Viewed in
1999, 2010
Formats
DVD, HD TV
Premise
In the first of the series, Sean Connery plays 007 investigating a mysterious villain in Jamaica.
Liked
How I was amused by everything.
Hated
The science-fiction feel of the second half.
Thoughts
It was interesting to see how the franchise began.
I found the stark differences amusing: no theme pop song with sexy girls posing during the titles, no self-contained opening action sequence, no fancy gadgets, SPECTRE's presence, minimal stunts and special effects, just to name a few. There was quite a bit of 1960's sensibilities, with the (overused) swinging theme, and colorful titles.
The surprising aspect was just how gritty and mortal Sean Connery's character was portrayed, compared to the cool, untouchable qualities that I expected (though the recent Daniel Craig versions seemed to swing back more towards that style). I enjoyed the cold performance by Joseph Wiseman as the titular character. Ursula Andress was gorgeous as the first Bong girl. Interesting that in these Sean Connery films, the main Bond girl did not show up until the second half of the movies.
It's actually quite sparse in action, probably due to budget. The special effects were obvious, such as a tarantula "crawling" on Connery via glass plate, and mismatched blue screen, though sometimes it was a little charming. What was unexpectedly cool and enjoyable was the first half of the movie, playing out as a pure sleuth film, as it showed off 007's spy skills without the need for extravagant toys.
Unfortunately, I hated the second half as it suddenly felt like an incongruous science fiction flick. There was all this rambling stuff about underground lairs, atomic power, and everyone running around in goofy hazmat suits. Obviously, I'm not a Bond villain, but if I spent tons of money using scare tactics and armies to shoo unwanted guests, I would not be wasting my budget on lavish prisons.
Another unintentional effect of time was that certain moments lost their luster because I was so familiar with the Austin Powers parodies.
For current fans of the Bond movies, it was fun revisiting the start of the franchise, just expect to yawn quite often.
What I would change
Not sure.
