Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Daniel Craig, Léa Seydoux, Rami Malik, Lashana Lynch, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Naomi Harris, Rory Kinnear, Jeffrey Wright, Billy Magnussen, Christoph Waltz, David Dencik, Ana de Armas, Dali Benssalah, Lisa-Dorah Sonnet, Coline Defaud, Mathilde Bourbin, Hugh Dennis, Priyanga Burford.

Debates will rage on long after his replacement in the franchise is announced, a new favourite taking in the mantle as Ian Fleming’s suave, and sometimes brutal, hero, but as the final moments of No Time To Die roll, as the memories re-emerge of intricately drawn characters, of timely antagonists capturing the era with sublime fierceness, and of a screen hero facing arguably his own mortality, what we should arguably be recognising is that Daniel Craig as 007 is the greatest version of super British spy, James Bond, we might ever be treated to.

The film itself, with perhaps with sadly one glaring miscast, is the dynamic and explosive end that any fan could ask for, it has everything that none of the other Bonds have had, a sense of finality leading to rebirth, of supporting characters who live up to the drama, and whilst this was always the case from the moment that the first in the five film series that Daniel Craig has been the lead within lit up the screen, it is No Time To Die that really gets under the skin of the fragility of age, of how strong the female characters are in the self-contained universe, how damning the sense of British interference in world affairs is portrayed, especially through the eyes of M, played with grit and sheer power by the redoubtable Ralph Fiennes.

Casino Royale may be possibly the greatest Bond film of all time, Skyfall the most delicately poised, but No Time To Die is enormous in its acceptance of change, of understanding that the future depends on understanding that death is only the beginning.

It is not just down to Daniel Craig, nor even the excellent Léa Seydoux as Madeline, that makes the film so intensely watchable, but also to the sheer force of nature that Ana de Armas brings to the film as Paloma, that Jeffrey Wright in his return as American C.I.A agent Felix Lighter is given, like Bond, a send-off to which his predecessors were denied, and Lahana Lynch more than lived up to the hype as she took on the sacred number, 007.

If there is a nag regarding the film, it is perhaps in the role of the adversary, that when placed against Christoph Waltz’s Blofeld, Mads Mikkelsen’s Le Chiffre, Javier Bardem’s exquisite Raoul Silva, that Rami Malek, himself an actor of great warmth, is unfortunately uninspiring as Lyutsifer Safin, barely even ranking as a true threat when compared to others who have had Bond in their sights.

That aside and is not as big a deal when placed against everything else that goes on in the film, from the chase sequences, the terrific nods to On Her Majesty’s Service, and the depth of class shown by the director, the film is one that rounds of an era in style, and one that finally can answer many questions when the next film in the series is finally in production.

Daniel Craig will be missed in the role, and surely will be seen as the Bond amongst Bonds.

Ian D. Hall