Bond Series - Part 1

JAMES BOND SERIES RECAP

I decided to rank elements out the film out of a maximum of 10. The Bond performance, main Bond girl, plot, action, song, and overall film will be graded.

Dr. No (1962)

The film that started it all starts with the famous theme song and someone who clearly isn’t Sean Connery shooting at the screen awkwardly. And then there’s an even more awkward scene, three supposedly blind people walking around with “3 Blind Mice” playing, and then assassinating some people.

So James Bond is on the case, and he travels to the Caribbean, meeting the beautiful Ursula Andress along the way.

This establishes what would become formula quite well. Exotic locations, a quest of discovery with a doomsday plot revealed, beautiful and mysterious women (preferably with double-entendre names), and Bond sidekicks being killed off. By no means is it the best in the series, as it’s kind of boring and modern audiences will find it far too slow. There are still some great moments, however. The Honey Rider reveal scene is a classic, and there are some great moments involving enemy assassins early on and in the middle of the film. Once Bond meets up with the main villain, Dr. No, the film gets a little weird.

My biggest argument against this film is that it has aged poorly. It’s slow, not too violent at all, and at the end of the day, it’s more or less a sci-fi film.

Bond rating: 10/10

Bond girl (Honey Rider) rating: 10/10

Bond villain (Dr. No) rating: 8/10

Plot rating: 6/10

Action rating: 4/10

Song (“James Bond Theme” by John Barry) rating: 10/10

Overall: 6/10

From Russia with Love (1963)

From Russia with Love is a big step up in the franchise. It’s fast paced and action packed, and also quite a serious film. It’s probably the most serious one before Casino Royale, not letting things like gadgets and one-liners get in the way. In fact, there’s only one gadget, and it’s hardly even one.

This film establishes SPECTRE and the unseen Ernst Stavro Blofeld as Bond’s arch-enemy, having them steal a cryptograph from the Soviets. Hideously ugly SPECTRE agent Rosa Klebb is in charge of killing Bond, exacting revenge for the events in the previous film. She hires assassin Red Grant (Robert Shaw) to get the job done.

There is some great action in this film. The fight on the Orient Express between Bond and Grant may very well be my favorite action sequence in the series, and there’s also a great boat chase, among others. It also brings the Bond Girl Tatiana Romanova into the mix as an object of love for Bond, as well as a sworn enemy, making for some good suspense and drama. Overall this is easily one of the best of the series.

Bond rating: 9/10

Bond girl (Tatiana Romanova) rating: 8/10

Bond villain (Red Grant) rating: 8/10

Plot rating: 9/10

Action rating: 9/10

Song (“From Russia with Love” by Matt Munro): 5/10

Overall: 8/10

Goldfinger (1964)

This is said by many to be the best of the series. Why? It’s got some great action, a memorable villain, Bond girl, and henchman, and it’s got gadgets without being too silly. Dr. No was silly without really trying to be, Russia was ultra-serious, and this finds the balance between the two.

At the heart of the story is Auric Goldfinger, a mysterious businessman with a passion for gold, and who seems to be behind the horrible gold-paint death of Jill Masterson. But it all begins with an action sequence to start the film that has nothing to do with the actual plot; this would continue in the series, and it’s rarely done better than this one.

Some of the best scenes come early. The golf scene between Bond and Goldfinger is surprisingly awesome, and introduces the henchman Oddjob beautifully. There’s also the series’ first great car chase, and a memorable scene of Bond meeting a pilot named Pussy Galore.

Once the plot kicks in, it’s revealed that Goldfinger wants to ruin the world’s economy by destroying Fort Knox. You could complain about it being cheesy, but for some reason, it really works for me, being one of the most compelling plots in the series. I think the biggest reason is the villain, played by Gert Frobe. He’s so interesting. And Connery is as good as ever.

The climax leads to a wonderful fight between Bond and Oddjob, which had been foreshadowed from almost the beginning. The post-climax part of the film is an exciting action sequence for sure, but suffers from outdated special effects.

Bond rating: 10/10

Bond girl (Pussy Galore) rating: 9/10

Bond villain (Auric Goldfinger) rating: 10/10

Plot rating: 10/10

Action rating: 9/10

Song (“Goldfinger” by Shirley Bassey): 10/10

Overall rating: 8/10