Thunderball (1965)

THUNDERBALL is an adventurous action thriller, the fourth in the James Bond series, in which the secret agent 007 gets a mission to find two NATO atomic bombs stolen by SPECTRE, which holds the world to ransom for £100 million in diamonds, in exchange for not destroying an unspecified major city in either England or the United States. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming.This is an exciting exotic adventure where our secret agent again seduces attractive beauties, while constantly keeping pace with dangerous enemies, and after all of that, he finds time to appropriate jokes. Mr. Young has made more space for secondary characters, unlike his previous films in the series. A fictional story has touched the boundaries of fiction and absurdity, however, despite this, there is no exaggeration. Skillfully designed plots fully correspond to rich dialogues.The scenery is outstanding, there are again some interesting devices and many beautiful and attractive young women.Sean Connery as James Bond was exposed to a physical strain as never before. His charm, once again coming to the fore, although he was again cold and uncomfortable to the beauties in this movie.Adolfo Celi as Emilio Largo is the main antagonist and SPECTRE operative Number Two. He is a kind of attempt to insert some kind of pirate character in the story. After Auric Goldfinger this is a bit ridiculous.Their support are Dominique "Domino" Derval (Claudine Auger) as a Largo's mistress and Bond's ace in the hole, a beautiful and dangerous SPECTRE agent Fiona Volpe (Luciana Paluzzi), who playing an interesting game with agent 007. There is an inconclusive CIA agent Felix Leiter (Rik Van Nutter), Bond's attractive assistant Paula Caplan (Martine Beswick) and standard M (Bernard Lee) with his secretary Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell).Well, an underwater battle is memorable.

This is the fourth of the James Bond, 007 action, spy and mystery series. Sean Connery continues the role, but with much more gadgetry. The character "Q" is now firmly established, and fans will look eagerly for his latest novelty items that will save Bond's life one way or another. Also, Bond's affiliation with a regular CIA character is being cemented, with Felix Leiter. There will be as many different actors to play Felix as there will be Bonds in the future. "Thunderball" was filmed in more than 40 locations in the Bahamas, France, England, and the U.S. Great scenery, glamorous settings and the playgrounds of the rich and famous are beginning to occupy most of the Bond films now. In this film, Bond has to track down a British Vulcan jet that disappeared with two A-bombs and a NATO adviser on board. The dastardly evil SPECTRE blackmails Great Britain and the U.S. for $280 million. Pay up, or lose a big city in one of the countries. It's a race against time, and our man with a nose for where the culprit hides out is on top of things soon. (No pun intended for those with such minds).Another trait is emerging in the series too – the death of one of the beautiful women who enter Bond's world. Most often it's an attractive assistant (as here with Paula, played by Martine Beswick). But sometimes it's another friend or acquaintance. Most in the audience probably don't feel too bad when one of those who die is a deadly femme fatale. That happens here as well, with SPECTRE agent Fiona, played by Luciana Paluzzi. This film has some nice action with very good underwater scenes and what are probably Navy frogmen parachuting to land in the ocean and do battle underwater. The tear-away yacht was a nice touch for some action. Of course, when Bond is through with this bunch, SPECTRE will have to find a new number 2, to replace Largo (Adolfo Celi). One thing one can say about SPECTRE – it demands total loyalty and sacrifice, but considers all of its people expendable. It literally feeds them to the sharks. This is a very entertaining James Bond flick.

The Fourth Film in the Series did Control Itself, for the most part, but Not Completely. Trying to Top "Goldfinger" (1964) the Producers go Over-the-Top for the First Time. Not Way Over-the-Top, but OTT nonetheless. The Opening with the Jetpack and the End with the most Elaborate Underwater Sequence ever Filmed (maybe even to this day), some have said that it goes On for too Long, but Not Really.The Movie only goes OTT in "Splashes" and does not Change the Tone of the Series up to that point, much, but it is there as a Harbinger of Things to Come.The Bond Girls are Appropriately Beautiful and Deadly. The "Tom Jones" Song behind the Signature Credit Sequence is Bombastic and one of the Best. Sean Connery has Hit His Stride and was Riding the Wave of the Series Super-Success and Still Commands the Role.Spectre is Involved and Bond Sees the Octopus Ring Proudly Displayed throughout. It's a Glorious Looking Film and was a High Box Office Topper. Not Considered the Best Bond on most Lists, but it is almost Always Ranked in the Top Ten.The Violence, at times, Shows Signs of the "New Hollywood" Style that would become Full Blown after the Code Completely Broke Down, and if You ever Wondered where the Action Hero's got the Idea to End a Killing with a "One Liner" look at James Bond, because He is the Instigator.The Series itself Instigated Many Things that would become Movie Clichés over the Years, and not just in the Bond Films. It also Remains the Longest Running Continuous Film Franchise in History. His Antics with the Bond Girls may be Antiquated but it is Fun to Dust Off Antiques now and then to See History Revealed.

This is my favorite bond. The sequence were you get see members of Spectre. The sequence were bond is at the funeral and kills the colonel. The jet pack is fun also. I like this because even it has some light spots there are serious overtones. The bad guy is classic bond. You also have two of the most attractive bond girls ever. The underwater sequence is really top notch. The gadgets are held to a minimum. This film moves along well. There are no lag time.I wish the Aston Martin was in the film more. I think it is only in the opening. When I want to watch a bond this is the one I watch. I either pop popcorn or order a pizza. This film has my favorite ending of all the bonds. Where he hooks a line to his wet suit and they yanked up by the plane. I don't think it has never been topped.