Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The 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.
Craig's swan song lands as a genuinely satisfying farewell for most critics, who praised its emotional weight, gorgeous cinematography, and a moving conclusion — but the film's bloated runtime and uneven middle act divided opinion sharply, with some finding it the bleakest and least enjoyable entry in the series. Whether Bond's fate feels earned or like a catastrophic misstep is the central argument reviewers couldn't resolve.
“Craig leaves the series in a mammoth, 163-minute extravaganza that audiences will be enjoying for decades. It's a lovely thing to see.”
Mick LaSalle·San Francisco Chronicle
“It's a bit more successful if we think of it instead as a tribute to the Craig era, and to the star himself.”
K. Austin Collins·Rolling Stone
“For something that once felt like it so deftly balanced the old of a timeless character with a new, richer style, perhaps the biggest knock against [the film] is that there's nothing here that hasn't been done better in one of the other Craig movies.”
Brian Tallerico·RogerEbert.com
“It delivers the set-pieces without ever trying to connect them with any urgency, almost like an anthology or re-mix.”
David Sexton·New Statesman
“Rami Malek gives almost nothing to the role beyond his accent and stereotyped disfigurement makeup”
Clarisse Loughrey·The Independent
Action, Adventure, Thriller
Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The 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.
Craig's swan song lands as a genuinely satisfying farewell for most critics, who praised its emotional weight, gorgeous cinematography, and a moving conclusion — but the film's bloated runtime and uneven middle act divided opinion sharply, with some finding it the bleakest and least enjoyable entry in the series. Whether Bond's fate feels earned or like a catastrophic misstep is the central argument reviewers couldn't resolve.
“Craig leaves the series in a mammoth, 163-minute extravaganza that audiences will be enjoying for decades. It's a lovely thing to see.”
Mick LaSalle·San Francisco Chronicle
“It's a bit more successful if we think of it instead as a tribute to the Craig era, and to the star himself.”
K. Austin Collins·Rolling Stone
“For something that once felt like it so deftly balanced the old of a timeless character with a new, richer style, perhaps the biggest knock against [the film] is that there's nothing here that hasn't been done better in one of the other Craig movies.”
Brian Tallerico·RogerEbert.com
“It delivers the set-pieces without ever trying to connect them with any urgency, almost like an anthology or re-mix.”
David Sexton·New Statesman
“Rami Malek gives almost nothing to the role beyond his accent and stereotyped disfigurement makeup”
Clarisse Loughrey·The Independent
Action, Adventure, Thriller