WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Plenty of fans almost walked out of the theater close to the end of “No Time to Die”.

It was shocking to see how tragically this franchise ended, and how the terrible ending wasn’t all a dream or fixed in a post credit scene.

Many of Daniel Craig’s James Bond films feel less comical and playful than Pierce Brosnan’s and the other actors who have portrayed the famous role. However, Craig’s franchise has produced a more intense and gloomy atmosphere which has won the hearts of James Bond fans and movie lovers everywhere.

The official poster for the 2021 James Bond movie, “No Time to Die”.

Fans around the world have been waiting for a year for this film to finally come out, especially considering the movie had been set to release much sooner and was held back due to the pandemic. “No Time To Die” is grossing $56 million in box offices across the country and $300 million globally, while only being in theaters for less than a single week.

The movie’s plot starts out with a flashback of the character Madeleine Swann, played by Léa Seydoux, who is Bond’s love interest. Swann is shown at a young age living with her mother.

Suddenly, an unknown man wearing a mask shows up and murders Swann’s mother as he was searching for her father—the father had allegedly killed the murderer’s entire family. During the intense scene, Swann hides with a gun underneath her bed before she goes to search the house. She shoots the murderer in an attempt to protect herself, and then drags his body outside in the cold.

All of a sudden, out of nowhere, the murderer revives as his body is being dragged and chases Swann onto a frozen lake. The ice gives out and she falls underneath it right before the scene rapidly changes and Swann is shown in the present day with Bond.

The murderer chose to spare and save her that day. At this point in the film, it is known Bond and Swann are romantically involved, and he addresses the fact she is keeping secrets from him.

He entices her to share what she is feeling, and she gets defensive, bringing up the fact he is not an open book either. She ends up not telling him about her past, yet encourages him to reconcile his own past. She then tells Bond to go to a tomb to visit the deceased Vesper Lynd, whom he once had a romantic link with in the past.

Lynd had been channeling terrorist money in the previous Bond film, “Casino Royale”, which ultimately led to her suicide. She gave in to what the enemies wanted, feeling guilty for her mistakes which changed Bond’s life, her country’s well-being and her own reputation. 

Swann knew Bond needed to come to terms with what happened and understand  Lynd was pretty much forced into betrayal. When coming to terms with this and facing his past at the grave, he is suddenly attacked by Spectre assassins. Spectre is the terrorist group which continues to attack Bond and threaten the state of the world throughout the franchise.

Bond wins this battle and rushes back to the hotel to force Swann to come with him as they both overcome the murderers. It is his belief she had set him up due to her incessant urging for him to visit the grave. He then forces Swann to get on a train and part ways, no longer trusting her, even though she pleads for him to believe her and not make her go.

Later on in the timeline, we see an MI6 scientist kidnapped from a top secret UK lab. This is significant, as it sets off “Project Hercules”, which pertains to genetically modified bioweapons which contain nanobots.

These nanobots specifically target individual people’s DNA, killing one to as many people as the nanobots are designed for. They kill upon contact, and are designed to only be harmful to the DNA of the target.

This means the scientist in charge can trigger the bioweapons to specifically attack Bond’s DNA and render it to kill him, or it can be designed to kill multiple Spectre assassin agents by programming it to their DNA.

At this time in the film, Bond is retired in Jamaica and is tracked down by CIA agents wanting him to find Valdo Orbruchev, played by David Dencik. Obruchev is the man in charge of commissioning these harmful bioweapons.

It is also revealed after Bond’s retirement, there was another person who assumed the title of 007. This launches him out of retirement and right to Cuba to begin his mission. It is also discovered the man who murdered Swann’s mother plays a role in creating and utilizing the harmful bioweapons.

This movie is one of the best films not only this year, but for a long time. It can also be described as one of the more thrilling films in the Bond film series.

Although the film is a sad milestone on a long adventure for the Bond fan base as  the last of Craig’s Bond films, it definitely went out with a perfect bang. It was a perfect James Bond film for a night of thrilling adventure, mystery, beautiful cinematography and an iconic soundtrack.

Although this movie is not a good go-to for comedy viewers, it is dynamic in any other way a good movie can be. 

There is a lot of tension keeping the whole movie enticing and unpredictable, yet there is less grief than the other films and a conclusion which leaves viewers with a bit of hope for a happy ending.

This hope was illustrated with beautiful locations as we hoped Bond would finally get to continue in his paused retirement. The audience of the film visually toured Cuba, Jamaica, Italy, Norway, Scotland, London and the Faroe Islands.

The car he drives is another sight to behold alone. It is a metallic silver with a vintage look matching the aesthetic of the cars in Italy but with a modern twist. Of course, the car comes with cool safety features including guns which fire from the headlights and shatterproof glass. To be fair though, how could it be a successful Bond film without a great, weapon-equipped car?

The movie also has a familiar Bond film score, with the addition of Billie Eilish’s song “No Time to Die” gracing the credits in the beginning of the film. The film even has epic stunts, which is absolutely expected for a Bond film—but this time, creators did not hold back on the intensity of the stunt scenes as Bond and notably many female characters conquered endless enemies throughout the narrative.

The expectations for the next classic Bond plotline is unexpected, but who knows what’s to come.

Maybe the next 007 will be a woman.

Madison Wanco can be reached at jaedynyoung@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @jaedyn_young3.