There was a certain series of spy novels written by Ian Fleming back then, the stories revolved around a British secret agent named James Bond. This is the first film based on the novels though, like the rest of the films in the series, it differs much from the source material. This movie really set a new trend of spy movies throughout the sixties and started what is the longest running film series ever. In the beginning of the film, a British spy has been murdered in Jamaica while doing investigation on a mysterious scientist, so the British Secret Service sends in one of their best agents, James Bond 007 to investigate whether or not it had to do with the disruption of rocket launches by radio jamming. Scottish actor Connery is absolutely fantastic as Bond, a super cool spy who enjoys martinis and has a way with the women, but he's equally lethal, resourceful and surprisingly brutal. He definitely fits into the part perfectly with his look, voice, and witty personality. The one thing that really surprises me about this movie is that it isn't very over the top. There's a lot of realism in regards to the situations that Bond encounters. For example, Bond wakes up in the middle of the night to find a tarantula crawling up his back, in one of several attempts on his life by his enemies.
Speaking of the villain, Joseph Wiseman is totally outstanding as Dr. Julius No, a top member the evil criminal organization SPECTRE planning to take over the world, you never even see him until past the halfway point of the film but you can really feel his presence throughout and get a good idea of how cruel he is based on how terrified of him his minions are. There's the one scene where one of his henchman nervously tells him that Bond is near to discovering his evil plan, the doctor tells him in a deep, sinister and quite threatening voice to go to the table where of course is a small cage with the tarantula. He seriously is an awesome villain and definitely one of the most intimidating in the entire series, his trademark is that he's part British and part Japanese. Of course what would a classic Bond film be without the girls? The girl in the one is the gorgeous Honey Ryder played by Ursula Andress. Ryder is definitely the first one who comes to everyone's mind, as soon as she emerges in that swimsuit from the water pretty much everyone stops dead in their tracks. Bond is at Crab Key Island preparing to apprehend Dr. No, and so Honey Ryder comes up on to the beach after collecting seashells. She's courageous and for the most part a strong character and definitely memorable. Something not many people think about is that for the early sixties, just wearing a bikini and showing off that much skin was rare, probably why the scene is so well remembered. The movie was criticized for its sexual overtones which is understandable of course, it really echoed the attitude toward sex in that time.
Other really good characters introduced are the no-nonsense M (Bernard Lee), the head of the Secret Service who gives Bond his mission and seems impatient with Bond's frivolous attitude, Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) the secretary who has a crush on Bond, and Felix Leiter (Jack Lord) a cool CIA agent who helps Bond on his mission. I actually don't know what more I can say about this one besides that it's enjoyable, memorable, and a great start to the Bond franchise. The action scenes are exciting, the music is cool, the characters are memorable, the locations are exotic, the sets are grand, and all around everything is really good. The pacing is interesting as well, the first half runs pretty smoothly with James Bond investigating and dodging assassination attempts, and the second half moves surprisingly quickly with Bond on the island with Honey searching for Dr. No. Again, it's nothing over the top, relying on suspense and realism rather than crazy stunts, ultra weird plots and high tech gadgets seen in the later films. It combines adventure, mystery, and international intrigue into a stylish and completely entertaining film. Definitely check it out, it's a great place to start and the best is yet to come.
Speaking of the villain, Joseph Wiseman is totally outstanding as Dr. Julius No, a top member the evil criminal organization SPECTRE planning to take over the world, you never even see him until past the halfway point of the film but you can really feel his presence throughout and get a good idea of how cruel he is based on how terrified of him his minions are. There's the one scene where one of his henchman nervously tells him that Bond is near to discovering his evil plan, the doctor tells him in a deep, sinister and quite threatening voice to go to the table where of course is a small cage with the tarantula. He seriously is an awesome villain and definitely one of the most intimidating in the entire series, his trademark is that he's part British and part Japanese. Of course what would a classic Bond film be without the girls? The girl in the one is the gorgeous Honey Ryder played by Ursula Andress. Ryder is definitely the first one who comes to everyone's mind, as soon as she emerges in that swimsuit from the water pretty much everyone stops dead in their tracks. Bond is at Crab Key Island preparing to apprehend Dr. No, and so Honey Ryder comes up on to the beach after collecting seashells. She's courageous and for the most part a strong character and definitely memorable. Something not many people think about is that for the early sixties, just wearing a bikini and showing off that much skin was rare, probably why the scene is so well remembered. The movie was criticized for its sexual overtones which is understandable of course, it really echoed the attitude toward sex in that time.
Other really good characters introduced are the no-nonsense M (Bernard Lee), the head of the Secret Service who gives Bond his mission and seems impatient with Bond's frivolous attitude, Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) the secretary who has a crush on Bond, and Felix Leiter (Jack Lord) a cool CIA agent who helps Bond on his mission. I actually don't know what more I can say about this one besides that it's enjoyable, memorable, and a great start to the Bond franchise. The action scenes are exciting, the music is cool, the characters are memorable, the locations are exotic, the sets are grand, and all around everything is really good. The pacing is interesting as well, the first half runs pretty smoothly with James Bond investigating and dodging assassination attempts, and the second half moves surprisingly quickly with Bond on the island with Honey searching for Dr. No. Again, it's nothing over the top, relying on suspense and realism rather than crazy stunts, ultra weird plots and high tech gadgets seen in the later films. It combines adventure, mystery, and international intrigue into a stylish and completely entertaining film. Definitely check it out, it's a great place to start and the best is yet to come.