Even with the generally dire record of the Bond films which feature their star actor for the last time, I had high hopes for No Time To Die, and hoped the Daniel Craig era would go out with the same kind of snap that started it, all the way back in 2006. I should have known better.
I could handle the frankly comical death of Blofield, and found some tiny joy in Ana de Armas' brief appearance, but couldn't help but be disappointed with the climactic action - for a series built on the power of remarkable stunts, Bond running up a staircase and shooting all the random henchmen that pop out of doorways made it all look like a goddamn Call of Duty game.
It was also just such a fucking downer of a note to leave the cinema on. Nobody wants to walk out of a James Bond thinking about the nature of mortality, and how even the most iconic of heroes must fall.
They may have been shooting for new emotional depths, but nobody goes to a Bond film for fucking emotional depth, they go for stunts and quips. And it all led to yet another flabby end for a Bond actor's era.
You can't blame the legacy producers for always trying to get one last film out of their stars, and they usually do it by offering them the chance to do something meaty, something a bit more substantial. Let the talent have some kind of hand in the script, if you have to.
This is almost always a terrible idea, and the star might feel like they're really broadening their range, but most of the audience is just wondering when going to stop moping around and go kill some enemy of the state.
I still love many parts of the Daniel Craig Bonds - although little will match the joy of Casino Royale - but I'm so glad they're moving on. I can't wait to see who the next 007 is and the whole new era that it will bring. (I usually really, really hate fan casting, but I do desperately wish they would give the license to kill to Dev Patel.)
I just hope they're ready to move on before it gets too stale for all concerned next time.
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