BUCKET LIST UPDATE No. 264: Watch “Dr. No”

Like most folks, I enjoy a good James Bond movie, and I’ve seen just about all of them over the years. However, a couple of years ago, I read an article about some of the earliest James Bond movies, and it occurred to me that I’d never actually watched the very first James Bond movie, 1962’s “Dr. No.” For that reason, I put it on my “bucket list” and made plans to watch is as soon as I could arrange it.

Thanks to NetFlix, “Dr. No” arrived in my mailbox this past Saturday, and I watched it from start to finish on Sunday, officially scratching it off my bucket list. While watching it, I realized that I’d seen bits and pieces of this movie over the years, probably when I caught snatches of the made-for-TV version in passing. Even for a movie that’s over half a century old, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who hasn’t seen it, especially fans of James Bond.

For those of you unfamiliar with “Dr. No,” it was released in theaters on Oct. 5, 1962 and was directed by Terence Young, who also directed two later James Bond movies, “From Russia With Love” (1963) and “Thunderball” (1965). “Dr. No” starred Sean Connery in the lead role of fictional British secret agent James Bond, aka, 007. Joseph Wiseman played the villain, Dr. No, and Ursula Andress played Bond’s main love interest, Honey Ryder.

The movie is set mostly in Jamaica, and Bond goes there to investigate the unexplained disappearance of two agents who were already on the island keeping tabs on a host of villains, including Dr. No’s operations. Bond eventually comes to the attention of Dr. No and his henchmen, but successfully dodges several attempts to take him out before he learns too much about Dr. No. Bond eventually takes the fight to Dr. No’s doorstep when he infiltrates his secret hideout, where he learns that Dr. No plans to disrupt a NASA space launch from Cape Canaveral.

I was interested to learn that the “Dr. No” movie was based on a novel by James Bond creator, Ian Fleming. By my count, Fleming wrote 14 James Bond novels, and “Dr. No” was the sixth in order of publication. Needless to say, watching the movie made me want to read the original novel, which was published in March 1958.

I’ve head “Watch all the James Bond movies” on my bucket list for several years now, and I’ve got 25 more to go. Those movies include “From Russia With Love” (1963), “Goldfinger” (1964), “Thunderball” (1965), “You Only Live Twice” (1967), “Diamonds Are Forever” (1971), “Never Say Never Again” (1983), “Casino Royale” (1967), “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” (1969), “Live and Let Die” (1973), “The Man with the Golden Gun” (1974), “The Spy Who Loved Me” (1977), “Moonraker” (1979), “For Your Eyes Only” (1981), “Octopussy” (1983), “A View to a Kill” (1985), “The Living Daylights” (1987), “Licence to Kill” (1989), “GoldenEye” (1995), “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997), “The World Is Not Enough” (1999), “Die Another Day” (2002), “Casino Royale” (2006), “Quantum of Solace” (2008), “Skyfall” (2012) and “Spectre” (2015).

In the end, how many of you have watched “Dr. No”? What did you think about it? Which James Bond movie is your personal favorite? Let us know in the comments section below.