Dr. No (1962)

After the recent viewing of the latest Bond film, Casino Royale, I was so interested in viewing the earlier Bond films that I did something which was so typical and irrational of me: I went out and bought the complete 20 disc DVD set.
With that, I got down to business of watching the series 1 by 1, in chronological order. Dr. No, therefore, is the first film on the list.
Watching this film, I realized how much the action genre has evolved over the years. By contemporary standards, Dr. No probably can't even be characterized as an action film (of course you might argue that it's just an adventure film anyway, but I say action because typically all Bond films unquestionably fall into this genre). There is very little action to speak of, and none raises my adrenaline level at all, thanks to the excellent work done in the last few decades by the likes of Jerry Bruckheimer and good old Arnie, current governor of California. And by today's standards, certainly most of the film's action look downright silly and boring. The climax, is especially worth mentioning, as it feels more like an anti-climax rather than a final confrontation between Bond and his arch-enemy, the man of the film's title.
Still, all the above criticism is not to simply label the film as trash, instead, my point is simply to state how much the action genre has evolved over the years since 1962. And certainly this film deserves credit for that, since it led to the series that eventually helped to shape the look and feel of the modern action film.
And this criticism certainly doesn't mean that the film is not enjoyable, which it definitely is, albeit the cause of that enjoyment is not the suspense created but the simple pleasure of drowning in nostalgia. We see the elaborate sequence of shots that leads to Connery's first appearance on screen as 007, accompanied by the now world renowned theme playing moodily in the background. Indeed, this opening appearance certainly got me smiling with satisfaction. Equally deserving praise is the entrance scene of Ursula Andress, the first ever Bond girl (and considered by many still to be the most definitive Bond girl). Dr No, played by Joseph Wiseman, is still one of the best Bond villains ever, though his screen time was unsatisfactorily far too limited.
At the end of the day, the greatest pleasure in watching this film is probably akin to watching your child's first baby steps. It's certainly far from perfect, but it's the opening moments of the world's favorite secret agent.
6/10