Review of Thunderball (1965) by Jacob M — 10 Jun 2013

In Thunderball, the 4th Bond film to star Sean Connery in the role, SPECTRE goes on its biggest, most diabolical plot yet, by stealing a NATO plane filled with atomic bombs, hiding it under the ocean, and threatening to use the weapons unless payments can be made. Bond heads to Nassau to stop SPECTRE agent Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi) from causing a nuclear holocaust, even is he has to tackle a few sharks.

Returning to support 007 in Thunderball is M, played by Bernard Lee, Moneypenny, played by Lois Maxwell, and Q, played by Desmond Llewellyn.

New to the table includes Claudine Alger as Bond girl Domino, who is a lover of Largo but is still attracted to Bond's charms, Rick van Nutter playing Felix Leiter this go round, and Luciana Paluzzi as female SPECTRE agent Fiona Volpe.

Once the film starts, with an awesome pre-credits sequence involving 007 take off in a jetpack, and a catchy theme song by Tom Jones, Thunderball takes us in for a phenomenal joyride.

Connery is great as ever as 007, using his smart dialogue and cool personality to get the job done. The villain, while not as memorable as Goldfinger or Oddjobs, is still a menacing villain and has one menacing plot.

Domino, the Bond girl, is pretty attractive and passes off as a good one, and the gadgets are pretty cool, from the jetpack to an underwater camera.

The action sequences are really awesome, with some of them taking place underwater. The underwater locations used in this film are breathtaking and serve as some of the most impressive locations ever for a Bond film.

Possibly the most famous scene in Thunderball involves Bond trapped in a shark pool and has to use his knowledge to get him out. Believe it or not, that was Connery who actually did the stunt, not a stunt double, and he put his life at risk. One of the sharks nearly attacked him as he was getting out of the pool, and you can clearly see that on film. I applaud Connery for pulling that stunt off, which still puts him as the Bond to beat.

Although I view Goldfinger as the best of Sean Connery's Bond films, Thunderball comes as a close second and remains a Bond classic, featuring Connery at his prime and some of the best locations ever shot.

The end of my review for Thunderball. But I will return for the review for Sean Connery's next Bond adventure, You Only Live Twice.