Dr. No
Dr. No: Britain’s best spy James Bond is sent to Jamaica to investigate the disappearance of another agent, when he uncovers a more sinister plot. The first thing we see is Bond’s silhouette crossing the screen then going for ‘the gun barrel shot’, followed by the unmistakable Bond credits.
The now famous gun barrel shot, which opens up every movie
Opening credit silhouette - another hallmark of the films - no nudity in this one
I always wonder if anyone could have known how iconic these scenes would become. As the first film in the series Dr. No does a superb job of delivering a rock solid spy story, while simultaneously setting up the franchise potential by introducing the main people, themes & concepts: Bond, Double O’s, M, Moneypenny, SPECTRE, PPK, exotic locations, universal exports, quips, action, car chases, licence to kill, fights, exploding cars, theme song, Spectre, alcoholism, espionage and boner-inducing bond girls. Bond himself bursts on to screen embodying suaveness, ingenuity, Britishness, intellect, sex appeal, and – of course – sexism!
Bond's entrance, the epitome of cool
We also quickly come to realise that only in a Bond film would you find great and believable gadgets/technology, but the most lenient use of scientific principals like gravity and radiation! There’s a few glaring continuity errors, but that’s another aspect of the films that we’ve all grown to love. Given that this was made in 1962 the film still stands up well today as a touchstone for the genre. While it’s primarily a detective story backed up by a little action, it’s still a great way to open up the series, and the idea of a ‘secret agent’ film.
Score: 7/10
Honey Rider's entrance - still to be topped
TOP TRUMPS
Villain: Dr No – Crushing metal hands & general megalomaniac – solid, archetypal villain. 8
Henchmen: Asian secretary Spy and the Marine Biologist – weak line up. 3
Bond Girl: Honey Rider (Ursula Andress) with the most iconic entrance of any character in the series – Hubba Hubba – 10
Action: Car Chase, several attempted murders, fake dragon, villains base destroyed – more would be gratuitous. 5
Dr. No - the first of many megalomaniacs
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This one’s pretty fun that I find myself enjoying more every time I watch it again. I also wonder about the opening sequences and if people thought they were creating something truly memorable. I’m always impressed when a series trademark like that is present right from the get go and it makes this film more impressive for it, because they had to start from zero instead of falling back on the established ideals for the Bond film.
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Yea, I don’t think most people know when something they make will become timeless, but even if they had an inkling, they could have never have guessed that Bond would span +22 films in around 50 years. All with the same theme, opening credits and mostly the same format.
This film’s so good as a stand-alone spy film too. Despite it’s age it looks, feels and is generally still relevant & modern than a lot of the others.
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