[Film Review] Dr. No (1962) 6.4/10
The inaugural movie of the James Bond franchise, Terence Young’s DR. NO sets the general tone and constitution of our beloved spy thriller, from its Maurice Binder designed, polka dots adorned main title sequence, its proverbial auditory theme, classic catchphrases like “Martini, shaken not stirred”, “My name is Bond, James Bond.”, to Bond’s raffish personality and his penchant for never allowing any carnal pleasure slip through his fingers during his precarious missions, and a small handful of Bond girls whose loyalty and fate might differ, but nonetheless, are all sexy symbols who have no moral oscillation to come across in front of such a specimen of gentleman, oozed with equal quantity of danger and appeal.
As a paradigm entertainment establishing the West’s nonpareil supremacy and superiority over the rest of the world, the franchise’s first outing is set in Kingston, Jamaica, where a Chinese-German criminal scientist, the titular Dr. No (Wiseman) has built a secret base operated with radioactive matters, and whose agenda is to sabotage USA’s Project Mercury. Sent to investigate the disappearance of a MI6 chief, Bond, deferential towards his superior M (Lee), takes the mission in stride, and is capable of smelling any funny business at short notice, even when facing a pestilent tarantula, he is phlegmatic enough to bide his time to turn the tables.
The impact of the iconic scene of a bikini-clad Honey Ryder (Andress) emerging from the sea wears off considerably for its pure female exploitation and unsparing male gaze, not that Connery is too niggardly to show off his well-built physique, only the fact that Honey doesn’t contribute anything to the plot is gnawingly sexist and patriarchal, she is advised by Bond to keep silent, carted away unceremoniously when Bond and Dr. No finish their cornball small talk and start to mean business.
Not that ethnic characters are treated with sizable respect or felicity, John Kitzmiller’s local ally Quarrel is the unsung hero with equal moxie but less fortunate kismet (and who can not tell a souped-up tank from a dragon); Wiseman’s Dr. No comes rather late on the scene and whose menacing guise plummets immediately into a laughing stock in a jiffy, when all he wants to do is to recruit Bond to the vile SPECTRE organization, it is really not worth the fuss for a mastermind of his caliber.
Grandstanding a rushed but functional action-packed climax, DR. NO might be the best outcome borne out of its very modest budget, but it does strike gold by finding a strapping leading man who hasn’t yet been hardened by the cynical nature of espionages and endless treachery under the pall of the Cold War, and Connery, is the ultimate coolth of any heterosexual man’s consummate ideal, who can always have his cake and eat it too.
referential entries: Guy Hamilton’s GOLDFINGER (1964, 6.3/10); Sam Mendes’ SPECTRE (2015, 6.3/10); Terence Young’s WAIT UNTIL DARK (1967, 7.4/10).
