23 Days of James Bond- Day 1, Dr. No

It was 1962. The Cold War was hot. As was the Space Race. Kennedy was president. And a British WW II Vet and writer had one of his books made into a little movie called Dr. No.

To me, this set the franchise off right. Though the book was later in the series - the first was actually Casino Royale- they did a great job in the initial introduction of the hero. Playing cards- as he does often- and flirting with a beautiful woman- something he does even more.

I enjoyed the locations for this movie. Ian Fleming himself spent time in Jamaica, hence James Bond visiting there often. The views are great. I love all the islands and the water, even the minnows who think they're sharks.

This movie also introduces SPECTRE, who shows up in several other movies. Dr. No was a decent first villain. The villaisn have gotten bigger, badder, and more advanced over time and technological advancements. His cover base seemed almost lacking. However, the living quarters were nice. Also, Dr. No didn't look as Asian as I thought he could have been. But, he's an interesting character nonetheless. A little crazy. A little maniacal in various forms.

And now, Ursula Andress, the first Bond girl. Personally, I thought she was very pretty. And she didn't have the "ooh, I"m a supermodel" hotness, which was rather nice. She did, though, seem to have a bit of naivete.

This movie, as far as it goes in comparison with the rest of the collection thus far, ranks as:
In the top 10 for moives
In the top 5 for title songs
In the middle half for opening title sequences
(Note: at some point I will rank these things and give an actual list)

Iconic bits:
The James Bond Theme- Every movie is known for it's opening credits and distinct song. Many are still played on the radio today and, in fact, I did a major squee one afternoon last year when that great brassy sound and hint of this song came on during an Adele number and I relised that I was hearing Skyfall for the first time. Though in this movie the credits are more low key compare to the others, they are still wonderful to watch and speak about the movie.

Banter with Moneypenny- The famed secretary has been played by, as of 2013, only about three people I can count off hand.