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James McMahon --
Amazingly they got all of it right, first time out of the gate. The delayed first view of James Bond, his delivery of, "Bond. . . . James Bond," an instant cinema classic; as was Honey's rising from the sea. The film evolves wonderfully from a straightforward tropical adventure (albeit one with macabre touches, and an atypically cold, brutal hero) into Fleming's Fu Manchu-style fantasy when Bond enters Dr.No's lair. Great Ken Adam sets created the look that still defines the genre even today. Joseph Weisman is wonderful in the titular role. Oh, and those great gleaming black metal hands of his. Terrence Young was the perfect choice of director for Bond movies. Building on Fleming's framework, he's probably most responsible for creating the cinematic elements that would make James Bond the most successful series in cinema history.
Robert Cotton --
Beginner s luck. Terence Young builds a franchise with little more than a swimming pool and a Scotsman. Terrific stuff.
Paul Baack --
In 1962, Eon Films series hit the ground running by adapting Ian Fleming's best-selling fairytale into a grand Technicolor cinematic comic book. By leavening the violence and sex with snarky humor, and letting Ted Moore's colorful cinematography give a travelogue feel to the proceedings, Dr. No is family-friendly fun for almost all ages. Almost everything works right here; Joseph Wiseman as the title character creates the archetypal , and perhaps greatest, James Bond Villain. The same could be said for Ursula Andress' characterization of Honey(chile) Rider. Maurice Binder's titles and Ken Adam's amazing sets give the series (and practically the entire genre) its signature look. Just neat-o keen stuff!
| Bill Koenig --
A very faithful adaptation of the novel until the last quarter of the film. Joseph Wiseman's Dr. No is quietly menancing and avoids some of the over-the-top aspects of the literary Doctor No. A very lean story, moves quickly. Connery is The Man, solidifies that position with the "Seageant, make sure he doesn't get away" line as he drives up with a corpse to Government House. Ursula Andress? Well, I can't improve upon what's been written about before. The "Fetch my shoes" line makes me wince. Jack Lord doesn't emote much as Felix Leiter, but he's better than most of the actors who followed.
Ed Werner --
An obviously important (first in the series), but smallish film - due to the lack of budget. It looks rather quaint today, compared to the Bond saving the entire world from armeggedon, that later surfaced with disturbing regularity. Connery's portrayal of Bond on one hand is way over-the-top ("Fetch my shoes", "I'm feeling Italian and musical"), however there is a shark-like quality to him here, that is only implied in the subsequent Connery/Bonds (the killing of Prof. Dent and his handling of Miss Taro and the limo driver). To this day, forty some years later, Ursula Andress still looks wonderful in that white bikini.
Michael Reed --
The oldest also feels the most dated. Smart to mention the usual byplay with Bond and Moneypenny when we hadn't seen them before.
 Tom Zielinski --
First of the Big Four , 47 years old, and it still holds up well. Connery is feeling his way, but several of the essential elements used in subsequent films are established here. M and Moneypenny are present and accounted for, though the beloved Desmond Llewellyn was not to be introduced until the next film. Joseph Wiseman as Dr. No is terrific, and the only thing about the gorgeous Ursula Andress that needed dubbing was her voice. Her debut on-screen was to become a cinematic icon. Terence Young, Peter Hunt, and John Barry (uncredited) also left their indelible marks. A great debut for the series.
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