No Time to Die concluded Daniel Craig’s incredible tenure as James Bond, and with that, he managed to pull off something that only one other 007 before him managed to achieve. As the quintessential espionage franchise, the James Bond film series has remained incredibly popular since Sean Connery first told the world he preferred his martini “shaken, not stirred.” As a series whose longevity was guaranteed by the ingenious decision to recast the spy with different actors over the years, everyone will have a different answer for who they thought the very best James Bond was.

For as great as the James Bond series is, its quality has also varied greatly over the years, and some movies were better than others. One area this franchise has continually faltered in is conclusions, as most actors’ James Bond swan song represented a low point in their output, and their final movies left viewers eager for a new star to take up the mantle of the MI6 spy with a license to kill. No Time to Die was a rarity in the series, as it stood as a farewell film for its James Bond actor that wasn’t a total letdown.

Only Daniel Craig & Timothy Dalton Have Truly Good Final Movies As James Bond

No Time To Die & Licence to Kill Were Both Great

While Daniel Craig initially said he was done playing James Bond after Spectre, he was convinced to reprise the role one last time and give his time as 007 a proper send-off. While many actors’ final Bond movies were only revealed as their last outing after the fact, No Time to Die was specifically designed as an opportunity to bid Craig farewell and open the door for the franchise to reinvent itself once again in its next, yet to be produced era.

As an excellent movie that concluded the emotional arc Craig’s Bond had been on since Casino Royale in 2006, No Time to Die saw the once closed-off and guarded operative learn to love, trust, and ultimately sacrifice himself for others. With a bold and definitive ending that saw Bond die on screen for the very first time, No Time to Die was much more than a singular movie, as it dealt with the consequences of everything that preceded it and felt like a true culmination of the themes and ideas laid out throughout Craig’s highly acclaimed run.

Only Timothy Dalton’s final Bond movie managed the same feat as No Time to Die and was the lone other example of an actor’s run ending on a high note. However, Dalton’s last movie, Licence to Kill, wasn’t planned as his final movie, and the star had a disappointingly short tenure with just two films. Licence to Kill maintained the gritty realism that made Dalton’s first movie, The Living Daylights, so unique, and this was a darker reimagining of the character that had a huge influence on the Craig era.

Licence to Kill was much more than simply a story of saving the world, as it saw Bond go rogue in an attempt to avenge his friend Felix Leiter. By showcasing Bond breaking away from MI6, Licence to Kill offered a glimpse of 007 as we’d never seen him before, and its depiction of a cold, sharp, and morally questionable antihero was ahead of its time. While the fact that Dalton didn’t get to continue as Bond for a third or fourth film is one of the franchise’s greatest tragedies, it still stands as an excellent farewell to the character.

Sean Connery Ruined His Chance At A Good Final Bond Movie

Connery’s Two Farewell Films Left A Lot To Be Desired

As the first actor to play James Bond in Eon Productions’ adaptations of the novels of Ian Fleming, Sean Connery’s portrayal of 007 remains the benchmark by which all other actors are judged. Connery very nearly had a great final Bond movie, as he initially planned to retire the character after You Only Live Twice, which stands as one of the most enjoyable entries in Connery’s entire run. However, Connery returned not once, but twice, as both Diamonds Are Forever and Never Say Never Again were marketed as his final films.

Diamonds Are Forever was truly one of the most forgettable Bond movies there has ever been, and until the reappearance of the iconic villain Ernst Blofeld, it committed the biggest cardinal sin an action movie can be guilty of: it was boring. For Connery’s actual final Bond movie, Never Say Never Again, he returned to play a much older Bond in 1983 in a story that simply retread the same story beats as Thunderball from 1965. While Connery may be the definitive Bond actor, he never quite got his exit strategy right.

Why Getting A Final James Bond Movie Right Is So Difficult

Most Bond Actors Have Overstayed Their Welcome

Getting a final Bond movie right is notoriously difficult because it’s usually only the actor’s final movie after everyone realizes they have played the part for too long, and a change is needed. This was the case with Connery, and it was certainly true for Roger Moore, who later said (via Top News), “I was only about four hundred years too old for the part” when speaking years later about A View to a Kill. The fact that most final Bond movies only receive that status retroactively means that actors’ last movies are often one of their worst.

A prime example was Pierce Brosnan and Die Another Day, a CGI-heavy film filled with product placement that was so campy that it was hard to take seriously. The positive side of this was that it led to Craig’s era being a much more mature reimagining of the character and giving audiences a new 21st-century Bond that felt relevant and believable. While many would love to see Brosnan return to the role and make amends for the wrongs of the past, for now, Die Another Day stands as a disappointing conclusion to his run.

There have been plenty of great James Bond actors over the years, and each performer has brought something unique to the role. However, Daniel Craig and Timothy Dalton managed a feat that nobody else can lay claim to, and they both did it in very different ways. For Craig, No Time to Die was a calculated conclusion that acted as a satisfying reflection on everything that preceded it. It’s easy to have mixed feelings about Dalton’s last movie, as it feels like he could have given the world plenty more great adventures after Licence to Kill.

Source: Top News