Daniel Craig is back in what is his presumably his last outing as the ageless British spy James Bond, and it looks like a lot of people are along for the ride. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (Sin Nombre, True Detective, Beasts of No Nation) and written by him and several others (including Emmy-award-winning Phoebe Waller-Bridge, apparently brought in in the later hours), the first character posters dropped yesterday, in anticipation of today's much-anticipated trailer.
In No Time To Die, Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.
The last time Bond left active service at the end of Casino Royale, his rest was short-lived as it turned out his love Vesper was using him to get money to ransom for her boyfriend's life; now it seems Bond hasn't learned much, as he is off with yet another woman (Madeleine from Spectre) and it looks like she, too, has secrets. Bond is joined again by M (Ralph Fiennes), Q (Ben Wishaw), and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), which is to be expected, but is Blofeld's appearance brief, or he is an extra villain alongside Rami Malek's Safin? And is this the official handing of the torch to the next Bond, delightfully rumoured to be Lashana Lynch?
While it looks like all the usual and amazing Bond action is back, I must say it seems like the plot (at least what we're shown in the trailer) looks cobbled together from various past Bond films. I suppose there are only so many ways a villain can seek to destroy the world as we know it, and I doubt this quibble will stop the film from being a hit. But judge for yourself below.