Respond to these rapid questions in our No Time To Die quiz and we will tell you which No Time To Die character you are. Play it now.
After months of delays, the 25th official James Bond film, “No Time to Die,” is finally here in the form of an epic (163-minute!) action film that presents 007 with one of his most difficult missions yet: rescuing a woman from a burning building. Bring an end to the era that, according to the majority of people, gave new life to one of the most iconic film characters of all time. As everyone is aware, “No Time to Die” is Daniel Craig’s final Bond film. As such, “No Time to Die” must entertain on its own terms, provide a sense of closure for this chapter of the character’s history, and perhaps even hint at what the spy with a license to kill will be doing in the future. It would also go a long way toward cleaning up some of the messes left behind by “Spectre,” which was widely regarded as a disappointment. ‘No Time to Die’ is a film that comes to life in fits and starts, usually as a result of some robust direction and quick action beats from director Cary Joji Fukunaga, but which ultimately plays it too safe and too familiar from the very first frame to the very last frame. The film, even as it draws to a close character arcs that have been in development for years, feels like a film with too little at stake, like it was produced by a machine that was fed the previous 24 films and programmed to spit out a greatest hits package.
A new Bond film no longer feels like a fresh start for the character and his universe, as if it were a standalone action film in the tradition of previous Bond films. “No Time to Die” appears to be more of a departure from the Marvel Cinematic Universe model of drawing from previous entries to give the impression that everything that happens here was planned from the beginning of the film. Despite the fact that you are not required to have seen the previous four films, it will be nearly impossible to appreciate this one if you haven’t (particularly “Spectre,” which is a very direct sequel to the previous film).
And so, of course, we begin with Vesper, Bond’s long-term love interest from the film “Casino Royale.” A clever and taut opening flashback scene for Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) sets the tone for the film, which follows the couple to Italy, where James is finally convinced to visit the grave of the woman who has been haunting him for years. It goes off in a blaze of glory. Is this a hint that the writers of “No Time to Die” are planning to demolish their own foundation and give James Bond a whole new definition? No, although the extended chase/shoot-out sequence that follows is one of the film’s best sequences overall. (It had me completely hooked before the credits rolled.)
But you shouldn’t waste any more time and start this No Time To Die quiz.
Bond holds Swann responsible for what happened in Italy, believing she betrayed him, and this results in a rerun of the “Skyfall” arc, with James disappearing from the grid five years after the prequel. Despite the fact that Bond returns to the fold due to the lethal theft of a weaponized virus that can target specific people’s DNA, he initially aligns himself with the CIA through Felix Leiter (a delightfully laid-back Jeffrey Wright) and a new face named Logan Ash (Billy Magnussen). In MI6, he’s been replaced by a new 007 named Nomi (Lashana Lynch), and James isn’t entirely convinced that M is trustworthy (Ralph Fiennes). He’s convinced M knows more about the new threat than he’s letting on (which, of course, he does), but at the very least Bond has Q (Ben Whishaw) and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) on his side working behind the scenes to help him out if things go wrong.
No Time To Die Quiz
Despite the fact that the film features an extremely large cast of espionage experts from around the world, these talented supporting players are given surprisingly little to do other than propel the plot forward to its inevitable conclusion. Lynch appears to be a self-aware nod to the controversy surrounding the casting of Bond, which is fine, but she isn’t given much of a character to make her interesting on her own. Ultimately, Lynch is a disappointment. “Spectre” suffers from a shocking lack of chemistry between Seydoux and Craig, which was a problem in the final act of the previous film that becomes even more dangerous here because of what is missing from the previous film, and a character is introduced into their dynamic in a way that feels cheap and manipulative. Ana de Armas appears in an action sequence set in Cuba, where she injects a completely different and welcome new energy into the film, only to disappear from the scene ten minutes later. (I had a strong sense of the MCU’s presence here because I expect her to appear in Bond 26 or 27.)
Also, you will find out which character are you in this No Time To Die quiz.
With regard to the film’s villains, Christoph Waltz reprises his role as the slow-talking Blofeld, but his big scene lacks the necessary tension, and it ends with a shrug. And then there’s Rami Malek, who plays the excellently named villain Lyutsifer Safin, another heavily-accented, scarred, monologuing Bond villain who just wants to sit back and watch the world burn. However, while Malek and the filmmakers clearly intend to draw on the legacy of Bond villains, Safin is such a clear echoe of other villains that it’s as if the next Avengers film featured yet another big purple guy named Chanos in it. I thought Daniel Craig’s Bond deserved a better final adversary, one who isn’t really introduced into the narrative until halfway through the film.
About the quiz
What makes “No Time to Die” watchable (aside from Craig’s typically committed performance) is the rich visual sense that Fukunaga frequently achieves when he isn’t concentrating on the plot. Almost poetically framed, the opening sequence features a hooded figure emerging from behind a snow-covered hill, which has a grace that Bond often lacks in his films. As if it were a dance scene, Craig and de Armas are able to figure out each other’s rhythms during the Cuban shootout. One of the most memorable sequences is an intense encounter in a foggy forest, and another involves a single-shot climb up a tower of enemies, which is reminiscent of the one-shot bravura take from “True Detective.” In an era when blockbusters are becoming increasingly rare, these quick, visceral thrills may be sufficient.
Also, you must try to play this No Time To Die quiz.
When “Casino Royale” debuted on the action film scene in 2006, it marked a significant shift in the genre. Your father or even your grandfather had started the franchise, so the Bond mythology had become stale, but Daniel Craig breathed new life into it. “No Time to Die” is a film that, for all that it once seemed like it so deftly balanced the old of a timeless character with the new, richer style, perhaps the most significant knock against it is that there is nothing here that hasn’t already been done better in one of Craig’s other films. However, if you’re such a fan of the British spy film series that leftovers still taste delicious after being reheated (and even more so after having waited so long for this particular meal), it’s not something anyone will remember in a few years when films like “Casino Royale” and “Skyfall” come to define the era. Perhaps it should have come to an end a couple of movies ago. Then we would have all had the opportunity to try something new.
Only on October 8th will you be able to see it in theaters.
For more personality quizzes check this: Eternals Quiz.
