No Time to Die review roundup: What the critics are saying about Daniel Craig’s final Bond film

Verdicts on the actor’s 007 swansong have finally arrived

The verdicts on No Time to Die – Daniel Craig’s final film as James Bond – have rolled in.

After a delay of 17 months, the film premiered in London on Tuesday (28 September), with critics soon sharing their opinions on Craig’s swan song as the spy.

The film is the first Bond adventure since Spectre, which received a mixed reception upon its release in 2015.

Fortunately, it seems No Time to Die is an improvement, with particular praise being heaped on director Cary Joji Fukunaga, new cast addition Ana de Armas and the way Craig’s version of 007 bows out.

Find a roundup of No Time to Die reviews below...

The Independent – three stars

“Cary Joji Fukunaga has made a smashing piece of action cinema with No Time to Die – it’s just a shame it had to be a Bond film. For all the delays, the rumours, the months spent building up Daniel Craig’s final farewell in the role, what’s most disappointing about the film is how strangely anti-climatic the whole thing feels. That is, minus a third act curtsy that at least allows Craig to leave the franchise with not only a good dollop of dignity, but a reminder to us all that he gave Bond a soul.”

The Guardian – five stars

“Perhaps nothing in it measures up to the drama of Bond’s rage-filled hurt feelings at the very beginning. But it is very enjoyable and gleefully spectacular – Craig and Seydoux and Malek sell it very hard and you can see the pleasure everyone takes in this gigantic piece of ridiculously watchable entertainment which feels like half its actual running time.”

Rami Malek plays the Bond villain in ‘No Time to Die’ (MGM)

The Telegraph – five stars

“To an extent, No Time to Die is in keeping with its immediate predecessors, 2012’s Skyfall and 2015’s Spectre. The stakes that are simultaneously global and personal, and there are numerous ritualistic retracings of ideas and images from Bond adventures past. But there are key differences. For one thing, it’s unfashionably colourful. For another, it’s often very funny indeed.”

Empire Magazine – four stars

“[Craig’s] performance — which has always been rich with contradictions, the playboyish smile contrasted with a stoic inner turmoil — is the most interesting it has ever been in this film. This Bond is more passionate, more impulsive, more sensitive and — dare we say — more romantic, breathing remarkable new dimensions into a decades-old character.”

GamesRadar – four stars

“Craig’s final film doesn’t do much to interrogate Bond’s relevance in the modern world. Yes, his position has been filled by new 00 Nomi (Lashana Lynch), but their tension doesn’t go beyond light banter (and Lynch is never quite as compelling as you’d hope, given her position as a potential baton-carrier). If there’s a real disappointment here, it’s in Malek’s villain. Lacking presence, and overdoing the sneer, the Oscar-winner proves to be an underwhelming foil.”

No Time to Die is in UK cinemas on 29 September and will be released in the US on 8 October.