It’s no surprise that I’m a lifelong fan of James Bond, both the original novels by Ian Fleming, and the film productions which have entertained countless millions of people since way back in 1962. Like any long-running series, the James Bond films divide the fans, and so I’ll say up-front that all these reviews are are just my personal opinions of the films and I know many will disagree with what I’m sure will be seen as some controversial decisions! I’ll add as a chaser to that shot that for me the reasons the films have had such successful longevity is because of the way they have so deftly weaved humour into the action-thriller element.
I’ll also add
that these reviews are of the films not the novels, and there are many important
differences. While some of these may come up, I want to focus on the movies.
I’ll give them a rating out of 10 and at the end sort that into a definitive
rank! Finally, these reviews are not about trivia and won’t contain spoilers (well, maybe a couple...).
They’re just my impressions of the movies and how they influenced me as a
writer, so this is a list of my personal favourite Bond films, and why.
So without further ado, we’re going to start in the logical place, which is the first
James Bond movie ever made – Dr. No (1962).
Even looking back
over the incredible 54 years since Dr. No first hit the screens in 1962, the
film still doesn’t disappoint and has aged extremely well. Often with
franchises as massive as Bond it’s almost blasphemous to criticise the
series-starter (same goes for bands and their first albums) but we don’t have
to go there with Dr. No because the film delivers (nearly) everything you want from the
genre.
The original
novel was Fleming’s sixth in the series, and producers originally wanted to
make Thunderball as the first movie, but a legal dispute had tied things up so
Dr. No was chosen instead. Considering some of the iconic moments in the
film, perhaps this was fate intervening.
The plot starts
with the traditional ‘call to adventure’, in this case Bond being briefed by M
to investigate the disappearance of an MI6 asset in Jamaica. After a series of
twists and turns Bond hooks up with the CIA’s Felix Leiter and later on the now
legendary Honey Ryder and they find their way to Crab Key, an island owned by
Dr. No, and there the final act unfolds. (Hmm – secret island bases... what a
good idea - someone should tell Joe Hawke ;)
No one had played
Bond before, so Sean Connery had the advantage of being able to shape him the
way he wanted and be compared only to the original literary character. Such was
Connery’s commanding performance of the role that subsequent Bonds are measured
up against him, and rarely the original character created by Fleming.
Being the first
outing, the gadgets made so notorious in later films are missing here, and
instead our hero must save the world with nothing more a Walther PPK and his wits. Later
films would give Bond flame-throwing aerosol cans, wheelchair missiles and even x-ray
vision (in fact the gadgets started to get ridiculous – but that’s a later
review), but when Connery is attacked by a tarantula in Dr. No he must improvise
and bash it to death with the heel of a quality slip-on loafer. Presumably SIS issue, of course.
Joseph Wiseman
also leads the way for countless international villains in his icy depiction of
Julius No, pulling off the Nehru jacket and metal hand with grim poise. Also, the stunning cinematography which brings Jamaica to life on the
screen deserves a mention, as does Terence Young’s measured but classy
direction.
Many argue that
Dr No is more a mystery, or whodunnit than a straight-forward action-adventure
thriller and looking back they make a good point. But it was 1962, and they
were establishing a character and a franchise. An endless series of
explosive set-pieces wouldn’t have allowed for this important groundwork. Also
we have to remember the more conservative time – the Vatican condemned the film
when it was released – anything raunchier or more violent might have ended up
on the cutting room floor. Another consideration is the high cost of producing
action movies, but luckily writers can make set-pieces as explosive as they like
without destroying expensive sets, as my readers will know...
For me what’s so
important about Dr. No is that it lays out a solid path for the escapist
action-adventure thriller genre but importantly includes humour as a part of
the package. I want to talk more about the role of humour in this genre (and
the increasing lack of it) but that’s me wrapping up for now.
My rating: 9/10
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