Today I have a fun one for you, 1962’s Dr. No which is the very first time Sean Connery would play the legendary agent. Actually, Dr. No is not just the first Sean Connery Bond movie, this is the FIRST EVER James Bond Movie. When you think about it, this is one of the most important movies of all time. It gives us Bond and the legendary quote “Bond, James Bond” that would be a staple in the series for decades to come.
How to Download Dr. No
Dr. No was released on 5 October 1962. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review
I will be honest, growing up, I saw the James Bond movies in a very weird order and while I liked them, I was never a super fan. I would actually see Dr. No, many, many years after I had seen most of the ones that Roger Moore had done. So with that being said, I do not have any nostalgia for this movie, and for years, it was a movie that I did not have a strong opinion on one way or the other. Yet, in my recent quest to watch all the Bond movies, I fired this one up and found it to be fun.
The Impact of Dr. No on the Bond Franchise
You could say that I had so much fun due to the wonder of this being the first James Bond movie. However, I think that is a bit harsh, sure the movies would get bigger and better, but this is still a fun spy caper. After binge watching Roger Moore’s James Bond movies, Dr. No feels way more scaled back, but there are still some of the iconic Bond tropes present in this very first movie.
The movie mostly takes place in Jamaica. An MI6 agent in Jamaica is killed along with this secretary. Turns out this agent had been investigating strange radio beams that are causing problems. With the MI6 agent killed, M tells Bond that he needs to go to Jamaica to investigate. I have to say that the scene with Bond at the casino along with the iconic first-ever Bond girl, Sylvia Trench (played by Eunice Gayson), although some do say that it is Honey Rider who is technically the first Bondy girl.
Bond’s Mission in Dr. No
Anyway, back on topic! Bond heads to Jamaica and pretty much right away he is dealing with people who want to kill him. As this is the first James Bond movie and a movie from the early 60s, the action here is quite tame in comparison to what we would get in future installments. Still, there are some neat Bond moments and we do get to see him be a badass on several occasions.
Turns out that the person behind this is the evil Dr. No. Dr. No is a great first Bond villain, he has metal hands and he is using his radio wave weapon to stop a US rocket launch as well as causing all kinds of trouble in the name of SPECTRE (the same Spectre from the 2015 film). He is like a mad scientist and he is just so much fun. For me a good Bond movie needs a good villain and Dr. No is certainly a very good villain.
Is Dr. No Worth Watching Today?
I had put off watching Dr. No for a while as I just did not think it would have aged all that well. Well, I am happy to say I was wrong as this was a fun watch. It is not one of my favorite Bond movies, but when you consider this was a first try, they could not have launched the character any better in my opinion. It is just there are so many other Bond movies that I like better than this one.
© 1962 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
