Dr. No

Dr. No sees James Bond head to Jamaica in his first adventure to investigate the death of a British agent. His investigations soon lead him to a secure island run by the evil Dr. No who is intent on disrupting a US space launch.

It is the first of five consecutive outings as James Bond for Sean Connery, and six in total. Sean definitely brings an edge to a strong beginning to the franchise. His presence as a slick British agent, along with his way with the ladies, makes him an intriguing character to watch. He is joined by Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder, the first Bond girl who certainly grabs your attention in the now famous scene of her coming out of the sea in a somewhat skimpy bikini.

The film was directed by Terence Young, who would go on to direct From Russia With Love and Thunderball, and was released in 1962. Filmed primarily in Jamaica and England, it had an estimated budget of $1,100,000 and went on to gross $59,600,000 worldwide. Although this represents the lowest taking at the box office for a Bond film, for a 1962 release and the first in the series, I think that this paved the way for the future successes enjoyed by the films. 

For a film that is 50 years old, it holds up really well. With the film taking place to the picturesque backdrop of Jamaica, it is full of colour and vitality which is certainly matched in the title scene. After seeing the title sequence in Dr. No, which definitely has similarities to Apple's iPod silhouette dancers ad, I can see where the future films got their inspiration. 

The vibrancy of the picture makes the film very easy to watch. It is hard to tell how much of this can be attributed to the restored picture for the DVD release and how much is the original film. Either way, at times the lighting effects look amazing. The use of lighting in both Bond's hotel room and Miss Taro's home is sublime, using slotted doors to filter the light from behind adds a suspenseful feeling to the scenes. There is a similar scene on Crab Key where Professor Dent is ordered into a room with a sunlight casting a striking shadow in the room below.

The music also adds a lot to the setting of the film. The two songs incorporated into the opening title sequence set the film up beautifully for the Caribbean setting to come, and Dr. No remains the only Bond film to use two songs for its theme music. This same style carries on throughout the film which was nice to see and at no time did the music overpower the images on the screen. There were however some slightly cheesy sound effects, most notably when Bond falls down the red chute on Crab Key.

Overall I was pleasantly surprised by Bond's first outing on the big screen. There were some slightly dodgy looking green-screen moments, I'm thinking specifically of the car chase, and I thought more could have been done with Dr. No himself. But on the whole it was a strong film that stands the test of time extremely well. Sean Connery is a pleasant to watch as Bond and I'm looking forward to seeing his other films and who he continues to progress the character.

Next up... From Russia With Love