No Time To Die is finally here and fans couldn’t be any happier to see the ultimate spy back on the big screen. In his final round as Bond, Daniel Craig has has left his imprint on the franchise that includes Sean Connery and Roger Moore and where once the James Bond films played as separate adventures, linked by characters both malevolent and benign, EON Productions wanted the Daniel Craig series to unfold as a unified whole.
In his final round as Bond, Daniel Craig has has left his imprint on the franchise that includes Sean Connery and Roger Moore and where once the James Bond films played as separate adventures, linked by characters both malevolent and benign, EON Productions wanted the Daniel Craig series to unfold as a unified whole.
Quantum Of Solace picked up immediately after Casino Royale, which had tracked Bond’s initiation into the life of a double-O agent. Skyfall slotted into the series to reveal important aspects of Bond’s early life. Now, the 25th film in the EON series, No Time To Die, begins in the aftermath of Spectre where the film’s conclusion saw Bond (Craig) and Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) drive away in the Aston Martin DB5.
After the heartbreak he suffered with the loss of Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) in Casino Royale, his fluctuating relationship with M and MI6, and the pain inflicted by ther evelations imparted byBlofeld (Christoph Waltz), Bond has taken another risk, letting down his guard with Madeleine as he bids to try and love again making trust the biggest theme in this movie. With Bond having severed his longest-lasting relationship, his employment with MI6, Bond’s retirement opened the filmmakers to a new reality.
With No Time To Die there was a strong story to finish off, lots of loose ends to tie up and they’ve managed to tell that story where fans will see conclusion. Audiences will see themes exploring secrets, betrayal and trust have stitched together the last four films as they propel the narrative towards its thrilling conclusion.
To tell this story, the filmmakers turned to visionary VFX Supervisor Charlie Noble to help bring the script to life that sees Bond tackle one last 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.
In celebration of No Time To Die’s release, The Koalition spoke to Noble about what makes an essential Bond film, the cohesiveness of this journey and more.
“[No Time To Die] is a culmination of a long career. It’s an honor to work on the franchise alongside some supremely talented artists and production crew. Filmmaking is a very collaborative process and none more so than No Time To Die. All the departments worked together to get the director’s vision onto the screen.”
“The great thing about No Time to Die was the overarching desire to achieve as much as physically possible on camera; so we went to fantastic locations, Producer Designer, Mark Tilsley built some huge sets. Lee Morrison and his stunt team did some epic stunts all for real and the visual effects just employed to support these endeavors and to pick up from where such efforts become impractical for whatever reason; either budgetary or actor availability or risks to principles. So we’re just an extension for the other departments. We just sort of pick up the baton and carry it forward.”
While No Time To Die focuses on its layered plot, there are certain expectations regarding adventure and danger this film has to not only live up to but exceed. Bond has to face the scariest thing the world and have him get in front of it and stop it. And what has been interesting in Daniel’s run is the added layers that he’s brought to that character There’s complexity, there’s damage, there’s also vulnerability that’s been covered up since the first of his films No Time To Die explores.
Director Fukunaga had a very specific approach that provided key emotional beats as well as nerve-jangling thrills. “The whole process was really special and all inspiring. There’s some great moments in [the movie] like jumping off a really tall medieval bridge over a high gorge. Huge stunts, big car chases. Now with technology changing and constantly advancing, many of the movie’s finest achievements in special effects are possible. “[Technology] goes hand and hand. things are more achievable now than they used to be. Big films that weren’t necessary possible are now possible with increased technology and a number of very skilled artists available now so the industry has expanded enormously since I started. Technology [and] computing power doubles every couple of years and things become achievable that weren’t necessarily so back in the day.”
To learn more about No Time To Die, check out our full interview in the video above.
