Dr No

Plot

James Bond is one of the elite ‘00’ secret agents, of the spy agency MI6. He is tasked with heading to Jamaica to locate a missing agent Strangways. His investigations introduce him to CIA agent Felix Leiter, and Leiter’s local assistant Quarrel, and lead him to the mysterious island of Crab Key and the man who runs it – Dr No.

Direction

Released in 1962, this was a fairly well constructed film with some very decent stunt work at times, as well as a few well-done car chase sequences.

Cast/Characters

The late great Sean Connery introduces us to the world of James Bond here, and he does a solid job in the role, considering he was just 32 when he filmed this role.

There is a modern flaw within some of the supporting characters that must be addressed in a 2024 mindset –

Dr No was played by a Canadian actor Joseph Wiseman, and was put in ‘yellowface’ something that would not be allowed today.

Quarrel, the Jamaican local, played by John Kitzmiller is a sub servant role to that of Bond, and ** spoiler it has been 62 years ** he is killed off, and never mentioned or mourned.

Ursula Andress as Honey Rider is the biggest faux pas, with her character nothing but window dressing, and the eventual bedding mate to Bond.

Screenplay/Setting/Themes

Bond’s introduction is more of a ‘slow burn’ of a film – which more shows his deduction of life and how he is able to read the world around him (discovering the driver in Jamaica is an assassin, and how he sets his ‘traps’ in his hotel). While he acts when needed, he is more brain than brawn at times.

This also introduces us to the ‘silly’ nature of Bond too, with one or two puns thrown in for good measure.

It’s also a product of its time, with the blatant misogyny towards female characters. Honey is given little to do other than be the sex object and thrown out of important meetings.

Knowing later history of characters, it was interesting to hear the mention of SPECTRE by the primary villain.

A little con I found was the pacing, and that Dr No didn’t appear on screen until the last 20 minutes of the film, which meant that the final showdown was a little rushed.

Score/Soundtrack

This also introduced the ‘James Bond’ theme, which has been synonymous in pop culture since its release. There was also a pretty solid score that played throughout.

Overall

Despite the modern-day flaws, this was still a fun watch, and introduction to Bond. As an action film, it is subtle, as a spy film – it is good, but not great. Despite this, it is still a recommend from me, and I’m looking forward to re-watching the entire franchise.

3.5/5