No Time to Die kills off Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) in his only scene, but he could easily have been the main antagonist of the movie despite being incarcerated, instead of Safin (Rami Malek). Daniel Craig’s fifth outing as the British spy unfolds in spectacular fashion and is suitably epic for the finale of the five-movie series. Just like the previous movies, No Time to Die continues on from Spectre instead of having a standalone story, which was what the Bond series was known for. That means that all the characters and even Blofeld return, but Waltz reprising his role is way less exciting than it should be.
Blofeld is the Joker to Bond’s Batman, as he’s 007’s greatest foe and takes pleasure in toying with the spy. Given that Blofeld didn’t get murdered in Spectre, as he was thrown in jail after Bond gave him his iconic scar, it was clearly setting up for him to return in a major way. However, while the character does return in No Time to Die, it’s for just one scene, as Blofeld essentially has a glorified cameo. The real villain is Lyutsifer Safin, who’s completely underwhelming, and there’s no reason why it couldn’t have been Blofeld pulling the strings the whole time in No Time to Die.
Lyutsifer Safin Was An Underwhelming Bond Villain
When Lyutsifer Safin was first seen in No Time to Die’s trailer, it was theorized that Malek could be playing Dr. No, who was the first-ever villain in the James Bond movie series. There are so many similarities between Lyutsifer Safin and Dr. No that it was possible, and it’d make sense given that Waltz’s identity was kept a secret in the Spectre trailers too. It’d make for a shocking reveal in No Time to Die, but instead, the character is no more interesting than Quantum of Solace’s Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric). The whole backstory between Safin and Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) feels forced.
Lyutsifer Safin has been criticized for being a generic Bond villain, as he is outrageously theatrical, has an over-the-top plan, and has scars just for the sake of it. But his motivations are questionable at best, especially why he hates Bond so much. The mysteries surrounding the character could just as easily be called plot holes, such as why Safin doesn’t age. Malek does the best he can with the material he’s given, but he never feels like a major threat, even though he actually manages to kill Bond. And while Bond villains have always been theatrical, Malek sometime goes overboard when hamming it up.
No Time To Die’s Story Doesn’t Change With Blofeld As The Main Villain
Even though Blofeld was incarcerated, he could still easily have been the main villain of No Time to Die, as Safin’s plan even needed Blofeld in order for it to work. However, Blofeld was in one scene where he was locked in a glass box, which was already done two movies earlier. There could have simply been an additional scene or two of Blofeld escaping. A prison break sequence with Blofeld would have been thrilling. After that, No Time to Die could have been the exact same story of Blofeld trying to spread a virus instead of Safin.
However, the original No Time to Die twist was much more tied to Spectre and Blofeld, as it was planned that everything up until act two was in the spy’s head and he was still being held captive by Blofeld. The twist would not only give Blofeld way more screen time, but it’d retroactively make Spectre better too, as the 2015 movie garnered a mixed reception from fans and critics. Spectre was fairly uneventful for a Bond movie, especially as it followed the incredible Skyfall, but this original twist ending would have given Blofeld’s Spectre plan more stakes.
Waltz’s Blofeld Deserved A Second Chance After Spectre
Waltz is one of the best actors of the 21st century, which is proven by the two Academy Awards he won in such quick succession. The actor won Best Supporting Actor in 2010 for his role of Hans Landa, a.k.a. The Jew Hunter, in Inglourious Basterds, and he won the same award again three years later in 2013 for playing Dr. King Schultz in Django Unchained. While he has become somewhat typecast as a villain in movies such as Inglourious Basterds, The Green Hornet, Tarzan, and Pinocchio, there’s an obvious reason why, as few other actors can be as terrifying as Waltz.
Waltz gave such a powerful performance as Blofeld in Spectre and even gave the original actor, Donald Pleasence, a run for his money. Waltz delivered every line in such a sinister way, especially when he revealed to Bond that he’s “the author of all your nightmares” in Spectre. And leaving such a powerhouse of an actor on the sidelines for no apparent reason was such a wasted opportunity. Though Spectre has a barely fresh 63% on Rotten Tomatoes, Waltz was easily the best thing about it, and No Time to Die is the way more exciting Bond movie that Waltz deserved.
Blofeld Finally Killing James Bond Feels More Meaningful
In No Time to Die, Bond had to sacrifice himself after Safin infected him with the nanobots. The death was undoubtedly emotional given that Bond had just learned that he was a father and that he was finally ready to hang up his tuxedo and retire from the secret service. However, given that it was Safin, a mostly forgettable villain, who was responsible for it, it didn’t have as much impact as it should have. But if Blofeld was the villain of No Time to Die, that’d mean that the iconic character would have been responsible for Bond’s death in the 2022 movie.
Blofeld being responsible for Bond’s sacrifice in No Time to Die would have been way more effective, as the two characters have so much history. The villain has appeared in nine Bond movies in total and has always been Bond’s archnemesis. Even in Craig’s Bond movies, it’s revealed that Blofeld was pulling the strings behind the scenes in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Skyfall, so Blofeld killing Bond would have been the ultimate payoff of the whole five-movie arc. Instead, Safin was responsible for Bond’s death who was a nobody by comparison. Safin killing Bond instead of Blofeld is like The Condiment King killing Batman instead of the Joker.
