No Time to Die — Bond 25 Title (and Font) Reactions

On August 20, 2019, the title of the 25th James Bond movie was revealed to be No Time to Die.

Personally, I could take it or leave it.

We’ve had three titles over the years with “Die” in it (Live and Let Die, Tomorrow Never Dies, Die Another Day) — so on that level, it feels a bit like retreading.

That said, it also feels like a classic Bondian thriller. The type of thing that Fleming or Gardner or Benson would write (like the 1999 Bond novel, High Time to Kill).

In the end, the only thing that really matters is the movie itself. If No Time to Die is an awesome Bond film, then the title will be a classic. If the movie is a dud, then the title will go down in infamy alongside A View to a Kill.

Here’s the title reveal video, posted on 007.com on August 20, 2019.

A Classic Bond Connection

Some of the best titles come directly from Ian Fleming’s novels. While that well has been mostly dried up, the title of Bond 25 (No Time to Die) does have a classic 007 connection.

In 1958, long-time Bond producer Albert R. Broccoli made a movie called No Time to Die.

It was directed by none-other than Terence Young (the legendary Bond director of Dr. No, From Russia With Love, and Thunderball). The movie also starred Luciana Paluzzi (Fiona Volpe in Thunderball).

Here’s a movie description from Wikipedia:

In North Africa during the Second World War, a squadron of British tanks is destroyed in battle by panzers of their German adversaries. The three survivors are quickly captured and transported to an Italian-run POW camp. One of the men has a secret and tries to escape at every turn.

No Time to Die Movie Poster

No Time to Die — Title Reactions

As is the case with anything 007-related, everyone has an opinion … and many took to Facebook and YouTube to share theirs.

Here are a few reactions from the day No Time to Die was revealed:

About bloody time! Seriously, it’s a bloody relief it’s half decent and a tribute to one of Cubby Broccoli’s early films. I love it.
Absolutely love it! Very classic Bond. Glad to move away from the one or two word titles
I DESPISE the direction EON is taking with this franchise… I’m just not as hyped. 😑
It’s definitely better than Genome of Woman and Eclipse [both rumored titles of Bond 25].
Title is boring. Too much like Tomorrow never dies
OK with the title, but I would rather they moved away from usually having “Kill” or “Die” in the title.
This is NO TIME TO DIE because tomorrow never dies, unless you die another day. So 007, just live and let die. (Athena Stamos)
I’m ok with it. Not amazing, but not out of character.
I preferred Shatterhand [a rumored Bond 25 title].
Reminds me of ‘Another Way To Die‘ which is one of my favorite Bond songs in lyrics and one of my least favorites in execution.
It’s like marketing shrugged it’s shoulders and said, “… well, it’s catchy.”
LOVE THIS TITLE! Such a great, Bondian title! Very excited!
Finally, a return to the good old titles. I feel that this movie will be in the spirit of Connery’s movies. Well done Mr. Fukunaga.
This title has given me some quantum of solace.
The title is pure 70s 80s Bond style. Expecting same level of awesomeness in the movie.
It really reminds me of that title Troy McClure mentioned from The Simpsons — Today We Kill, Tomorrow We Die.

No Time to Die — Title Font Controversy

When I first saw the font, I thought it was an odd choice. The words “No Time to Die” are tough to read at a glance, and it looks like something more befitting the 1980s.

Apparently, that feeling has been echoed around the Web, as evidenced by these Facebook comments:

It took months for experts to come up with the font?
Oddly enough, I though the type face would suit a novel more.
I do like the logo font! Reminds me of the Anthony Burgess paperbacks from the late-1980s.
You know you’re stoked for the movie when you’re impressed by the font of the title
The font in the actual title reminds me of the Minnesota Vikings.
The font somehow reminded me of Living Daylights – hopefully it will be a bit old school Bond.

In case you’re wondering, the font is called “Futura Bold.” Here’s a brief history.

Futura is a geometric sans-serif typeface designed by Paul Renner and released in 1927. It was designed as a contribution on the New Frankfurt-project. It is based on geometric shapes, especially the circle, similar in spirit to the Bauhaus design style of the period.¹