Bond, James Bond

Last year, Casino Royale revitalized the floundering James Bond franchise. It managed this difficult feat through style and grace, re-setting the story with a Bond just starting his career as a 007. The movie even used the first Ian Fleming novel as its basis, truly bringing everything back to its roots.

Because of this rejuvenation, all of the James Bond movies are finally being released individually on DVD. At first, they were only available in boxes of four movies at a time, each set spread out through the entire series’ history. This proved annoying, as it was impossible to buy Bond movies from a certain era, and often packaged outright bad films alongside the classics.

Now that these movies are available in a more convenient form, it is easy to examine the true origins of the Bond franchise. Two of the first 007 movies, Dr. No and Goldfinger, both show how the original Bond formula was set while still proving to be some of the best secret agent movies ever.

Dr. No is rather low-key for much of the first half of the movie. The Bond staples, like the famous music and the gun barrel scene at the beginning, are all here, along with the beautiful woman that are both friend and foe. However, much of the movie is less action and more espionage, as Bond explores the Jamaican cost trying to discover who might be interfering with American rocket launches.

Once 007 reaches the mysterious Crab Key, the action starts becoming familiar. Fantastic machines, like a flame throwing “dragon” vehicle, and bizarre enemies await. Dr. No himself possesses the bizarre characteristic of having metal claws for hands. Of course, Bond must stop the villain, escape the island lair, and get the girl, all with little blood and no nudity. It isn’t the best movie in the series, but it is a pretty effective beginning.

While Dr. No may be the first movie chronologically, Goldfinger is the first movie everyone thinks of. While Dr. No introduced some of the Bond staples, Goldfinger contains them all. 007 faces off against three different beautiful women, a massive Korean henchman who throws a deadly hat, and Goldfinger himself, a jovial but ruthless gold smuggler. Bond receives his mission from M, flirts with Moneypenny, and visits Q and his gadgets. He even gets the iconic Aston Martin.

The movie itself is almost a mess, spanning the globe and including car chases, a golf game, nighttime raids, gangsters, and even an ejector seat. The pure insanity of it all is really the movie’s charm, as it becomes something purely entertaining. It also contains both the girl covered in gold and one of the greatest exchanges in movies history. “Do you expect me to talk?” “No, I expect you to die!”

As an additional note, both of these movies feature Sean Connery as James Bond. While there is still debate over who is the greatest actor to play James Bond, Sean Connery is still the man who defined the role. Even today, his James Bond proves a suave yet deadly figure, though occasional moments of misogynism prove troublesome.

Being that these movies are over 40 years old, giving them a star rating is somewhat pointless. Instead, these movies are highly recommended for anybody who enjoys entertaining adventure or is interested in a piece of film history.