Fans of super-spy James Bond are eagerly awaiting his long-delayed return in No Time To Die, but Rami Malek's Safin could prove a terrible choice of villain. Excitement is reaching fever pitch for the forthcoming No Time To Die, and it's no surprise that Bond franchise fans are clamoring for the spy's return to the big screen. But the movie may already be off to a shaky start, judging by the characterization of its primary antagonist.
It's been five long years since 007's last outing, and the much-hyped No Time To Die, a first Bond film for director Cary Joji Fukunaga, will be the last to feature Daniel Craig's gruff iteration of the iconic character. After such a lengthy absence from the screen, it's no surprise that anticipation for the film is high, particularly with a stellar ing cast including Ralph Fiennes, Naomi Harris, and Ben Whishaw, as well as newcomers Lashana Lynch and Rami Malek ing the impressive line-up. Unfortunately, it's Malek's character who could prove to be a problem for the film.
The description of Malek's No Time To Die villain paints a picture of a character who runs the risk of being too sympathetic. ittedly, franchise fans don’t know a lot about Malek's scarred baddie Safin, but what has been disclosed is not promising. Rumors suggest he’s an “eco-friendly” villain and he’s been repeatedly described as an anarchist — yet, both environmentalism and anarchism are popular, often useful, real-life movements. With increasing public concern over a global climate crisis, and the growing for protests against overpowered police, painting a character as irredeemably evil for being concerned about the environment and questioning state control could draw the franchise into murky territory. True, the character is hinted to be a cold-blooded murdered who may be planning mass genocide, but by characterizing him as eco-friendly, No Time To Die runs the risk of also vilifying the environmentalist movement — and in turn alienating large segments of the public.
Bond’s Best Villains Aren’t Based In Reality
In the escapist world of Bond movies, the villains tend to be larger-than-life figures with unambiguously evil plans that are more fantastic than practical. Quantum of Solace is considered one of the weakest in the franchise.
How Safin Could Still Work
Audiences don’t know a lot about Safin yet, and there's another movement often erroneously compared to anarchists which could justify the character's rumored "eco-friendly terrorist" descriptor. Eco-fascism refers to an ideology that prioritizes the needs of nature over both the individual and collective humans of society, resulting in a totalitarian dictatorship where authoritarians act in the interest of "the environment." Ecofascism has roots as far back as the Nazis (a classic recurring Bond enemy), and has some mainstream credibility in the form of the much-discussed euphemism "overpopulation"; many eco-fascists believe in limiting reproduction to curb carbon global emissions. It's possible Safin's plan in No Time To Die, which the trailer hints involves killing millions, has something to do with population control.
