WARNING: The following contains spoilers for No Time to Die, in theaters now.
In No Time to Die, Daniel Craig’s James Bond faces his toughest challenge yet in Rami Malek’s Safin. The terrorist damages Agent 007’s concept of family, leaves the CIA and MI6 tottering and tries to destroy the world by creating a brutal pandemic. While Safin’s plan doesn’t succeed fully, it certainly fixes Mission: Impossible‘s biggest mistake by doing something this genre shies away from.
This revolves around Mission: Impossible II‘s own viral outbreak, which Ethan Hunt had to stop when the terrorist, Sean Ambrose, decided to teach the world a lesson. However, as high as the stakes were in that film, it got deflated in the finale as it went the typical Hail Mary route to produce the clichéd happy ending. In it, Hunt planted Nyah, a thief and spy, in Sean’s camp but while most of the villain’s scheme was foiled, she ended up infected with the Chimera virus. Rather than die, the heroes found a cure and saved her, which felt cheesy and predictable.
It came off as a missed opportunity to teach Hunt about consequences and how the price of freedom sometimes isn’t worth it, especially when people are used as pawns. Given that Nyah was later scrubbed from the franchise and Hunt moved on, in retrospect, Mission: Impossible II‘s ending lacked gravity and didn’t really impact Hunt personally or professionally.
Conversely, Safin’s plan in No Time to Die does the opposite, leaving a lasting effect. That’s because Safin infects Bond’s beloved Madeleine, as well as Bond himself so he can’t go near her or their daughter, Mathilde. It’s Safin’s way of teaching him that if he messes with chemical terrorists, he can get burned in a big way. The ramifications are real, as this shapes Bond’s kryptonite and makes him more human than ever, leading him to sacrifice himself.
Bond can’t live with being apart from his loved ones, so he basks in the bombing of the island. This is the ultimate and most painful lesson, as it takes away a selfless father, devoted ‘husband,’ loyal agent and a hero the world needs. It ups the stakes, reminding the CIA and MI6 that they are mortal and not invincible like Hunt and his posse.
More so, it’s nuanced and not done for shock factor so it feels organic to No Time to Die‘s plot. It also lays the template for future films to follow, within and outside of the franchise, and proves that movies can still have a happy ending even if there are casualities. After all, Bond dies saving the world, which shows how family can inspire greatness. So whether it was Nyah or someone in Ethan’s crew, their death could have resonated as well, as it would’ve had emotional heft and truly left the audience thinking that all bets are off in the art of war.
To see Mission: Impossible’s biggest flaw get fixed, check out No Time to Die, now playing in theaters.
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