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Dr. No (1962)
Pure, Old-Fashioned Entertainment
"I admire your courage, Miss...?"
"Trench. Sylvia Trench. I admire your luck, Mister...?"
"Bond. James Bond."
And thus, one of cinema's most iconic and enduring heroes was born.
To a modern eye, DR. NO is not the most spectacular Bond film. It lacks the massive budget, the grand action scenes, the over-the-top gadgets, and the globe-trotting adventure that would later become the trademarks of the Bond franchise.
However, to compare DR. NO to its successors is unfair, as is ignoring its massive influence and importance in the world of movies. DR. NO works as pure, basic, old-school entertainment. And to this day, it still works wonderfully. Sean Connery was born to play Bond, as he effortlessly fills the screen with charm, coolness, and sophistication. Joseph Wiseman's titular villain is superb and takes advantage of every second of his brief screen time. Ursula Andress is a beauty that has rarely, if ever, been matched, both in the Bond series and outside. Its story, while it develops slowly, builds to an exciting climax that future Bond films may have surpassed in tech but rarely in thrills.
Today, DR. NO might seem dated, which, honestly, it occasionally is. But despite it all, what worked then still works now, and it's easy to see why it lead to one of the most successful media franchises the world has ever seen.
