This 007 digression was originally published in 2013.
When Dr. No hit the silver screen in 1962, how many people expected the Bond Franchise to still be in operation 50 years later? The revenue numbers are staggering. Opening weekend for Skyfall, the 2012 send-up featuring Daniel Craig in the title roll, produced $88 million dollar in revenue. Overall, more than six billion dollars have been generated by the 24 films, an average of more than a quarter billion apiece.*
This weekend I finally got around to seeing Skyfall, and in anticipation of the event I watched Dr. No so that I could compare Sean Connery and Daniel Craig head-to-head. I also watched a portion of Die Another Day, starring Pierce Brosnan, even though Connery seems to be the measure by which all other Bonds (Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, etc.) are measured.
Dr. No does an admirable job of setting up the Bond equation. A British agent with a license to kill gets sent to an exotic location, in this case Jamaica, to resolve a situation with global ramifications. There is an evil mastermind whose minions he must overcome and ultimately the evil one himself, and a beautiful woman with a sexy name whom he tangles with.
The primary feature of the Bond enterprise has always been the suave, sophisticated Bond himself. He’s smooth, both with women and…
