2021's No Time to Die has an eerie, backstory-driven opening sequence, but a perfect introductory scene for the James Bond film would have been quite different and cut out the well-known spy. No Time to Die was perhaps the most highly anticipated James Bond entry in recent memory, with the question lingering as to how Daniel Craig would bid farewell to the character he breathed fresh life into following a barnstorming performance in 2006's Casino Royale. Yet while No Time to Die's opening scenes place significant focus on exposition, tweaking how they kick things off would have made for a much more exciting 25th James Bond movie right out of the gate.
Directed by Cary Joji Fukanaga, No Time To Die opens with a palpably tense sequence that introduces Rami Malek's, Lyutsifer Safin. No Time To Die's foreboding villain arrives at the home of a young Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), murders her mother in cold blood, and ends up chasing her across, and saving her from dying in, a frozen lake. Fukunaga's deft touch at ratcheting up tension is on full display in this first No Time To Die scene, with Safin's slow, ragged breaths and icy demeanour contrasting with the young Madeleine's frantic attempts to escape his clutches.
No Time to Die's opening isn't necessarily bad, but its scene could use some revamping in how it kicks off the Bond flick. No Time To Die's slow-burn, creeping-tension introduction is a far cry from other Daniel Craig Bond entries, conspiring to create a jarring change of pace for the franchise in a scene that Fukunaga's Bond movie did not need. This issue is then compounded by Bond's first introduction in the subsequent scene, which sees Bond and Swann enjoying retirement in another equally slow-paced sequence. As a result, here's why No Time To Die's perfect opening scene would have cut James Bond and Lyutsifer Safin, respectively, as well as why No Time To Die should have used Lashana Lynch's 007 for its introduction.
No Time To Die's Opening Is Too Slow & Unnecessary
Though it sets No Time to Die's darker tone and introduces both Madeleine's backstory and Safin's overall character, the Bond film's opening is nevertheless too slow and unnecessary. Although modern James Bond movies undoubtedly require emotional depth and thoughtful storylines, a vital component of what makes them work is the skilled use of deft, break-neck speed action scenes. While it is alluded to in No Time To Die's opening sequence that mayhem will ensue once Safin nears Madeleine's home from across the lake, it takes an unnecessarily long time for the scene's action to truly heat up. Madeleine's first encounter with Safin in No Time to Die is important information to have, as it comes into play later and ties in with the film's theme of reckoning with one's secrets and ghosts of the past, but the sequence could have been shown later on in the movie - and much more succinctly to boot.
Why Every Bond Movie Needs An Opening Set-Piece
The James Bond franchise often sees villains and their henchmen tangling with the eponymous 007 and has featured plenty of memorable fight and chase scenes. 007 has always famously been able to smoothly pull off the most grandiose stunts, and, although No Time to Die certainly has some quality set-pieces (like the dam bungee scene early in the film), it would have behooved the project to have that kind of action-packed, memorable scene in its opening. Every James Bond movie needs one of these to really get pulses racing, and, in this way, No Time to Die's opening would have been better if it had a scene akin to something like Skyfall's pre-credits train fight or the famous downhill ski chase in 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me.
No Time To Die's Traditional Opening Should Have Been The New 007
Had No Time to Die's Madeleine Swann-focused opening been reworked a bit from what's seen in the final product, it could've really benefitted from featuring Lashana Lynch's Nomi considering that the movie takes little time to introduce her as the new 007. No Time To Die's first look at Bond reveals that he's retired, but, of course, the world of espionage has kept chugging along out of necessity. With Nomi having received his former MI6 agent number, having her No Time to Die character in the opening scene would have been a perfect way to initially bring her into the fold. Also, it would've been nice to see the new 007 kicking things off with a memorable set-piece action sequence; as it later becomes clear that she can easily pull off the same death-defying missions as her predecessor.
Why Lashana Lynch's Bond Introduction Is Weak
Though Lashana Lynch's No Time to Die character is important to the story and is definitely set up for future use within the James Bond franchise, her introduction is weak by comparison. It goes without saying that the film had to focus on Craig's Bond and his relationship with Madeleine, but Nomi, the new 007 for most of the movie, is used surprisingly sparingly. With this in mind, Nomi has the chance for a perfect character set-up when M asks early on, "Where is 007?", but, unfortunately, No Time To Die fails to grasp this scintillating opportunity.
Nomi's own introduction, where she slyly gets herself back to Bond's home in Jamaica by offering him a much-needed ride, doesn't really have much of an impact - aside from adding an extra layer of espionage-related "one never knows who to trust." In addition, though it's satisfying to see Bond reclaim his 007 title in No Time to Die's latter half (at Nomi's request), this, among other things, really leaves Lashana Lynch's character cheated out of what should have been a suave and surprising introduction that's on par with the James Bond franchise's signature tone. In hindsight, a handful of changes to No Time To Die could have made both the movie's opening and Nomi's introduction even more perfect.