The series of Bond films is not at all his first incarnation on the screens. He first appeared in one episode of the series "Climax". Played by "Jimmy Bond" (yes, his name was Jimmy there, and he was a CIA agent) by actor Barry Nelson. This series was based on the first Bond book, Casino Royale. If anyone is interested, this episode is on YouTube. We’ll go to the first film in the "canonical" Bond series.

The first Bond film appeared in 1962 in the UK and 1963 in America. Directed by Terence Young and starring Sean Connery. The film suffered the fate of “that very film that they didn’t believe in,” and it was given a budget of $1,100,000, which was an extremely small amount even then. The author was also against the candidacy of Sean Connery for the role of Bond, and wanted to see Roger Moore in this role, but he refused due to the filming of the series “The Saint” (however, in the future he will still play the famous agent). The writer did not like Connery, because, in his opinion, the uncouth Scot would ruin his brainchild. His opinion changed after the film’s release, so much so that in the book "On Her Majesty’s Secret Service", Bond received Scottish roots. The film’s box office totaled 59,657,000, Connery became a world star, and audiences received a cult film franchise that continues to this day.

The first film follows Bond on a mission to Jamaica, where he must investigate the murder of an undercover operative linked to a series of failures in the American space program. Upon arrival, Bond discovers that the entire island is under the rule of one Dr. No.

Many iconic things appeared in this film. The title theme of the Bond movie, shooting “from the barrel of a gun”, Bond girl, Walther PPK, the phrase “Bond, James Bond”, vodka martini, license to kill and an extraordinary, short-sighted good villain with the same extraordinary plans.

Since spy gadgets are one www.nalcascasino.co.uk of the hallmarks of the series, when talking about the films I will talk about the specimens seen in them. However, the problem is that in the first film there are no gadgets as such, just like the iconic character “Q”. All that Bond is given for the task is his Walther PPK; a radio transmitter, a luminescent watch and a Geiger counter are also seen in the film, but all this poorly fits the description of the gadgets that have become another hallmark of films.

And now, not very smoothly, we will move on to my impressions of the film. The opening credits don’t have much to do with what’s going to happen and look very strange, but they may have been trying to reflect the Jamaican atmosphere. In general, the film seemed to me less about a spy and more about a detective (with a license to kill, of course), and it is mundane, compared to what will happen in the following parts. Bond uses ingenuity and a sharp mind, is damn charismatic and captivates from the first phrase, conquers women, throws witticisms, knows how to be friendly, and when it comes to serious business, he is cool-headed. And flirting with Miss Moneypenny makes you smile.

The film builds up the hostility of the entire island towards Bond and shows how strong No’s power is, as his subordinates would rather die than inform him of failure. I like that Bond is at a disadvantage early on and has to use resourcefulness to come out on top, unless he’s just lucky and the villain’s traditional kindness delays the execution. The main problem of the film is that the villain is boring and interesting until the moment he appears. His distinctive feature is his metal arms, but that doesn’t make him any more interesting. Also, there is a scene in the film that goes nowhere, namely the moment with Sylvia Trench. A little later I learned that she was intended to be Bond’s girlfriend, appearing in every film, and she even appeared in From Russia with Love, but this does not make the scene any less useless. Also, the music is sometimes too loud and annoying.

But despite the problems, they are not critical. Bond hasn’t laid claim to depth or seriousness since the very first film, and you shouldn’t take it too seriously. This is a good adventure film with a charismatic protagonist and a classic villain with a ridiculous plan. There is no character development here, and the ending is a classic happy ending, where Bond and the girl swim away in an embrace, and that’s cool. It’s even more fun to watch now because, due to the modern cultural background, many elements of the film are familiar, and every now and then you find yourself smiling when you see one of them, or when you encounter the special effects that were used at that time. Being on a budget adds extra charm to the film.

"From Russia with love"

The success of the first film doomed viewers to the sequel, which appeared in 1963. Directed again by Terrence Young and starring Sean Connery again. The budget was doubled, and the fees amounted to $78 million. Many critics and viewers, as well as Sean Connery himself, recognized this film as the best in Bond.

This time Bond will have to go to Istanbul to get the Lektor encryption device from Tatiana Romanova. The Specter, namely Rosa Klebb (“number three”) and Bracket (“number five”), on the orders of Stavro Blofeld (“number one”), developed a plan to destroy Bond and obtain the device. In this film, we first saw the gunsmith "Q", who in the future will supply Bond with gadgets, and the image of a villain with a cat, whose face is not shown.

This time Bond has a spy gadget, if you can call it that. This is a case in which a folding sniper rifle, ammo, a knife and 50 gold coins are hidden. The case is equipped with a protection system that is triggered if opened incorrectly and shoots tear gas. Bond also uses a pager to communicate with the agency, a bug detector and a sound recording device hidden in the video camera. But not only did 007 get new toys, his opponents also had a watch with a strangulation string and a poisoned blade coming out of his shoe.