After being delayed multiple times in the past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Eon Productions’ latest James Bond film No Time to Die was released on October 8, 2022 and received many positive reviews from fans and critics alike.

In the film, Daniel Craig returns as Ian Fleming’s iconic character alongside Lea Seydoux as Dr. Madeline Swann, Ben Whihaw as Q, Naomie Harris as Eve Moneypenny, and Jeffery Wright as Felix Leiter.

Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody, Night at the Museum) stars as the villain Lyutsifer Safin with Lashana Lynch (Captain Marvel) appearing as Nomi, a character who helps support Bond throughout the film.

In addition to the cast, the film is very notable as Craig has stated this will be his final role as Ian Fleming’s iconic character in multiple interviews promoting the film from the past year.

The film plot revolves the terrorist Lyutsifer Safin and his impact with Dr. Swann’s family in the past. Because of this, James Bond must stop a diplomatic threat from impacting humanity alongside the reality of Nomi taking the place of Bond in solving spy missions.

Throughout the film, audiences can expect surprises, over-the-top action scenes, fun moments, and sadness near the end of the movie.

While I wasn’t a fan of James Bond growing up, I knew that this film would be one to see in the theaters since Daniel Craig has played this character since 2006, a time when a lot of us were in elementary school and that he would be retiring from the role. 

Similarly, his final outing reminds me a lot of Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man and Chris Evans’ Captain America storylines concluding in Avengers: Endgame. Long story short, it’s the end of an era for a lot of people growing up with the character.

As for the film itself, I thought that it was a great end to his journey. While some die-hard fans may not like the film’s ending, it does give you that feeling that a chapter is concluding and a new one is starting. 

The action is very good, the shots are very clear, the characters are relatable, and it has a storyline that the audience can follow without being confused.

For the plot specifically however, I would recommend watching Craig’s previous James Bond films Casino Royale to Spectre. No Time to Die has a lot of important elements from these previous movies that viewers may be confused about when watching.

If there were any flows, you can probably make the argument that the film has too many characters in it or the film’s run time, 163 minutes, might be very long for someone to sit through.

However, after thinking about it, I couldn’t think of anything wrong with the film. It’s not a masterpiece or the absolute greatest of all time in terms of the history of movies, but it’s definitely something that leads you to want more of it.

With that being said, I’ll give No Time to Die an 8/10 rating. I think it’s something that fans of James Bond or not should take the time to see. In fact, there are even some rumors going around that PC Professors were downloading it online.

You can now check out No Time to Die through Apple TV and other streaming services where available.