Review of Thunderball (1965) by Ryan S — 07 Oct 2015

Rolling with eager audiences like a Ball of, well, y'know, Bond's Thunder-ous A-Level spy game carries on. Indeed, the Midas Touch of Goldfinger continues - though doesn't quite reach the same heights - with this, a rousing adventure that runs a bit too long. Spectacularly big budget, Thunderball works best when it features its amazing set pieces, especially some underwater action that only gets waterlogged when the gulf battles start to feel repetitive. Regardless, it thunders on without becoming silly which can't be said for Connery's last two 007 entries.

In this classic spy caper, James Bond (Connery) heads to The Bahamas to recover two nuclear warheads stolen by SPECTRE agent Emilio Largo (Celi) in an international extortion scheme.

Ever Bond player proves on top form in Thunderball. Oozing charm in bullets, Connery's fourth go-round as 007 makes battling flag-smashing terrorism seem almost effortless. At his most cocksure and making the role seem more like a charm than chore, this film marks the actor's best Bond performance. Returning to the director's chair after Guy Hamilton helmed Goldfinger, Terence Young (Dr. No, From Russia with Love) stages and captures some of the biggest and most explosive action sequences in cinema - let alone Bond - history with great flourish. Without Peter Hunt's quick cutting edits, however, the excitement wouldn't reach such a feverish pitch. If only the producers had him leave out 10 minutes of footage, this only occasionally redundant actioner might've ranked as the series' best.

Bottom line: Lightning Strikes.