Bond #1: Dr. No (1962)

In conjunction with the announcement and eager anticipation of the latest as yet untitled Bond 25 outing recently, I have decided to watch all previous 24 Bond films over the next 12 months, targeting to watch an average of at least 2 Bond movies a month! I Had always wanted to revisit some of the earlier Bond movies and see how well they withstand the test of time, and also to have a personal opinion on who is my personal favourite actor playing the role.

So here goes .... to start the ball rolling, the very first Bond movie Dr. No was released in 1962. I was just a baby then so I can safely say I have zero recollection of this movie. What a big difference this movie is from the current Bond movies we have today which seems to be compelled to provide us with some sort of action piece every few minutes. The level of violence and action is all done in such a slow and unimaginative manner, I don't know whether to laugh or be enthralled! For example, the most exciting scene apart from the explosive finale, was probably seeing Bond stomping to death a tarantula which nearly killed him in his bed. The story was simple and straight forward and the James Bond here is allowed to get himself caught and be in a vulnerable situation more than once. This introductory movie however does set the stage for the franchise with many of it trademarks which are still being employed today abate with a different level of approach as cinema technology and our values and culture have "evolved".

Happily, I can honestly say I was kept reasonably entertained. With its light hearted approach, the film can still manage to draw a smile and chuckle from me, although I have to confess that I found lots of laughs were unintentional. The level of sexual exploitation of women will probably upset the #metoo movement. Too bad, some things never change. Then there is the liberal use of cigarette and smoking which again, is now seldom reflected in films. Without the availability of mobile phone technology, our spies have to rely on using the public phone booth to check on HQ!! To entertain himself while waiting for his nemesis to turn up, Bond amused himself with a pack of cards playing solitaire! The list goes on and on making this feel more like a hilarious trip down memory lane than a dangerous spy mission.

The best thing about Dr. No is of course the introduction of Sean Connery as a major superstar. He plays James Bond with a level of coolness and confidence that one can even appreciate today. Then, we have the added bonus of a fabulous performance and appearance of Ursula Andress who plays the hilariously named character, Honey Ryder. She steals every scene from the moment of her now famous and iconic big beach entrance scene where she emerges from the sea like a goddess, wearing a skimpy white bikini. No level of special effects today can beat pure cinema magic and screen presence like this. Apart from the Bond girls, Bond movies are often judged by its villains. The Dr. Julian No of the title, as played by Joseph Wiseman is a colourful and interesting villain. Too bad his screen time too short as he only appeared towards the end of the movie. Nevertheless he was an important character to the film as well as franchise as he introduces the global criminal and terrorism organisation SPECTRE (SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion)  which as we all know, comes full circle as it is featured once again and even becomes the title of the most recent 24th Bond movie.