No Time To Die

DIRECTOR CARY JOJI FUKUNAGA

RELEASE DATE 2 APRIL

STARRING

DANIEL CRAIG, RAMI MALEK, LÉA SEYDOUX, LASHANA LYNCH, ANA DE ARMAS, NAOMIE HARRIS, JEFFREY WRIGHT, CHRISTOPH WALTZ, RALPH FIENNES, BILLY MAGNUSSEN, BEN WHISHAW

CERTIFICATE TBC

RUNNING TIME TBC

BRITAIN’S BIGGEST CINEMATIC EXPORT, JAMES BOND, returns in No Time To Die, the 25th entry in the official EONproduced series. The fifth outing of Daniel Craig as the world’s most famous spy/ tuxedo wearer/vodka martini drinker is the culmination of the story arc that started in Casino Royale, but it stands alone as its own heart-racing new adventure.

Spectre ended with Bond (Craig) capturing the head of SPECTRE, Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Christoph Waltz), and heading off in his Aston Martin DB5 with new love, Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux). No Time To Die picks up the story with Bond happy in retirement, living a quiet life in Jamaica (where Ian Fleming wrote the 007 stories). His idyllic existence is interrupted when Bond’s old friend and CIA operative Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) turns up asking for help. Drawn back into spy games, Bond’s mission –to rescue a kidnapped scientist –brings him into contact and conflict with Safin, a mysterious villain wielding a deadly new technology.

Safin is played by Rami Malek, fresh from an Oscar win as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody. Also new to the franchise is Lashana Lynch (Captain Marvel) who is Nomi, a double-0 agent who has joined active duty during Bond’s retirement and is not above giving him some sass (“You get in my way I will put a bullet in your knee… the one that works.”). Ana de Armas, best known for Blade Runner 2049 and Knives Out, which also starred Daniel Craig, plays Paloma, an ally for Bond during escapades set in Cuba.

Directing No Time To Die is Cary Joji Fukunaga, not only the first American but also the first filmmaker of Asian descent to helm a Bond film. Best known for True Detective, searing drama Beasts Of No Nation, and trippy Netflix mindbender Maniac, Fukunaga is a director renowned for his skill with actors and sense of cinematic style. He is also a credited writer on the script, which is written by Bond screenwriting legends Robert Wade and Neal Purvis (No Time To Die is their seventh 007 screenplay), and Fleabag creator Phoebe WallerBridge (don’t expect Bond to give any cheeky looks to camera). Waller-Bridge, of course, has form in the globe-trotting espionage department, writing and show-running Killing Eve.

Back for a second time is Christoph Waltz as Blofeld, who plays mind games with Bond from prison. Diehard fans will enjoy that this is the first 007 film to include the full complement of the secret agent’s support network –M (Ralph Fiennes), Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), Q (Ben Whishaw) and Felix Leiter (Wright, the first actor to play the role three times) –for 31 years following Licence To Kill in 1989. Aficionados will also revel in the return of Bond’s signature car, the Aston Martin DB5. Having been battered in Skyfall and in the workshop in Spectre, it is back in all its glory, with some new special features courtesy of Q –chiefly Gatling guns that appear from the headlights and take out the baddies in a spectacular, spinning “doughnut” manoeuvre.

It all adds up to a James Bond epic on the grandest scale, filled with the elements the franchise is famous for: exotic locations (the film was shot in Jamaica, Italy, Norway); breathtaking stunts (a stunning motorcycle jump, a gasp-inducing leap from a bridge); explosive action; maximum swagger; sharp suits and sharper humour, all injected with the kind of gravitas only Daniel Craig can bring. In other words, Bond is back at Picturehouse. Ian Freer

IN THE KNOW

1

The release of No Time To

Die means Daniel Craig is the longest-serving James Bond, 14 years from 2006’s Casino Royale. The previous record holder was

Roger Moore, who played the character for 12 years between 1973 and 1985.

2

Rami Malek is the latest Oscar winning actor to join a Bond film. Other Oscar winners to appear in Bond films are Javier Bardem, Halle Berry, Sean Connery, Benicio Del Toro, Judi Dench, Christopher Walken and Christoph Waltz.

3

The title song will be co-written and performed by five-times Grammy winner Billie Eilish. At 18, she is the youngest artist ever to record a Bond song. The score is by legendary composer Hans

Zimmer, who is collaborating with Smiths icon Johnny Marr. The pair also collaborated on Inception and The Amazing Spider-Man.