Dr No Review

Dr No is the film that started a legend. James Bond had existed for years in literature but it wasn't till 1962 when the whole world was introduced to Bond. James Bond.

Many of the most memorable Bond trademarks are present right from the start in Dr No. Bond drinks his first vodka martini, encounters SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion) for the first time, and he also receives his beloved Walther PPK. In many ways Dr. No is the quintessential Bond film, it has everything you expect to see from the series, its slick, sleek, exciting, and a great start to an excellent series.

The Plot

James Bond is tasked with uncovering the murderer of a British Intelligence officer stationed in Jamaica named Strangways, who has been investigating strange radio signals on the island. Upon arrival, James, after dealing with several assassins, meets up with a sailor named Quarrel, who was one of the last people to see Strangways before his death. Quarrel informs James of the island of Crab Key; a dangerous place owned by a mysterious man named Dr. No, and believes that it is connected with Strangway's death. Bond and Quarrel sail to the island where they meet the beautiful Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) who is collecting shells. Quarrel is killed by Dr. No's security team, and Bond and Ryder are captured and brought to the mad doctor himself. It is revealed to Bond that Dr. No is planning on using an atomic-powered radio beam to disrupt the launch of a space ship at Cape Canaveral. James escapes and foils Dr No's plans just as we all knew he would.

Although there are many strong aspects of this film, the plot sadly isn't one of them. I have to admit that I had to seek the help of Wikipedia while trying to explain the plot because the film does a poor job of making it apparent. It's not clear to me why Dr. No wants to stop the American's space launch, or exactly why it matters. Dr. No, despite being the title character, actually isn't in the movie for very long. He appears about an hour and a half into it and is dispatched of rather quickly. The connection between John Strangways and Dr. No isn't really made clear and events seem to flow into each other without much rhyme or reason.

The Villian

Dr. No as a character seems to be wasted. He's a member of SPECTRE, an organization whose members will cross paths with bond in subsequent movies, he makes vague mention to being "head of one of the leading criminal gang in China" and he apparently has robotic hands (a trademark that was later used for a henchman in Live and Let Die, too much greater effect) but we never really see him use them for anything interesting. In fact other than Bond mentioning it, the only other way we know of his cyborg digits is the fact that he wears gloves.

The Girl

Honey Ryder is the first in a line of beautiful women who would come to be known as "Bond Girls". A Bond girl is traditionally a women met by Bond during his mission who accompanies him, sleeps with him, and often helps him in some way. Honey Ryder does two of these things. She goes along with him after they meet (albeit against her will since they are captured), it's implied that she sleeps with him at the end, but she never really helps him in any way. Her character is largely inconsequential and sadly provides little more than eye-candy for the audience. Though she may be the first of many Bond girls, she's far from the best.

My Thoughts

Some of my favorite highlights from the film take place in the very beginning. The opening title sequence is by far one of the most sixties-ish things I've seen in a movie and it's simplicity and retro feel are superb. The "Three Blind Mice" sequence that takes place right after the opening credits is also a really nice simple song, and it introduces some of my favorite assassins in the Bond series, who are sadly very underused in this movie. Another favorite scene is the one where an assassin releases a poisonous spider into James' room. It turns out to be a completely useless tactic as the spider crawls on James, who waits patiently for it to wander off of him where he precedes to smoosh it with his shoe. It's an exciting, simple little scene where the music really goes a long way into building up tension, and it pays off during the scene's climax where it ramps up louder and more intensely when James kills the spider. It's just a really well done scene where James' cool head and intelligence saves his life, rather than performing some outrageous stunt. This is an element of the early Bond films I like, that Bond isn't as much of a "pulse pounding" action hero, and more of a brilliant spy. In one scene he moistens a hair from his head and places it over the crack in a door as a security measure (if the hair isn’t connected, then the door was opened), and later places pillows under the covers in his bed and sits by the door to capture another would-be assassin. It's moments like these that would become rarer in the later films, instead being replaced by more explosions and motorcycles, and it's a real treat to see in the 60's Connery era.

All in all, Dr. No is a good film. It doesn't get crowded with action scenes and chases, it's subdued and quiet but still interesting enough to keep your attention through the whole thing. Sean Connery is easily the best thing about this movie, taking no time easing into his role as one of the most recognized movies characters in cinematic history. From the very moment he is in shot, cigarette in mouth at the Baccarat table, he is undeniably Bond. There are no awkward scenes or moments where he's still playing with the character, there are no tweaks or alterations to his mannerism or demeanor in following movies. Right off the bat he cements himself as Bond and it's a testament to his superior talent as an actor. When people ask me who my favorite Bond is, I still say Roger Moore (for reasons which I will go into later), but it's a different question than "Who is the best Bond?" Sean Connery is the best Bond.