Bond, James Bond...

One of my cable channels seems to always be showing a James Bond movie.  I’ve been quite shocked at how bad some of them actually are.  It dawned on me that I’ve seen a handful, but many I have never seen.  This seems like a prime opportunity for me to do some blogging.  My lovely wife Dena and myself will be watching all of the James Bond movies, in order and giving my thoughts on each.

From Wikipedia – 

“The James Bond series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, seven other authors have written authorised Bond novels or novelizations: Kingsley Amis, Christopher Wood, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks, Jeffery Deaver and William Boyd, with a further instalment due in September 2015 by Anthony Horowitz. Additionally Charlie Higson wrote a series on a young James Bond, and Kate Westbrook wrote three novels based on the diaries of a recurring series character, Moneypenny.
The character has also been adapted for television, radio, comic strip, video games and film. The films are the longest continually running and the third-highest grossing film series to date, which started in 1962 with Dr. No, starring Sean Connery as Bond. As of 2015, there have been twenty-three films in the Eon Productions series. The most recent Bond film, Skyfall (2012), stars Daniel Craig in his third portrayal of Bond; he is the sixth actor to play Bond in the Eon series. There have also been two independent productions of Bond films: Casino Royale (a 1967 spoof) and Never Say Never Again (a 1983 remake of an earlier Eon-produced film,Thunderball).The Bond films are renowned for a number of features, including the musical accompaniment, with the theme songs having received Academy Award nominations on several occasions, and one win. Other important elements which run through most of the films include Bond's cars, his guns, and the gadgets with which he is supplied by Q Branch. The films are also noted for Bond's relationships with various women, who are sometimes referred to as "Bond girls".”

 So, without further ado...

Dr. No (1962)

Director: Terence Young

The first James Bond is the handsome Sean Connery.  We first meet Agent 007 about 8 minutes into the feature with the iconic line, "Bond, James Bond".

The feel of the movie is a bit dated, but after it was filmed in 1962 so this has to be expected.  The musical score in the now famous opening graphic is almost magical.

No computer generated music here, this is full orchestral majesty.  I found myself in a bit of awe just from the original Bond Theme.  Dena Comments at some point, "This music is hilarious" - as she's not accustomed to such composure from modern movies.  Since I've seen various other Bond movies (out of order) this one kind of took me off guard.  This isn't the Bond that I've grown to know.  This one - the original Bond, was daring, charming, fearless but devoid of the gadgets that he's famous for.  This is a much more simple Bond then later iterations.  Fancy cars abound, for 1962 that is, at one point he's driving a Sunbeam Alpine...

..and makes use of a 1957 Chevy.

Along the way we are introduced to the Walther PPK.

We can't forget Bond's drink of choice, vodka martini, which he prefers shaken rather than stirred.  While the final fight scene was a tad on the corny side, you have to keep in mind it was 1962 after all.  Honestly I wasn't expecting much out of this movie, but I was pleasantly surprised.  It was action packed, had the lovely Bond ladies and conveyed the suave sophistication that is James Bond. 

I rate it