Thunderball (1965)

Movie lists

Description[from Freebase]

Thunderball (1965) is the fourth spy film in the James Bond series starring Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham. It was directed by Terence Young with screenplay by Richard Maibaum and John Hopkins. The film follows Bond's mission to find two NATO atomic bombs stolen by SPECTRE, which holds the world ransom for £100 million in diamonds, in exchange for not destroying an unspecified major city in either England or the United States (later revealed to be Miami). The search leads Bond to the Bahamas, where he encounters Emilio Largo, the card-playing, eye-patch wearing SPECTRE Number Two. Backed by the CIA and Largo's mistress, Bond's search culminates in an underwater battle with Largo's henchmen. The film had a complex production, with four different units and about a quarter of the film consisting of underwater scenes.Thunderball was the first Bond film shot in widescreen Panavision and the first to have over a two hour running time.

Review

The first big Big BIG Bond movie, complete with a boat that separates into two pieces, an underwater war, Baccarrat, no fewer than four Bond girls (all of whom found their voices dubbed-over by the same actress), and at least one clever witticism delivered by Connery every five minutes. It's too long and doesn't make any sense at times, but it's a real jaw-dropper (especially for 1965). Crudely remade as Never Say Never Again in 1983. Bond fans should look for the DVD, which features 8 theatrical trailers, 3 making of documentaries, and 2 commentary tracks. Wow.

Bond #4.

by Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
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