Dr. No

Release Date: October 5, 1962

Rated PG for violence and sexual innuendo

Directed by: Terence Young

Starring: Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Jack Lord, Joseph Wiseman, John Kitzmiller, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell

Plot:
With DR. NO, the first of the James Bond films, director Terence Young and leading man Sean Connery set the precedent for what would become one of the most popular, influential, and long-lasting series ever made. Bond makes his first famous introduction, "Bond, James Bond," in an upscale casino, to a saucy brunette named Slyvia Trench (Eunice Gayson), who he promptly coaxes into a dinner date. Back at Secret Service Headquarters, M (Bernard Lee) assigns Bond to a mission in Jamaica. An agent who was investigating strange activity with nuclear weapons in Cape Canaveral has disappeared, and Bond is to take up where he left off. His contact, CIA operative Felix Leiter (Jack Lord) reminds Bond that his title, "007," means he has license to kill, not be killed. This advice comes in handy in Jamaica as assassins relentlessly emerge from the woodwork, desperately trying to bring Bond down. Bond makes his way to Crab Key Island to find evil scientist Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman), the primary suspect. There he is met with the obstacle of Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress), a deadly beauty who emerges from the sea in a tiny bikini with a knife holster slung about her hips, in one of the most seductive Bond-girl moments of all time. With a striking lack of gadgets, DR. NO is a heartier mystery than subsequent films in the series, providing for some excellent adventures in which Bond must rely on his own clever spy skills to get out of sticky situations.

Review:
Bond...James Bond. The man that started it all. The longest series in cinema history. It has broken records, it has made more money than any other series of films and James Bond is known all throughout the world. It all began with the first official Bond film titled Dr. No. The man behind the name is of course the first actor to portray James Bond, Sean Connery.

With such a sophisticated attitude, a suaveness beyond recognition and a charm that would make no lady refuse, Sean Connery is the ultimate choice for Bond. Connery seems like a natural from the first time he is seen in Dr. No. He has almost every element that creator Ian Fleming wanted in a James Bond. Ian Fleming wrote the bond novels who many never thought would become big hits. A few years later 1962 came along and he put everyone to shame and it has turned out to be one of the biggest things in cinema history.

With the bond films, an amazing style of action spy films were born and the world can't get enough of it. Specifically, Dr. No started it all with a film that combined great characters, clever dialogue and intense fights and action sequences. Of course, the technology was not as advanced as today with filmmaking, but everything in Dr. No is done well, from the editing to the dubbed audio scenes.

What makes Dr. No stand out among other bond films is the fact that it sets a standard for what the other films will bring. The other bond films got better technically wise and sometimes they got better as a whole as well, but the low budget of Dr. No keeps the film toned down to give it that special spy feeling. Dr. No on its own terms is a mind-blowing action spy thriller even with the relatively budget. This is because the film has plenty of character development and sets up for a great climax.

If we put the film aside and shine the spotlight on the action hero himself, Sean Connery's presence in the film is one that doesn't come quite often. He has great looks, perfect height and weight for bond and has every statistic that the character bond needs. Connery gives a solid performance in Dr. No and he shows it to the audience with ease. He certainly made his big entrance into acting with Dr. No and even became the highest paid actor in the 60's.

For Dr. No, Connery received $125,000 which is fairly high for those years. In fact, for each bond film Connery received double the amount of his last one. So he couldn't refuse to continue to star as one of the most famous heroes of all time. Besides Connery and the actors in Dr. No, the music in Dr. No was fairly good and of course the bond theme is a song that will always be known throughout the public.

The James Bond theme song is present a lot in Dr. No. When Bond makes a sneaky move or a clever escape, the bond theme usually plays along. It sets the audience up for what is yet to come in the film. Its a catchy tune that never goes to waste because its packed with different types of instruments. The mood of it and the orchestra feel always sets up for a nice entertaining ride.

There are quite a few memorable quotes in Dr. No that stand out. One of the things the writers of the script concentrate are in placing good one-liners that will have the audience laughing. Not necessarily laugh-out laughs, but chuckles to keep the entertainment lighthearted, but intense at the same time. Connery shows more of his intensity in the next bond film From Russia With Love.

Like we all know up to this day, there is a certain bond formula in each bond film, but with a different style and spice added with each one. Dr. No for the first film does more than just plain good in delivering an exciting entrance to the most famous agent in the world. And the film never gets too clever and its in fact a great comparison on the British Secret Service.

Dr. No is simply a great bond film and one of the best of the entire series. Connery was comfortable in his role, Ursula Andress was great as the very first bond girl, Joseph Wiseman played a incredibly menacing villain and the story of Dr. No is extremely original and creative. No one could ask for a better first bond film from the best James Bond, Sean Connery. Its a fact that the men want to be just like him and the women want to be with him.