Film Review - Dr. No (1962)

He carries a 00 number and he's licensed to kill, where he chooses, whom he chooses and when he chooses, he's also known as Bond, James Bond of Her Majesty's Secret Service and in this the first of the Bond film adventures he's played by Sean Connery and the story sees him sent off to Jamaica to investigate the disappearance of another agent named Strangways but what he'll find is just one small piece of a big puzzle.

Dr. No is a fantastic start to the series, director Terence Young wastes no time in hitting the ground running and establishing the style, tone and energy that will run through the whole film, he also has a lot of patience with the film and a lot of it is quiet with little to no underscore in several scenes and long uncut camera takes that are a real joy to watch and sadly something that you don't see a lot of nowadays for so many films throw in a near constant underscore and a constant cutting of shots lasting less than 2 seconds.

But Young is only one half of why this film is as good as it is, the other half is Connery, an inspired choice for the role, he moves like a panther, has a fantastic presence on screen and carries the film effortlessly, only Timothy Dalton and Daniel Craig have done as well in the part and it's easy to see why their interpretations were as successful.

But my praise doesn't end there, both Joseph Wiseman and Ursula Andress also do good work in their roles especially Wiseman who nicely sets the template for the Bond villains that followed with his cool, calm exterior that hides a cold interior and a deadly handshake that you'll certainly not forget anytime soon.

So all in all, Dr. No is a stylish debut for the Bond film series and certainly worth a look, 3 out of 5.