Rami Malek's Lyutsifer Safin turned out to be the final threat to Daniel Craig's Bond in No Time to Die. So how did he best 007 like no other?

Daniel Craig’s James Bond had his last hurrah in No Time to Die and encountered arguably his biggest adversary yet. Rami Malek’s Lyutsifer Safin targeted both Bond and SPECTRE as part of his villainous plan, making him an all-encompassing antagonist who was a threat to every character involved.

There were many parallels noted between Bond and Safin that make him distinct compared to other villains in Craig’s era. In addition, Safin was able to achieve feats that no other baddie can boast of, all of which directly led to him being the kind of rival that Craig’s Bond can consider as his greatest foe.

7 Safin Isn't Involved With SPECTRE & Is His Own Character

Something unique was needed for Craig’s last outing and No Time to Die turned out to be different compared to others because SPECTRE wasn’t a focal point. The entire Craig series has featured SPECTRE as the main antagonists, but Safin was the one villain who didn’t work for them.

Malek's villain was able to come across as a character in his own right without SPECTRE shaping his personality or motivations. His accomplishment of destroying the organization altogether instantly established him as the biggest threat Bond ever faced. Fans will remember Safin as an adversary with his own traits and mannerisms rather than affiliation with SPECTRE as the other villains were.

6 Safin Threatened Bond's Family

Daniel Craig’s Bond villains largely didn’t land as much of an impact on the character’s emotional state. Even Blofeld, who was Bond’s foster brother, didn’t evoke much of a reaction out of him. However, Safin managed to influence Bond’s emotions when he held the latter’s daughter hostage.

Bond was left begging for his daughter’s life on his knees, which was a sight that even long-term James Bond fans weren’t accustomed to seeing. Safin was capable of hitting Bond in his weak spots, which ultimately makes him the villain who used Bond’s emotions against him.

5 Safin Is A Mixture Of Diabolical & Sympathetic

Safin’s presence is one of the ways No Time to Die reinvigorated the James Bond formula in that he’s a villain who is surprisingly sympathetic. His primary motivation was to destroy SPECTRE because of their role in killing his family, which ultimately makes him a tragic figure since he was essentially forced into the villain he became.

Safin is also a diabolical personality as he planned on establishing a new world order even after he brought SPECTRE down. It confirmed that he had a god complex that was independent of his sad backstory, which enables Safin to have a dual persona that no other Daniel Craig Bond villain managed. His role in targeting Madeline makes him a baddie, yet he was justified in wanting to kill her father because the latter killed Safin's family in SPECTRE's name.

4 Safin Has A Mysterious Aura Around Him

Bond villains became rather predictable in Daniel Craig’s tenure because all of them were connected to SPECTRE. One of the ways No Time to Die can influence the next James Bond movie is for a villain like Safin to be adapted, whose identity and goals were shrouded in mystery for much of the story.

The confusion behind who he was turned Safin into a scary character, as it was unclear just how far he was willing to go. Safin’s mysterious aura, coupled with his appearance, enabled him to be instantly intimidating, and it seemed as if he always had a trick up his sleeve up until his final moments.

3 Safin Is A Callback To Classic Bond Villains

While Daniel Craig’s final movie took its liberties, No Time to Die had several James Bond details that lived up to the franchise’s legacy. Craig’s villains were usually detached from classic Bond villains, who tend to be showy, distinct, and cut devious one-liners toward him.

Safin ticked all the right boxes here, being an antagonist whose appearance had an edge to it that made him easily recognizable. His words were meant to intimidate Bond and his mannerisms had a diabolical quality that was similar to classic villains like Goldfinger and the original Ernst Blofeld.

2 Safin Is Bond's Darker Half

Raoul Silva from Skyfall is fondly remembered because he was a similar agent to Bond. However, parallels between Bond and Safin were more overt in No Time to Die, with Safin himself claiming he and Bond had many similarities, in that they took lives to save the world the way they wanted to.

It was certainly true as both Bond and Safin had high kill counts and only followed their own manner of thinking. Safin was ultimately an interpretation of what an evil Bond would be like, and Bond had no counter to Safin’s argument because he knew the latter had a very valid point.

1 Safin Accomplished The Impossible: He Killed Bond

Ultimately, Safin will go down as the villain who managed to best Bond in a way no other villain could, including the classic films. Safin injected Bond with the nanobots that would kill his daughter and Madeleine if he came close to them, effectively sealing Bond’s doom since they were his own reason for living.

Daniel Craig’s Bond always managed to find a way to best his villains even when it seemed unlikely, but he was unable to do anything about Safin’s move against him. Safin got the last laugh even after he died, as Bond chose to die rather than live without his loved ones. When all is said and done, Safin is the antagonist who dealt Bond the heaviest blow possible.

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