Colette Haseldine

Watching No Time To Die, I left this world for the duration of the film. I was transported, captivated, charmed, engaged in the characters (especially Daniel Craig's Bond swansong) and emotionally connected with Bond's love affair and the emergence of a gorgeous and endearing Bond legacy. Much was made of the longest running time of any Bond film, but I was so engrossed that I didn't notice the length. Daniel Craig (and the producers) have moved James Bond from a shag-anything-that-moves caricature of a man, to a profound, heart-felt and passionately loyal hero, who embodies dependability in a world that badly needs to be reminded. Lea Seydoux as Madeleine was both excitingly tough and delectably tender, while Matilde was a delight. Lashana Lynch hit the perfect notes as a counterpoint to Bond in the 00 stakes, while Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw were scrumptious, as always. M was disturbingly off-key, conflicted and misinformedly myopic over the inevitable world-shattering deadly weapon, although both Rami Malek as Safin and Christoph Waltz as Blofeld were believably zealous villains. Both Tanner and Felix Leiter could have had more made of their characters, although it was good to see them both again, while an unexpected bonus was Ana de Armas morphing from mouse to magnificent tigress. I, for one, would welcome a generational new Bond in the form of "my name is Bond, M Bond" (M for Matilde), although, to be frank, Daniel Craig has sealed the performance of Bond indelibly in my mind, and I cannot conceive of how a future Bond film could top this.