1965 | Dir. Terence Young | 130 Minutes
"Some men don’t like to be taken for a ride."
SPECTRE steals a pair of atomic bombs from NATO and holds the world hostage demanding a sizable ransom. Within seven days, Bond must recover the weapons of mass destruction and thwart SPECTRE's plot. Tracing the bombs to Nassau, Bond faces off against SPECTRE No. 2 Emil Largo and his deadly cohorts while he romances Largo's mistress.
Returning to helm Thunderball after passing on Goldfinger, director Terrance Young's third and final Bond film is another thrilling and relatively grounded espionage picture. However, the set pieces are significantly more ambitious than the ones featured in Dr. No and From Russia with Love. While he indulges in his usual sometimes problematic shenanigans, Bond unravels one of SPECTRE's most memorable schemes and encounters some of the best villains of the series. Conspicuously sporting an eye patch with panache, SPECTRE No. 2 Emil Largo is not only an iconic and unforgettable villain, he is also a frighteningly competent one, sadistic in his methods and as bloodthirsty as the sharks he keeps as pets. Additionally, SPECTRE operative Fiona Volpe is among the few evil Bond women who are truly both deadly and beautiful. Despite his despicable casually misogynistic attitude that was passed off as masculine charm at the time - demonstrated in full when he forces himself on a clinician early in the picture - watching Bond rise to the challenge and defeat the best SPECTRE has to offer is fantastic entertainment.
Beyond the rather ridiculous incidental action sequence at the top of the film, and some silly peril involving a spinal traction machine, the best parts of the feature are its beautifully staged and photographed extended underwater sequences that make up about a quarter of its runtime. While these centerpiece action sequences require a bit of patience to enjoy, they are (forgive the pun) truly breathtaking to behold. The climatic battle between NATO forces and Largo's men beneath the ocean surface is particularly excellent.
Though still admirably committed to the role, Sean Connery is noticeably less spry as the world's most famous secret agent, his fourth appearance as 007 in as many years. Jarringly, Connery is visibly older than his French co-star Claudine Auger who portrays troubled love interest Domino with a detachment that suggests more vacancy than depth. Luciana Paluzzi's Volpe is much more appealing by far, convincing and absolutely captivating as a confident SPECTRE operative. Paluzzi's presence even overshadows Philip Locke as Vargas, a henchmen written to be a ruthless disturbingly dedicated killer who, unfortunately for Locke, swiftly dies without doing anything interesting. Adolfo Celi strikes an imposing figure as the film's primary villain Largo, cool among his ilk and dasterdly in combat. Thunderball also features brief appearances from Bernard Lee, Lois Maxell, and Desmond Llewelyn reprising M, Moneypenny, and Q. The third actor to play the part, Rik Van Nutter's Felix Leiter is somewhat understated and somewhat forgettable.
A highly satisfying blend of intrigue and spectacle, Thunderball is peak Sean Connery Bond featuring some of 007's greatest cinematic adversaries and memorable underwater action sequences.
THE COLD OPEN
The ludicrous film opens with Bond battling a man in drag and an unwieldy jetpack. Entertaining but truly one of the silliest cold opens of the series.
THE THEME SONG AND OPENING TITLES
Tom Jones' "Thunderball" is truly magnificent, arguably on par with Shirley Bassey's "Goldfinger", with gloriously corny lyrics thoroughly summarizing what 007's swagger is all about. Shirley Bassey initially recorded a theme song entailed "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" for film but the tune was ultimately rejected in favor of Tom Jones' title song. Musical references to "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" remain in John Barry's score. The suggestive imagery of silhouetted female models swimming through the opening titles designed by Maurice Binder is highly provocative.
THE BOND GIRL
Domino isn't without agency but she is mostly underwritten like many Bond love interests, a mistress a much older man, apparently haunted with abandonment issues. Although it's nice that she gets to harpoon Largo.
THE BOND VILLAIN
Smarter and more competent than most Bond villains, Largo is a worthy SPECTRE Number 2, failed by his henchmen for hiring bad help if anything. His calm demeanor as Blofeld electrocutes a colleague across the table says it all, as does the sadism he demonstrates when torturing Domino for her betrayal.
FEATURED HENCHMAN
Fiona Volpe is one of my favorites, a cunning and often treacherous woman who is quick to take matters into her own hands, proving to be more than a match for Bond again and again.
FEATURED GADGET
More practical than the ridiculous jet pack from the cold open, the underwater breathing limited-use device is practical for Bond and on a metatextual level as well.
FLEMING FIDELITY
The film is incredibly faithful to Ian Fleming's 1961 novel of the same name, the eighth in the series, with the only notable difference being the location of the climax, an undersea cave in the original book moved to the Largo's Disco Volante in the film.
MCCLORY'S SPECTRE
Written to be the first Bond film, author Ian Fleming collaborated with Kevin McClory and Jack Whittingham on the initial screenplay for Thunderball. Losing faith in McClory's cinematic vision for Bond, Fleming repurposed the story and used it for his eighth Bond novel published in 1961. McClory and Whittingham sued Fleming, and the case was settled out of court resulting in McClory gaining the literary and film rights for the screenplay. McClory is credited as a producer for Thunderball and eventually produced the awful 1983 Taliafilm remake Never Say Never Again featuring a spiteful Sean Connery as Bond.
FRAGMENTS
- John Barry's "007" theme is briefly referenced during the climactic underwater battle
- Series regular voice over artist Nikki Van der Zyl dubbed the dialogue for Domino
