two people having to face it together- which ties in to Bond and M (Judi Dench) making a final stand at Skyfall. This is one of the best examples of tying the film's themes in to the main song. The song is also just plain excellent: moody, soulful, and ultimately triumphant.

4. "The Man with the Golden Gun"- Lulu

What I love about this song is how upbeat it is considering Lulu (who was in 1967's To Sir, With Love with Sidney Poitier and also sang the film's theme song) is singing about a ruthless hitman- Francisco Scaramanga (the late Christopher Lee). My favourite part of the song is how Lulu digs in the word "kill," especially in the second-last verse. Like "A View to a Kill," there's not much depth to the song but I find this song giddy fun.

3. Live and Let Die- Paul McCartney and Wings

I think "Live and Let Die" is the most musically ambitious and unique of the Bond themes. It begins softly- with Paul McCartney telling someone that "When you were young/ And your heart was an open book/ You used to say, Live and yet live." McCartney then says if the world gets too much for you, say "Live and let die," a much more sinister proverb. The song then shifts in to an almost satanic guitar riff (which matches the supernatural theme of the story). And in the actual film, the head of the woman in the title sequence turns in to a flaming skull. "Live and Let Die" was the first Bond theme to be nominated for an academy award, to be followed several years later by Carly Simon's "Nobody it Better" from The Spy Who Loved Me. "Live and Let Die" was a new sound for a new era of Bond (this was Roger Moore's debut in the role). While the Bond songs would become ballad-y in the late 70s/early 80s, "Live and Let Die" was an energy charged message that Bond was here to stay.    

2. "Goldfinger"- Shirley Bassey

The gold-standard for all Bond songs to come. Like most everything in Goldfinger, it's theme defined what a Bond theme. This was Bassey's first time recording a theme (she'd come back for the aforementioned Diamonds are Forever and finally for Moonraker), and her vocals are brassy (matching Barry's score), seductive and overpowering. The song serves as a warning about the film's villain: "Pretty girl, beware of his heart of gold/ This heart is cold." The song has a wonderfully sinister vibe and reaches an almost epic climax with Bassey's drawn out final note. Also of note: singer/actor Anthony Newley (who co-wrote the song with Barry and Leslie Bricusse) recorded a demo of the song before Bassey did her version. It's an interesting and creepy take on the iconic song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pyJd_rFrlo

1. "You Know My Name"- Chris Cornell

"You Know My Name" is a perfect song title for the film that reinvented of the character of James Bond. Chris Cornell's gnarled and forceful vocals ushered in Daniel Craig's tenure as Bond. We had a new Bond and a new continuity but we still knew who this guy was- we knew his name. The song is told from Bond's perspective- we're asked "If you take a life do you know what you'll give?"- which reflects the pre-title sequence in which Bond earns his 00 status by killing two men. "The coldest blood runs through my veins," we're told, reminding us how brutal the character of Bond can be. The song establishes the arc of the film- Bond in his first mission, having to be willing to die to do this job, the odds (the poker game, Vesper Lynd) will betray him. The song's grit and slight tinge of melancholy sets the stage for what is my favourite Bond film. 

Those are my top ten Bond themes. Tell me, what are your favourites and what are your thoughts on Sam Smith's addition to the Bond theme canon.