The Daniel Craig era of Bond is marked with inconsistency, with Quantum of Solace (2008) and Skyfall (2012) occupying opposite poles of the spectrum of quality of the last 57 years’ worth of films.
Couple this with the apparent production nightmare Craig’s fifth outing as the legendary 007 seems to have been, with veteran filmmaker Danny Boyle stepping down from the director’s podium in August 2018, it’s understandable as to why fans may be feeling anxious. However, with the drop of the recent teaser trailer for No Time To Die, the familiar reserve of Craig’s iteration of Bond coupled with the action beats we’ve become familiar with watching these films are on full display here; seriously, there’s a stunt with a motorcycle that took my breath away, and I’m incredibly excited to see it contextualised in what will no doubt be an exceptional action scene.
A top tier cast are on full display here and promise to give us a range of excellent performances and no doubt a considerable amount of laughs along the way, owing to the endearing humour that somehow works well in these films. And considering Rami Malek is on top of the world right now, I’m very keen to see his take on a Bond villain.
Relegating Christoph Waltz to a secondary villain risks undermining a character that was already sparingly used in 2015.
So far, so good; we have the superficial aspects nailed. However, the biggest reservation I have with this trailer is the character of Dr. Madeleine Swan, first seen in Spectre played by French actress Lea Seydoux. Bond’s opening assertion of her betrayal threatens to re-tread the final act of Casino Royale, which runs the risk of placing Craig’s character through the exact same arc he experienced then. Relegating Christoph Waltz to a secondary villain also risks undermining a character that was already sparingly used in 2015. I hope that like me, you’ve met this trailer with a cautious degree of optimism and that No Time To Die will be a film worthy of Daniel Craig’s previous stint as the titular character (well… apart from THAT one…)
