Dr. No is the first foray into the world of James Bond in the movies and while I have enjoyed a lot of the Bond movies, this movie gives the first glimpse of Bond and his spy lifestyle. Sean Connery epitomizes everything Bond represents starting with the first scene of the movie. Dr. No hit theaters fifty years ago and so I am sure that a lot of the up and coming movie watchers would watch Dr. No and think the effects are horrible and do not meet the special effects that are being put out now. Which is why I feel like with these older movies it is important to look at them and compare them with what the film makers were able to at the time with the effects and technology. In this first installment Bond is taken to Jamaica to investigate the disappearance of British Agents, and to find out what had been uncovered that led to the death of the agent and his secretary.
Sean Connery in the role of James Bond completely embodies the role and really is vitally perfect in Dr. No. Playing the role of Bond is what has made his film career and he delivers everything perfectly. Ursula Andress play Honey Ryder and she fits the role perfectly. She plays the eye candy great as well as she is very likable onscreen that you want her to be onscreen more then what she already is. She ended up being the first in a long line of what came to be an iconic role in each James Bond film of having a "Bond Girl" in each film. Dr. No played by Joseph Wiseman is one of the best Bond villains that is so spot on and not only evil, but crazy at the same time in his plot to take control of the world. Wiseman was able to truly accomplish so much intimidation and skill as a Bond villain with only being onscreen very minimally. The chemistry between not only Connery and Andress, but as well as the chemistry between 007 and Dr. No is a great back and forth in the short screen time together. The supporting cast do great jobs as they seem to really play the characters exactly how I would expect them to be.
The story for Dr. No was simple and straight forward as 007, is sent to stop a mad man and his plot to take control of the U.S. space launch. Dr. No ends up being one of those movies that does not have the twists and turns that is so apparent in most of the movies nowadays, so it was kind of nice to watch the first Bond movie and see everything unfolding on the screen in such a nice and clean format. Along with the storyline they do a great job of interspersing moments of action that not only help the audience stay entertained, but also serve as good moments that help the story to continue to move along and not get stagnant. The direction of Terrence Young succeeded in keeping the right pace by keeping it in a medium type pace which effectively balanced how he wanted to present the movie to the audience without being too exciting or boring. The simplicity of the story he told worked because while simple the story allowed there to be a great attention to detail as the story is very character driven and the use of mystery and suspense works well when compared to movies of today that use tons of explosions and special effects, many times make up for a lackluster script. The story was truly one that can be told clearly, taken seriously and enjoyed from start to finish.
The production for Dr. No actually holds up pretty well still today. This first installment really had a tiny budget, so to see what they did with what they had to work with worked fairly well. It definitely had its cheesy, laughable moments the obvious backdrop for the car chasing scenes through Jamaica, but they balanced that with impeccable interior scenes. The detail for the sets was very enjoyable and the action for Dr. No worked and Connery brought good fight sequences. The action/fights while hokey for the car chases the other fights and action were done really well and just worked. The musical score was a great mix of Jamaican jazz as well as the now iconic James Bond theme song.
Dr. No was the first introduction into the world of James Bond and while Dr. No is not the best Bond movie ever made it is definitely top five and was a great introduction of one of the best Bond's, Sean Connery. The acting was well done and Ursula Andress was a great first "Bond girl." I loved the story and the simplicity of it. The introduction of the iconic James Bond theme is one that everyone knows. I am giving Dr. No three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. Not only is this a must watch for a fan of movies, and it is a definite classic spy movie, one that has shaped the spy movie genre moving forward.
-The Movie Man
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