Dr No (1962)

 

The legacy of Bond has to start somewhere, and in this case it starts with a good film, but not an extremely remarkable one. Naturally, no one could have predicted that we would still get Bond-films this many years on and this one does set the tone for quite a lot of what is now 'expected', but that doesn't make this one the best in the series. Entertaining though? Absolutely!

Our first glimpses of Bond begin rather small. Communications with a British spy outpost on Jamaica are suddenly disrupted and their agent Strangways has disappeared. Thus, special agent Bond is sent on a mission to Jamaica to find out what exactly happened. Through some deduction (and a little strongarming as well), Bond discovers that there is a small island called Crab Key that is off limits to everyone, as it is owned by a Chinese scientist. This piques his interest, even more so after he discovers that Strangways was on to something thanks to radioactive soilsamples. Bond meets a beautiful girl on the island called Honey Ryder, and through no fault of hers, she gets dragged and arrested with Bond and brought to the massive base of Dr No, a nuclear scientist who in fact is disturbing the launches of several American missiles. He does this for an organisation called Spectre, who pretty much want world domination. 

Will Bond save the world? Will he get the girl? Will he do so in absolute cool and suaveness? 

You should know the answer to that, and if it isn't a resounding "Yes!", then you have not seen or heard anything Bondrelated. Which in itself is quite a feat, actually. 

There are great things here, and especially the blossoming of the legend is a sight to behold. Connery is absolutely masterful as Bond, thanks to the help of director Terence Young, who taught gruff Connery how to be a suave gentleman. Sure, he's a little too rough and macho for modern tastes, but different times, I guess? Although I must say, his almost rapey treatment of some ladies is rather cringeworthy nowadays. But for the most part, this is such an iconic performance. Heck, Bond's introduction and the immortal lines: "Bond. James Bond." are done so expertly, it's hard to fault. 

What also really works is the Jamaican scenery and Bond's interaction with his CIA counterpart Felix Leiter, who would become a staple of the series, even if he is quite often played by a different actor. Bernard Lee as Bond's superior quickly sets the tone of their relationship, as in: he knows Bond can be a loose cannon, but he also gets the job done. A little like a father who knows their son can be a scoundrel, but he does love him at heart. Lois Maxwell will always be the best Moneypenny, lusting after Bond but never landing him, but their banter is playful and flirty without getting too silly. In all honesty, she will probably be the one person Bond respects the most, which is why he won't take her to bed. 

Well, except for Tracy, but we'll get to her later. 

But alas, some things don't work as well. The story is really thin and unfortunately, the weakest part of this film is its villain. Joseph Wiseman plays No too stoic and too cold. He is not really memorable as an evil scientist and his plot is too puny to make an impact. Early days, ey? What is also quite painful is how they couldn't use a truly Asian actor (or one with legitimate Asian roots) to play an Asian role. It's not really blackface, but it sure feels like it. Anyway, it all gets resolved rather quickly and the truly epic villains Bond would face in later entries in the series will get a more prominent role.

All in all, this is not a bad film and it does lay the groundwork for what would later be either perfected or used to death, but there are better Bond escapades to enjoy. So you can give it a watch, just don't expect a masterpiece.