James Bond must save the world (again) and confront his own sell-by date in the new trailer for No Time To Die. It's the 25th movie in the long-running spy franchise, which is less a series and more of an institution, one that's deeply embedded in our moviegoing psyches.
The trailer plays on this as Daniel Craig's 007 faces a personal threat in the form of Safin (Bohemian Rhapsody Oscar winner Rami Malek). Scarred of face and thick of accent, Safin appears to be gunning for James via way of targeting his current love interest Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux, who returns from previous movie Spectre).
The exact nature of Safin's connection to Madeleine still remains mysterious, even after No Time To Die was delayed from April to November 2020. Still, it's a mission for Bond's eyes only as he traverses the world on a do-or-die mission with the help of two new agents: fellow 00 Nomi (Lashana Lynch) and the glamorously-attired Paloma (Ana De Armas).
That these two characters are challenging the male-oriented supremacy of the 007 universe is one of the ways that No Time To Die is tweaking the ancient Bond formula. The movie is also clearly toying with the potential of 007's death: will Bond actually die on-screen for the first time and pass the torch to one of these new characters?
Certainly, the menace posed by Safin appears to have Bond hot under the collar, as the masked baddie threatens the globe and brings old secrets back to the surface. At the same time, the familiar enjoyable tropes are out in play, including impeccable sartorial elegance in the midst of action scenes and thunderously explosive set-pieces.
Incumbent director Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective; Beasts of No Nation) is the filmmaker who must walk the tightrope between tradition and the advent of the new, as Craig prepares to bow out of the role he made his own in 2006's Casino Royale.
Chalk up the Aston Martins, handsome locations (Matera in Italy features prominently) and the all-star supporting cast of familiar faces: Ralph Fiennes as M, Ben Whishaw as Q, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny and Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter. Check out the trailer below.
No Time To Die is released in the UK and Ireland on 12th November.
