Day 01 - Dr. No (1962) - Film Review

Starring: Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Joseph Wiseman & Jack Lord

Screenplay: Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood & Berkely Mather

Directed By: Terence Young

Certificate: PG

Welcome to James Bond December! Providing everything goes to play, every day from now until Christmas you can expect to find a review of each Bond film. As explained, before I decided to embark on this month of reviews 'Skyfall' was the only Bond film I'd seen. With twenty-four films released not only did I think it was high time for me to catch up, I thought it'd also be fun to do for advent season. It won't mean much to anyone I know, but this is the most ambitious thing I've attempted for this site so I hope it all goes well and that you enjoy this little journey. 

We begin the month with 'Dr. No' and I'm really not sure to what to expect besides the obvious hallmarks of the series: the cars, the villains, the Bond girls etc. Given that I'll be looking at this with a fresh set of eyes and few expectations, I'm interested to see in these early films what aspects may feel as dated or insensitive as popular opinion has led me to believe. So let's get started... 

After losing contact with their station chief in Jamaica, MI6 enlists agent James Bond to investigate what has happened. MI6, working together with the CIA, have been investigating cases of radio jamming being used to disrupt rocket launches from Cape Canaveral. Arriving at the island, following the threads of the mystery brings Bond to the Chinese-German criminal, Dr. No. Driven delusional with power and ideas of world domination, the responsibility falls to Bond to halt the mad doctor...

Although right from the outset it had been the ambition of the studio to make Bond into a series of films, they could never have known just how successful this series would prove to be. Yet you wouldn't think that when watching the very first scene to introduce Bond on-screen. I love how it's directed and how it takes a good five-ten minutes into the film before we even get our first glimpse of him. There's a deliberate delay in showing his face too, and when we finally do get to see him, his instantly recognizable theme begins playing in the background. It's a wonderful score and you can tell how much the filmmakers liked it given how often it's repeated throughout the rest of the film. 

The direction is great throughout, and I was especially fond of the location filming done in Jamaica. It looks gorgeous, and this ideal holiday destination also makes a great backdrop for a spy flick. Although his rendition of Bond is sometimes considered the embodiment of the rampant misogyny in the series, it can't be denied that Connery still cuts an incredibly charming and dapper figure. He's suave and resourceful too. Incidentally, I really liked that little trick he pulled with the wardrobe doors in his hotel room and how he sets up the briefcase so he'll know it they've been tampered with. Connery's Bond also gets plenty of undeniably cool moments: the "you've had your six" line is easily one of my favourite bits from the film. (Edit: this review was originally written well before November this year and before Connery had died. Several actors who have appeared in Bond films have sadly passed away this year, but in most cases I've kept these reviews as originally written. However, I wanted to add here that the loss of Sean Connery is a tragic one and I have a lot of love for his time as 007).

However to ignore the more dated aspects of this Bond would be a disservice I feel. The franchise's history when it comes to gender is well-documented, so I don't think I'm treading any new ground here. After all this is an adaptation of an Ian Fleming novel - a man who had a notoriously loathsome view of women. In 'Dr. No' there are very few female characters who don't end up having sex at some point with Bond. While I found the character of Honey likeable enough, the sketchy representation of women is something I have a feeling I'll be encountering a lot this month. It's not as if I think that the film would be better by being sexless, but the extent to which it indulges male gaze fantasies gets to the point where it starts to interrupt the flow of the film. Good as it is, 'Dr. No' is a product of its time, and it's not just in its treatment of women where this can be seen. With the abundance of upper-class white men we see in charge in Jamaica, while Britain's role as a colonizer was thankfully on its dying legs by 1962, the film doesn't quite escape that whiff of colonialism. 

Now I don't want to give anyone the impression that I didn't like 'Dr. No', nor do I do want to end this review on a negative note. So let me round this off by talking about something I definitely did like: the titular man himself. By modern standards, Dr. No is a pretty standard villain but he's a well-performed one nonetheless. He has all the conventions of a Bond villain - a secret well-furnished underground base, he's a mad scientist, and has a physical disfigurement to top it off. But the performance of Joseph Wiseman is definitely what elevates No into an effective adversary. His mannerisms and his delivery have a creepy edge to them, in a way that can't help but remind me of Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels. 

So... the first Bond film and we're off to a strong start. I had a gut feeling that I would like this, but I wasn't anticipating just how good this would be and while yes dated, it still holds up. But even with its dated aspects, it's honestly not to the extent that I'd dreaded in a worst case scenario. I'd have understood if the franchise had a couple of false starts before it gets to the Bond so revered by audiences today, but 'Dr. No' hits the ground running. It's impressive how much of the series' iconography and conventions are so firmly established right here at the beginning, and it's one especially confident debut.

7/10

NEXT TIME - From Russia With Love