Edwin Arnaudin: Nearly six years have elapsed since the last James Bond film — enough time for an entire Star Wars saga to hit screens. In our first ever dialogue review (!), you were slightly more positive on Spectre than I was, but we agreed that the Daniel Craig run of the popular spy series struggled to string together two great films. Did the rollercoaster trend continue for you with No Time to Die, sending Craig’s Bond off on a high note? Or have director Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective; Beasts of No Nation) and his collaborators left us with an overlong dud?

Bruce: No Time to Die is a definite high point in this saga-within-a-franchise. It hits all the marks we've come to expect with the Craig-Bond movies: thwarted romance, internal intrigue at MI6, amazing car and motorcycle chases, and a mad villain — or two! More important, it provides this Bond a worthy send-off after 15 years of watching him grow into his role and (almost) age out of it. Has there ever been a Bond with such an impressive character arc before?

Edwin: Well, this version is about the only one with any character arc of which to speak. While the heavy existentialism bogged down Quantum of Solace and Spectre, its employment in Casino Royale and series apex Skyfall feel fresh and inspired. The latter likewise holds true for Movie 005, which finds Bond happily retired and contemplating settling down with Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), until his trust issues and a request from CIA pal Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) pull him back in, a la Michael Corleone in The Godfather: Part III. After some extended puttering around with Madeleine, the pace gets revved up with a literal bang and rarely lets up. Did the nearly three-hour runtime similarly fly by for you?

Bruce: Now that you mention it — yes, I had no idea it was that long. I would have said just over two hours. But its labyrinthian plot needs a lot of time to unspool, as it starts with a renewed SPECTRE threat — cue Christoph Waltz's return as Blofeld — throws in a new 007 (the impressive Lashana Lynch) and an untrustworthy U.S. State Department lackey (Billy Magnussen), and finally gets around to introducing its new villain, the ambiguously insane Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek). And it makes time to provide pleasing mini character arcs for M (Ralph Fiennes), Q (Ben Whishaw), and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris). Phew! The returning actors are all at the top of their game. Did any of the newbies stand out for you?

Edwin: Fresh off his fun supporting turn as young Paulie Walnuts in The Many Saints of Newark, the often vapid Magnussen impressed me with his slimy reptilian ways. Elsewhere, Lynch is a blast matching wits with Craig; David Dencik is plenty amusing as a brilliant but bumbling Russian scientist; and Dali Benssalah makes for a consistently believable threat as Safin’s lieutenant Cyclops.

Furthermore, though I wasn’t sure at first, Malek (who’s come to feel like somewhat of a walking cartoon since playing Freddie Mercury) proves nearly as creepy and menacing as Javier Bardem’s Raoul Silva from Skyfall — though, as you note, his motivations aren’t nearly as clear. But my favorite new addition by far is Ana De Armas as funny, nervous, but ultimately skilled CIA operative Paloma, whom Bond teams up with on an entertaining Cuban mission. I hope we see much more of her as this series continues.

Bruce: Paloma was a hoot! The Cuban mission was both exciting and visually impressive. Director Fukunaga has some mad skills with the camera when he wants to show off, as he does in several action sequences. There's one stairwell battle that's filmed to appear to be one continuous take, for instance. Too much flash could have distracted from the story, though, and most of the direction is lively but straightforward.

Edwin: Fukunaga’s films have been pretty mediocre, so it was a relief to see his TV skills finally translate to a consistently compelling feature. I’d like to think that some of that success stems from Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag; S1 of Killing Eve) lending her trademark wit to the screenplay, but even she can’t prevent No Time to Die from occasionally being overly convoluted. Still, after numerous release date delays and coming off one of the worst Bond films from the past 25 years, it’s a treat to have a 007 entry this well-made. I’m with you on it being a quality farewell for Craig and look forward to more Bond films with whoever the Broccolis pick as his successor. It gets a hearty B-plus from me.

Bruce: The identity of a successor is still opaque. The final end credit note promises, "James Bond will return," not just 007, so that rules out Lynch taking over the lead role. They'll need a Casino Royale–like reboot if they want to bring back "James Bond." Meanwhile, this movie is a definite and daring full stop that cleverly alludes to many of the 49 films before it (there’s gotta be a mysterious island, right?). It's not perfect — the villain is worthy, but whatever he's plotting (and why) is a complete muddle, and the emotional payoff is weirdly lower than with Skyfall. And I'm not loving that Billie Eilish theme song, either. Still, the time flew by and I was engrossed, so I'll concur with your B-plus.

Overall grade: B-plus. Rated PG-13. Now showing at the AMC River Hills, Asheville Pizza & Brewing, Carolina Cinemark, and Regal Biltmore Grande.

(Photo: Nicola Dove/courtesy of MGM)