"To Felix."
"For what felt like five minutes of my life I wanted everything with you. And it's not because I didn't trust. It was just that feeling."
— James Bond making his Anguished Declaration of Love to Madeleine Swann.
No Time to Die is actually two things: an epic, action-packed adventure and a surprisingly tender love story.
All spoilers on this page are left unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
- Bond and Madeleine's blissful scenes in Italy, reminiscent of the time he had with Vesper.Bond: How's the view?
Madeleine: It's growing on me. Can you go faster?
Bond: We don't need to go faster, we have all the time in the world.- When Bond and Madeleine make love, they both whisper "Je t'aime", further affirming their love to each other. And she is also seen wearing his T-shirt after that.
- Knowing how broken both of them are due to their respective tragedies, they agree to leave their past behind for their future together. Namely, Bond visiting Vesper Lynd's gravestone (the reason Madeleine brought him to Matera) to get over her betrayal and tragic death while Madeleine burns her written "L'homme masqué" (Masked man) note to move on from her near-death past. You can imagine how things would have gone for the better after all of that if not for Spectre cruelly disrupting it.
- Bond and Felix reuniting, playing drinking games and having a blast together.
- Bond and Paloma have a toast to Felix when they drink their vodka martinis together.
- Bond is genuinely impressed with Paloma when she assists him in Cuba. Not only does she prove herself to be an effective agent, but her combat skills are something to behold. When they part ways, he makes sure to compliment her abilities.
- Considering she was previously shown to be very nervous before they began working, any kind of praise coming from a veteran spy (if not a Living Legend) such as Bond was probably a major confidence boost for her.
- Bond meeting Q again for the first time in five years. Although his tone may be sarcastic, one doesn't doubt that Bond is genuinely happy to see him.Bond: (semi-sarcastically) Hello Q, I've missed you.
- The franchise upgrades itself for the #MeToo era without being heavy handed about it—Bond matter-of-factly accepts that neither Nomi nor Paloma want to sleep with him without trying to press the issue. He also has zero reaction to Q mentioning that his date is another man.
- Bond and Nomi have a sort of friendly rivalry going on from the moment he learns she's the new 007. They share jabs back and forth in constant Snark-to-Snark Combat, but it's obvious as the story goes on that they're both slowly warming to each other and trust each other. By the end, they're firm allies and friends, assaulting Safin's island base together and watching each other's back at every turn.
- Out of respect, Nomi even requests that her 007 codename be reassigned to Bond for his final mission, and just before she takes Madeleine and Mathilde to safety, tells Bond, "I've got them", assuring him that they're safe with her.
- Bond calling Felix Leiter his "brother" just before avenging his death deserves a mention.
- Bond tracking Madeleine down and confessing that he never stopped loving her.
- Every scene between Bond and Mathilde:
- Him fixing breakfast for her (and, given how the movie ends, this is the only time he gets to be a normal dad) and immediately rushing the two of them to safety, instantly turning Papa Wolf even though Madeleine claims he isn't the little girl's father.
- Cracking a smile at her oblivious babbling about mosquitos.
- When one of the henchmen shoots at him while he's carrying her, he instantly turns around so as to protect her and take the bullet if necessary. Basically every action sequence from the moment he discovers Mathilde's existence has an emotional heft never before seen in the series, now that it's all for the purpose of protecting this innocent child—just before the final battle, he tells Madeleine, "I have to finish this. For us."
- The look of sheer relief on his face both when he finds Madeleine and then when they find Mathilde hiding under a table. It gets paired with Tearjerker as he watches them exchange "I love yous", clearly pained as it hits him that he's a stranger to his daughter.
- When escorting them to safety, Bond introduces them to Nomi, "They're my...", his voice trailing off as he turns around and mouths or whispers "family" with his expression and manner showing how thoroughly awestruck he is at the realization that he has one.
- In their final conversation, Bond wraps his jacket around Mathilde to keep her warm, then assures Madeleine, "I'll be just a minute."
- In the midst of the final battle, Bond finds Mathilde's stuffed toy that she dropped and stops to pick it up, smiling as he does so, clearly anticipating giving it back to her and beginning a new life with his family.
- Bond repeatedly asking Q, then Nomi, then Madeleine herself if she and Mathilde are safe, only wanting to assure himself of this in his final minutes.
- Him comforting Q in a manner vaguely similar to how he later comforts Madeleine—"It's alright, Q. It's alright."
- There are three standout moments in Bond and Madeleine's final conversation that inspires the warm fuzzies, despite the circumstances.
- Bond describing just what makes Mathilde so special:Bond: Madeleine... You have made the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Perfect. Because she came from you.
- Bond comforting Madeleine in the face of his imminent death:Madeleine: We just need more time. If we only had more time...!
Bond: You have all the time in the world. - And finally, the confirmation of Mathilde's parentage:
- Bond describing just what makes Mathilde so special:
- Mallory's eulogy to Bond, and it was clear that British Stiff Upper Lip notwithstanding, even he was on the verge of Manly Tears.Mallory: ...I thought this was appropriate: "The function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. I shall use my time."
Collective MI6 Staff: (Toasting Bond's symbolic glass of Scotch on a table) To James.
Mallory: James.- This is capped off by his firm declaration of "Back to work". To an outsider, it may seem callous, but it's actually the perfect tribute to Bond to have a small, brief tribute to him (he's the last person to want an elaborate, drawn-out service) and continue doing their best to make the world a safer place as he was doing.
- After Bond's death, the film ends with Madeleine taking her daughter on a drive through Matera, just as Bond took Madeleine herself at the start of the film. Now finally safe from both Safin and Spectre, Madeline promises to tell Mathilde all about her father. And Mathilde even smiles upon hearing the line below:Madeleine: His name was Bond. James Bond.
