WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for No Time to Die, currently in theaters.
In No Time to Die, the focus is on Daniel Craig's James Bond. However, with this being his final hurrah in the role, many thought Lashana Lynch's Nomi would be touted as the new 007 working for her Majesty. Unfortunately, as this film caps Bond's journey, it wastes Nomi and botches the 007 mantle without even trying to properly pass the torch.
Early in No Time to Die, Bond retires from the service, thinking Spectre got to his beloved Madeleine. He then goes off-grid for five years, only to realize Safin is mounting a new assault and bringing the group, including the sadistic Blofeld, back into play again. As a result, Bond links back up with MI6 where Nomi's the new 007 -- a role he doesn't care for any more as it has cost him so much.
And make no mistake, as they hit the field, Bond admires her for being badass, sassy and a feminist powerhouse. But her character just ends up being a sidekick with no real nuance. Rather than working with him throughout, it's only in the end that she gets to shine. But even then, she's used as a prop to rescue his family from Safin's island.
As such, Agent Paloma from the CIA feels like a better partner for Bond, helping him discover the virus Safin's using, with Nomi painted more of an antagonist instead. She's jealous he's back in the game when they could have organically hunted Safin and opened room for her to be his successor in an arc that wouldn't even need his spoken approval.
What's also terrible is just before they team up to hit the island, Nomi asks for Bond to be designated 007 again, which is so superficial. He doesn't want it, and she's earned it with her style. Audiences don't need a desperate Bond trying to find his family to show 007 is a powerful spy symbol. Nomi should have been owning it rather than giving it up, which doesn't really contribute anything to the narrative other than Bond dies with the title.
This ruins the chance of making 007 an immortal role that folks can walk into on their merits, not to mention it detracts from giving Nomi agency in the war on terror. More so, it's a missed opportunity to show true progression in a franchise that once more feels very male and white -- echoed by Naomie Harris' Moneypenny barely having screen time other than to compliment Bond for his heroics.
It's a travesty to characters of color and exemplified again with Felix's (Jeffrey Wright) death after a betrayal within the CIA. It's a truly unfortunate direction as these characters end up coming off as token, with Nomi especially not having any heft, command or say as Agent 007, when she really should have been positioned as the future of MI6 and a break from the chauvinistic gaze of the series.
To see Lashana Lynch's Nomi and the Agent 007 role get botched, No Time to Die is currently in theaters.
