‘No Time To Die’ presents women as equally capable agents who Bond teams up with, a far cry from the franchise’s sexualised and problematic past. It’s a welcome and progressive move in the franchise’s treatment of women and one that takes into consideration a post #MeToo world.
Stars: Daniel Craig, Lashana Lynch, Lea Seydoux, Rami Malek, Christoph Waltz, Ben Wishaw, Naomie Harris
🙈🙈🙈 Mild Spoilers 🙈🙈🙈
🍿 Daniel Craig’s swan song as James Bond ushers in a new generation of Bond girls that modernises the franchise. ‘No Time To Die’ follows Bond as he tries to find a kidnapped scientist, uncovering a conspiracy involving deadly nanobots! (It is very futuristic!).
Director Cary Joji Fukunaga brought Phoebe Waller-Bridge to work on the screenplay with Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, resulting in snappier dialogue and more relatable, genuine characters. (Waller-Bridge was hired to inject a female perspective and more comedy into the script, something that is super evident).
Fukunaga has previously addressed legacy Bond depictions of women, saying, “Is it Thunderball or Goldfinger where, like, basically Sean Connery’s character rapes a woman? She’s like ‘No, no, no,’ and he’s like, ‘Yes, yes, yes.’ That wouldn’t fly today.”
🍿 Nomi (Lashana Lynch) is designated 007 status (the first time this has been assigned to someone who is not a white man!) and proceeds to both troll and team up with Bond.
It’s new territory, but Lynch told THR that everyone was “really responsive to having her be what I wanted. You’re given a fresh perspective on a brand-new black woman in the Bond world.” Nomi and Bond’s dynamic as equals and burgeoning friendship where they learn from and rely on each other is pretty wonderful. I feel this really subverts old-era Bond tropes that see women as the honey trap, damsels in distress or sexual encounters who are later discarded.
🍿 In ‘No Time To Die’, Ana De Amas’ Cuban CIA agent Paloma meets with Bond to infiltrate a party held by criminal-octopus-tentacle-organization Spectre. Paloma is bubbly and capable, killing off Spectre’s henchmen in high heels and a very low cut dress (created by Australian designer Michael Lo Sordo!)
Bond and Paloma team up but it’s a platonic partnership and ends with both getting rid of a team of Spectre henchmen. To be honest, I loved this sequence and Paloma who is super charming and funny - drowning drinks because it’s her first mission and insisting that she’s only had three weeks training. I am also super impressed she did all this in a really nice outfit. Costume designer Suttirat Larlarb told Vogue:
“We could have done a jumpsuit with fantastic boots, but she’s the most capable recruit and can do anything James can do—only in heels and elegant dress.”
I also feel it’s distinctive that Bond and Paloma don’t hook up, which imho is a nice change!
‘No Time To Die’ is the my favourite Craig-era Bond since ‘Casino Royale’. It’s funny, poignant, and bold, capping off Craig’s run as 007 nicely. Despite clocking in at 163 minutes the story doesn’t feel like it ever lags. ‘No Time To Die’ is currently showing in Australian theatres.