10 Best James Bond: No Time To Die Characters

Daniel Craig’s final turn as James Bond placed great importance on character quality. No Time to Die brought in plenty of important players to the story, with the central protagonists, in particular, getting some meaty material to sink their teeth into. The plot sees James Bond take on Lyutsifer Safrin, whose revenge quest against SPECTRE also gets Bond’s former lover, Madeleine, involved.

Some characters had less depth than others in the movie, but it’s worth taking a look into which characters benefitted from the plot and which could have been better developed, based on their potential.

10 Ernst Blofeld

The lack of Blofeld in more recent movies in the franchise is one of the things that doesn’t make sense in the Daniel Craig James Bond series. He served as the person of interest in the first half of No Time to Die, when everyone was after him, but only appeared for one scene where he was killed in an anti-climactic fashion.

He certainly held interest in the way he manipulated Bond’s relationship with Madeleine, but Blofeld ultimately felt like an add-on villain, rather than a true threat. He could have been directly involved with Safrin’s hatred of him, yet the character became an afterthought once he died.

9 M

M had a far more sedate role than usual, being completely absent from the action, with most of his scenes set in his office. He was also less sympathetic this time around due to the fact that he commissioned Project Heracles, making him responsible for the movie’s conflict.

His dynamic with Bond was lacking, as well, with Bond treating M icily instead of with his usual sarcastic charm. To M’s credit, he did redeem himself by showing true remorse for his decisions, and he had a point where he worried about diplomatic relations between countries by detonating explosives in a disputed area.

8 Eve Moneypenny

It’s a shame that Moneypenny hasn’t been as prominent of a character since Skyfall, as fans are well aware of how great she can be. No Time to Die didn’t give her much to do either, with her main contribution to guide Bond toward Q so he could help better.

Moneypenny is just as likable as ever, though, and displays quick wit, although this was toned down due to the severity of the nanobot conflict. She could have played a major role in No Time to Die, but the story went a different way and Moneypenny ended up somewhat underused.

7 Lyutsifer Safin

There was a lot of hype surrounding Rami Malek’s turn as the villain, but he didn’t have much to do until the finale. Safrin was absent for the majority of the movie and his goals of domination were largely generic after he’d achieved his revenge on Blofeld.

His positive character quality comes from the mysterious aura that surrounded him, as Safrin comes across as a person who is impossible to read. His antagonism of Bond by using his daughter is entertainingly despicable, but Safrin went down like any other villain without truly testing Bond.

6 Q

Q’s banter with Bond evolved from taking shots at one another to Bond pulling his leg like an elder brother does to a younger sibling. Q was also adorable in his hopes to have a normal time, for once, with the characters hilariously giving no regard for his privacy.

He was a vital character as far as showing empathy toward Bond is concerned, as he was a good friend who ultimately respected Bond’s wish to die. A few scenes dedicated to his gadgetry expertise would have made him more memorable, although his time onscreen was still pleasant to follow.

5 Paloma

Paloma’s small role was one of the bigger surprises in No Time to Die, as she was promoted as a major character. Regardless, she did make her mark for being a bubbly, sweet-natured, and refreshingly different spy who made Bond smile with her antics.

Paloma also subverted the initial perception of her to be a total badass who dispatched the enemies with ease. She was an overall entertaining character whose small role left a significant impact. Had she been given more to do, she could have been the best character, overall.

4 Felix Leiter

A true friend until the end, Felix’s role was to be Bond’s trusted ally who gave him the courage to fight off Safrin’s machinations. Felix’s return to the series was welcome, as it enabled Bond to loosen up and be a funny person for once.

Felix also brought in the first major emotional impact to No Time to Die, with his death scene intended to make fans feel Bond’s loss of a friend. It also makes the film one of the darkest James Bond movies, as a long-running character like Felix wasn’t expected to perish.

3 Madeleine Swann

Madeleine made history as the first Bond girl to not only appear in multiple movies but survive all the way through. She was the heart of the story as James’ true love who never betrayed him, and her status as the mother of Bond’s daughter makes things all the more interesting.

Safrin was connected to Bond through Madeleine, as her father’s actions led to the death of Safrin’s parents and kickstarted his revenge mission against SPECTRE. The only thing lacking was her direct involvement in the action, as Madeleine became more of a damsel in distress by the end, but her role as the driving force of the story is still her most notable aspect.

2 Nomi

Nomi subverted all expectations by being portrayed as a flawed, humorous, adept, and entertaining 007. She wasn’t the stereotypical perfect successor with a boring personality. Instead, she was shown to have insecurities about her position that she ultimately took into stride in order to prove herself to Bond.

Nomi’s relatable personality allowed her to come across as a likable character, who can return in the future for further development. Her banter with Bond was worth remembering, as was Nomi’s tendency to make things worse for herself. Ultimately, she managed to embrace her strong and weak points, and was more than worthy of the 007 moniker.

1 James Bond

The final outing for the character answered some long-running questions about James Bond to leave things on a satisfying note. Bond wasn’t his usual suave self, with No Time to Die portraying him in a funnier, humane, and emotional way.

While his action scenes were superb, as always, Bond was mainly interesting due to the growth he showed as a person. He finally learned to let go of Vesper and embraced his full responsibility by protecting his daughter and paving the way for her future. His sacrifice was easily the most emotional moment of the entire series, which completed Bond’s character development to leave a lasting impression of him as a hero.

About The Author

Saim Cheeda
(1356 Articles Published)

Saim Cheeda is an entertainment writer covering all of Film, TV, Gaming and Books. He’s been a writer for Valnet since 2017, contributing 500+ articles for The Gamer, The Things, Game Rant, Comic Book Resources and Screen Rant. Apart from freelance writing, Saim is a lifestyle blogger, co-owning the blog 3 States Apart.

http://3statesapart.com

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