Dr. No

In 1962 Sean Connery wore nothing but a white bikini, a knife on his hip and stepped out of the ocean and into cinema history.

I wasn't born until 15 years later, but I had eventually become a fan of the film adaptations of Ian Fleming's character James Bond. I like all 22 007 outings in one way or another and intend on giving a review of each and every last one. In this installment i will be giving you my thoughts on the first 007 film, Dr. No! I am not going to go into detail about the plot, i just want to give some commentary on what i thought. Sit back and enjoy and be sure to leave some comments on the the film and my reviews.

Back in 1995 i found out that Pierce Brosnan was going to be the next James Bond. My only exposure to 007 at that time was the two Dalton films that showed on cable when i was around 10 and 13 years old. I remember liking those two films a lot and decided to go ahead and rent every James Bond film before i went to go see Goldeneye.

At the time i watched Dr No, i had already had an idea of what James Bond should be and i was a little disappointed at the lack of action. I think the thing that sold me was the characters that surrounded James Bond. One of my favorite characters in the entire franchise is 007's is the fast talking Jamaican boatman known as Quarrel. Quarrel is the first in a long line of lovable James Bond sidekicks who meets an untimely demise.

You can't talk about James Bond without talking about the women that inhabit 007's world. Ursula Andres' Honey Ryder is the quintessential "Bond Girl". She is beautiful, strong, smart and can fend for herself. She is the Bond Girl that all others strive to be. My only problem is that towards the end her character becomes a little too dependent on 007. But i guess any girl wouldnt mind being rescued by James Bond.

Which brings me to Sean Connery. Many say that Sean Connery is the best James Bond (i will get to that in a future review). You cannot deny that Sean Connery is Bond. He set a standard in what James Bond should be for generations to come. It is just too bad that he does not get too many action scenes to show is strength.

All in all , Dr. No is a good start to a series that has been going for almost 50 years! It planted a few seeds that are still in effect today. From the opening Gun Barrel sequence all the way to the end credits which state "James Bond will Return..." Dr. No's greatest achievement was kick starting a franchise that has swept the imaginations of movie goers of all ages.

also, Monty Norman's score is not good.

★ ★ ★ ½