Fellmans Movie Reviews

Red = Spoilers 

The very first in a long line of fantastic action movies is the granddaddy of spy movies, Dr. No. The beginning of the James Bond saga, starring the original James Bond himself, Sean Connery. There’s been numerous James Bonds over the years, each with their own personalities and styles, that’s led to the theory that James Bond isn’t in fact a person, but is indeed, a code name used by MI6 for whichever undercover agent is using the call signal of 007 at the time. This makes a whole lot of sense when you think about it, because the Sean Connery version of James Bond has sex with any woman that crossed his path, while the Daniel Craig version of James Bond killed people like he was trying to win a prize at Chuck E. Cheese for it. And the George Lazenby version of James Bond… Well, nobody likes George Lazenby… 

What’s it about? Somebody gets assassinated within the first two minutes of the movie, setting up the plot, so you know it’s going to be a good time for everybody. His assistant gets murdered minutes later by the same three men as she attempts to get on the radio, prompting MI6 to send 007 to Kingston to investigate what happened. When he gets there, he gets attacked and almost killed by an unknown assailant who kills himself rather than release any information. And this happens several more times by people who would rather die than talk. Eventually Bond finds out they’re all working for Dr. No who has a heavily guarded base on an island near Kingston. He goes and infiltrates it with a local named Quarrel. On the island, James meets the very first Bond girl, Honey Ryder. They soon get attacked by Dr. No’s guards and Quarrel is killed. Bond and Honey are taken to Dr. No’s base and decontaminated and drugged and placed in lockup. Bond breaks free and finds a containment suit to hide in and hides in plain site as Dr. No is finishing his evil plan of launching a missile at the Atlantic. Bond turns all the dials of the machines, making everything go haywire and all of the equipment overloads. He kills Dr. No, rescues Honey, and escapes from the island like the master spy that James Bond is.  

What’s good? He’s James Bond. He’s smart. He’s witty. He has fantastic one-liners after he kills people like “I think he was on his way to a funeral…” He outthinks the people coming to kill him and beats up the people that happen to get the get the drop on him. Just good ol’ fashioned James Bond stuff.  

What’s bad? The movie was made in 1962, so you’re not looking at the best of special effects. When he’s driving and they’re using a green screen to have a car follow him, it’s the most obvious green screen ever. But in 1962, it wasn’t that bad. It probably looked pretty good by comparison. People were like “Wow! Look at those special effects!” And the car driving off the side of the mountain? That was probably a big deal back in those days.  

The acting? As far as acting goes, there’s really no difference between the acting in this movie and anything done today. It’s pretty good. I think acting has been done throughout the ages on the same levels. It’s either good or bad, no matter what medium it’s happening in. I’ll bet 100 years ago there were movies where people did a good job and you would think “You know, this isn’t that bad…” 

The effects? Like I said, coming from 1962, there wasn’t a whole lot they could do practically with the special effects. It looks good enough. There’s definitely nothing wrong with it. But it’s nothing special by today’s standards.  

The Sean Connery James Bond? The Sean Connery James Bond uses sex like a tool. He makes time with any woman that gets within sight of him. It’s his number one skill. He’s been trying to get some good luck with Moneypenny since he started at MI6, she just won’t do it. He comes across some hot villain chick and he’s just like “Hmm… You must be a secret agent for the bad guy… I know how to get you to talk… How does sex with James Bond sound?…” Happens every time… 

The first Bond girl? Bond girls are almost comedic in how similar and almost disposable they are. But with a name like “Honey Ryder” you have to give it to them on this one. The first Bond girl was special. She was something to look up to.  

Bond villains have to up Dr. No. Ever since Dr. No, every single Bond villain has to be bigger and badder than Dr. No is. They have to be crazier. They have to be more evil. They have to have some sort of distinguishing mark or disfigurement. But Dr. No set the bar. Dr. No was the default villain that set it all up.  

So, if you haven’t, see Dr. No. It’s the original. The very first. The beginning of the James Bond series. And then, watch the rest. Because, well, because it’s James Bond. And if you haven’t seen them, you’re only depriving yourself. And as always, keep on watching, with a smile on your face…