In the beginning of the 1960s, there arose a new fictional agent who would become popular even around fifty to sixty years later. He would do many heroic deeds, most notably stop evil terrorist organizations from accomplishing their missions. Not only that, but this spy would be played by famous actors like Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig, along with likely other actors as well. Finally, this agent has promoted twenty-four films for nearly sixty years (or twenty-six if you count the “non-eon films”) . Yes, that’s right. Presenting to you, the one, and only James Bond. Tonight, we review the first of twenty-four to twenty-six films that Mr. Bond has starred in. The one and only Dr. No, which was released back in 1962.
Plot: After an MI6 agent named John Strangways (Timothy Moxon) is murdered by three thugs, agent James Bond (Sean Connery) is sent to investigate the murder. Not only that, but Bond must stop a rocket launch in Jamaica from being disrupted by a madman (Joseph Wiseman), and his terrorist organization. Can agent Bond pull both tasks off before it’s too late?
Friends, I must confess that I didn’t grow up watching the James Bond series as much as I should have. Yes, I did at least see a few of them, such as Die Another Day, Casino Royale, Quantum Of Solace, and Skyfall to name a few. Still, this is most likely my first introduction at least to one of the more older 007 movies that involves the famous fictional character, known as James Bond. After watching the first film of this series, how was it, you may be wondering? Well, while it is a very good film, there were some things that could have been improved upon when it comes at least to Dr. No. To start off, the pacing of the film might have probably moved a little too quickly when it comes to plenty of moments in this film. Sure, there are some times where James Bond, and some of the other characters get their fair share of development. Still, more often than not, events in this film more than likely seem to happen a little fast at times. Okay, I’m not saying that things need to be slow all the time. Still, why not do so at least to a degree, you know? It’s not just some of the story. Minus James Bond, some of the characters could have probably been a little more fleshed out. I mean even the villain himself could have maybe had more screen time. It just makes you wonder, did there seem to be an issue back in the 1960s, and maybe even for a bit after that decade, where the villains didn’t seem to get as much screen time as they should have? For crying out loud, even some of Disney’s villains, minus Cruella Deville from 101 Dalmatians, seemed to be rather underdeveloped, whether that was Madame Mim from The Sword In The Stone, or even Shere Khan from the 1967 animated version of The Jungle Book. Well, same seemed to go for villains in live-action movies as well, like the antagonist in Dr. No. In addition to this, some of the relationships could have had some more room to grow, as the film progressed, especially when it came to the one between Bond, and the, I guess one can say, ultimate love interest in this film. Don’t worry, as you watch this film, you’ll more than likely know what I mean about that. For now, let’s just say that there could have probably been a little more chemistry in that relationship, and had a little more room to grow as a result. Also, while the ending felt more resolved, you might find yourself if it was a hundred percent satisfying, or if it could have maybe been a little better.
Now, with all of that said, is this movie bad? No! There are still some good things that make up for the flaws that this movie has. To start, Sean Connery gives us a great performance as Janes Bond. Yeah, you think that he only did great in films from say the 90’s, or 2000’s, such as First Knight, The Rock, Entrapment, or Finding Forrester, think again! If you liked his performances in films like those more recent ones, you’ll probably like his performance in Dr. No, or probably in any of the other films where he plays James Bond. Of course one can’t fail to mention how good the other performances are in this film as well. Also, people will get to learn how difficult, and dangerous, it can be to be a spy. As for the musical score by Monty Norman, he seemed to make a very good musical score that helps people to tell that this was a fill that was made a long time ago, the 1960s in this case. Sure, there were moments where his music could have maybe be inserted more than it was in the end. Still, he did a great job composing with what music that we did get of his in this film in the end. As for the underdevelopment of the characters, while some of them could have maybe had a little more depth to them, they were still fairly well developed in the end. The same can be said about the story to an extent too. It’s also great that this film doesn’t seem to feel quite as dark and gory as some of the more modern James Bond movies have seemed to be. Oh yes, there is some gore from time to time. It’s just not quite as in your face as it probably could have been. How about the graphics when it comes to the beginning, or even end credits? Those are very good too, even if they might feel a little outdated when compared to the graphics of nowadays. Lastly, as far as the special effects go, while they’re not exactly the best compared to nowadays, they’re still very good.
Well guys and gals, that concludes my review for the first of the many James Bond movies. For beginning this film franchise, Dr. No may not exactly be the best of this series. Still, the movie does have some good things in it that make it very enjoyable. Granted, it could have been better, but it’s definitely good enough to be worth seeing. Well, definitely see it, if you haven’t yet, and see what you think! On that note, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what other adventures James Bond had in his earlier days, as I continue on through watching these films all the way up to 2015’s Spectre.
Final Grade: B
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 