Movie Series Review - James Bond 007 (Sean Connery era)

So we begin the series of James Bond posts by going back to the man who started the films off, now retired Scottish actor Sean Connery who set the foundation for many to follow. For most people, he is the true James Bond and considered by many to be among the best of actors to play the now iconic role. So get your Martinis shaken and not stirred, let's review some films:

Please bear in mind that all the films I'm reviewing in this series, are the official Eon films so Never Say Never Again and the 1967 Casino Royale don't count and I may do a review of them, we shall see.

Dr. No

So our first ever Bond film, just so happens to be the first of many to be based on its source material which is the books. Its also the first that gives us that all so iconic intro sequence with Bond shooting the circle and all that. So in the film, Bond is sent to Jamacia to investigate the disappearance of a fellow British agent. The trail he follows, leads him to an underground base with the man in charge being our titular main antagonist Dr. No (played by Joseph Wiseman) who has plans to prevent an early American lunar launch using a radio beam weapon. So its up to Bond to stop him before some innocent astronauts are killed so to speak. As the first film of the series, this is a good start. I will admit that its not entirely a perfect film, but it did what we would expect it to do. To better establish James Bond and raise more awareness for the books of which this and many other films in the series, would be based on. 8/10

From Russia With Love

So most people regard this film as the all time best Bond film and I see where they are coming with this. Its not as fast paced or fun as the first film, but it manages to continue what the last film did which was to further make this more mainstream. So picking up from the last film, Bond is sent to assist in the defection of a woman known as Tatiana Romanova (played by Daniela Bianchi), a Soviet consulate clerk, currently residing in Turkey where unbeknownst to Bond, the organisation known as SPECTRE has some plans in mind for him. So yeah, this is a good film that makes itself different from the previous film, but still manages to keep it as Bond as it can be if that makes sense. Can't say any more than that. 9/10

Goldfinger

So many people consider From Russia With Love to be the best Bond film of all time. But when it comes to Goldfinger, its a different story. This film was the film that really got the franchise going with its iconic lines, its gadgets, a famous singer doing the theme song and a lot of things that came into this film which would then be later seen or referenced in later films. To me, this is the best Bond film at least in Sean Connery's era anyway. So this time, Bond is sent to investigate the workings of gold magnate and our titular main antagonist Auric Goldfinger who seems harmless at first, until Bond realises his true plans, to contaminate the US Bullion Depository at Fort Knox. So like I said, this is the quintessential instalment in the franchise as it set the record straight with things that films that would come after this, would use. Lines like "Martini, shaken not stirred" and "Bond, James Bond" are first heard here (though the latter may have been said before, but it became mainstream here) as well as the overuse of gadgets and music. 9/10

Thunderball

So as I mentioned previously, I am only reviewing the official Eon Bond films and one of the non-official ones, just so happens to be adapted from the same book that this very film was adapted from and both star Sean Connery as Bond. Interesting that is. Not only that, but at the time, this was considered to be the most financially successful Bond film of the series. So in Bond's attempts to put an end to SPECTRE's ways, he sets out to find two NATO atomic bombs of which the organisation has stolen. This in turn has the world held in ransom for £100 million in diamonds in exchange for not destroying a major city in either the UK or the USA. And so its up to Bond to stop them from destroying any one of the cities in either country. Despite its financial success, this film was the start of me starting to realise that Sean Connery's Bond is not the playboy that we saw in the last few films. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it just would make the film that little more better in my opinion. Other than that, its another good film in the series, but may have too much of one scene in it and may take a lot of time to get going (but fortunately not like the first Hobbit film). 6/10

You Only Live Twice

So two things that are a first of the films that come into play here. This is a film that is a whole new story but uses elements from the books as just background among other things. The other first, is that this is the first time we meet Blofeld, the previously unseen head of SPECTRE and in everyone's opinion, the arch nemesis of Bond. So with some things going on in space with spacecraft mysteriously disappearing, Bond is sent to Japan to investigate after faking his own death, in the hopes to put all nations' minds at ease in the admist of the Cold War where he meets the head of SPECTRE. This film is packed with flaws in its story, its over reliance on gadgets as well as things that take out the realism in the films. Its not Connery's best films, but despite the flaws, I wouldn't go as far as to call it a bad film. I just think the film makers were just getting too ambitious. Nuff said on this. 7/10

Diamonds Are Forever

So initially, Sean Connery pulled out after the last film, giving the role to George Lazenby for a Bond film which we will talk about tomorrow. But it was then clear to everyone that Sean Connery would be up for one last film before going into other things. But it is true that he did return once more after this film for an unofficial Bond film, but then that was it. But anyway, let's get this review underway. So its come to this. Blofeld (played in all films thus far by Charles Gray who you may also know as that narrator in Rocky Horror) manages to get his hands on some diamonds to create a giant laser and its up to Bond to fight him one last time before it becomes active. The film does have a bit of a camp tone and also, this told me that Sean was getting too old for a role like this. I mean just by looking at him in the film, just proves that point. Again, its not a bad film, but as Sean Connery's final official time as Bond, this was pretty much what I was expecting to come out of it. Need I say more. 7/10

So for the first Bond, Sean Connery is great. The films are not perfect by any means, but each one manages to try something new and helped set up what we would expect to come out of the franchise in later films. So there you go. 8/10