Please read my thoughts why for me is the best classic Bond movie: 1) CONNERY'S PERFORMANCE:: In Dr No, Connery is still experimenting with the role and he is great but yet a bit stiff. In FRWL he explores more the "dark" side of the character. In Goldfinger he adds more charm and "witticism" and completes the formula. But in Thunderball he IS James Bond and the formula is perfected. Connery's performance on this is truly unique. He shows the greatest confidence ever. His style, his movements, the way he speaks, his one-liners, his demeanor and even the way he looks, everything that was built in the previous 3 films, reach perfection. He is "dark" and gritty and at the same time charming and stylish. He looks tough and ruthless which at the same time combines with a dark dry witt coated with venure sophistication and style. And he obviously enjoys playing the character more than ever, either before or after. 2) PLOT AND VILAIN: Τhis movie tends on focusing on Bond for the first time and not the vilain. It is a celebration of Bond himself as a character. The plot is smart and realistically believable. It has some great twists: It is not just the first reveal that SPECTRE wants to steal two atomic bombs. It is how they do it. The whole idea of seducing and killing a flying officer (Major Dervall) and replacing him with another pilot after a plastic surgery and how Bond finds out about it, is intriguing and it is revealed to us progressively and not from the start. As for the vilains: I always liked most the "invisible Blofeld" which we have only in FRWL and in this. As for Largo, he seems stylish, resourcefull and smart. He is dangerous and twisted. And most of all he is not relying on his henchmen to do the job (as Goldfinger for instance). He fights himself, he dives himself, he leads his men into battle. As for Fiona Volpe, what can i say! She is the icon of every "femme fatale" of the franchise. 3) THE SPY ELEMENTS: Bond is doing a great spy work and seems unstopable: -He first gets in contact with the sister of Dervall. -Then through her he discovers Largo. -Then he is spying into his house. -Then he is diving under his boat to find out where the bombs are, he takes pictures, he fights, he gets attacked with grenades. -Then he tries to seduce Fiona and find out more. -He is captured and manages resoursefully to escape but gets wounded. -He gets surrounded but manages to escape again by killing her. -Then he disguise him self as an enemy diver and finds out where the bombs are hidden underwater. -He gets attacked again and escapes. -He notifies where the bombs are to the Parachute Special Forces. -He then enters into the underwater battle him self. -He heroically stops Largo to escape by fighting till the end inside the boat. This is a far better spy work than in Goldfinger where in the second half of the movie he is a prisoner οf the vilain. 4) ACTION, UNDERWΑTER SCENES AND FINAL BATTLE: The action scenes are great. The first fight with Jack Bouvar in the beginning is gritty and violent. So is the final battle with Largo (even if the bad projector scene behind it is an unfortunate momentt). The gadjets are believable, smart (geiger counter, breathing machine, underwater camera) and not rediculous. Even the jet-pack which seems over the top, was a real thing and a revolutionary invention. The underwater shooting was a revolutionary achievement for the time and especially the final underwater battle was a unique sample of cinematography for 1965! The crisp underwater photography is excellently choreographing so many divers under the water at the same time in a full scale battle of epic proportions with some very gritty and violent moments. Such a complicated action scene has never been replicated in any other movie since. 5) THE "ESCAPISM" ELEMENT: It is also the ultimate "escapism" movie. Beautiful exotic places, wonderful scenery and landscapes, incomparable lifestyle, amazing women (Fiona Volpe is an amazing femme fatale and Domino one of the hottest Bondgirls). some of the greatest one-liners in the franchise, while it is even considered alongside with Goldfinger a "fashion icon" movie! 6) HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Thunderball is also historically extremely significant for the franchise that we love: It broke the smashing box office records. It is to this date the highest grossing Bond movie of all time (inflation counted). If Goldifinger created the "Bondmania", then Thunderball turned it into a high fever. The flms remarkable achievements transformed James Bond from a popular fictional hero, into a phenomenon in cinema history 7) FINAL THOUGHTS: If Goldfinger found the "classsic formula" of Bond movies, then Thunderball perfected it. It is the timeless epitome of the classic Bond movies, before Connery got tired of the role in You Only Live Twice and before the production turned the franchise to a more comical version of Bond, with Diamonds Are Forever and the Roger Moore era. Initially in Goldfinger but mainly in Thunderball, Connery' Bond reaches the fine line of perfection, as he becomes at the same time tough and refined, stylish and ruthless, a real killer with a sense of humor, who lives on the edge and therefore enjoys every minute of his life as if it were his last.
Great review, thank you! Now, in my opinion, "Thunderball"(1965) was the first BIG-BIG-BIG James Bond film! Great film! Although I really like the first 3 movies(1962,1963,1964), I think these movies were still a prelude to the greatness: THUNDERBALL!!! And you are so right: aspect ratio 2,35:1 is much better than 1,66 or 1,85 or whatever! ***** My Top-10 Bond movies are: 1965, 1967, 1969, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1995.
My favorite climax battle with 2 opossibg comando scuba units battling over a nuclear package withe spearguns leading to domino getting the final blow on the hypersonic ship
Got to be honest, I really don’t like this film, have watched it 3 times in an attempt to have it grow on me but it just never has. The soundtrack is stellar thanks to Barry, the theme song is great and Connery is in his prime but otherwise it just bores me to tears. And this is coming from a massive bond fan who has seen all of the films multiple times. I almost feel guilty for not liking it since it’s such a classic favourite but it just doesn’t do it for me, such a step down from Goldfinger
Love this film. I still maintain that the superb 3 film run of FRWL, Goldfinger, Thunderball has never been matched in the entire film series. I am an old fart. I had the good fortune and benefit to see these films on the big screen. The actions take on a whole new aspect and feel seeing it in the movie theaters. I know people think the underwater battle sequences are long. BUT, when watching it in the theater, you are enveloped by them and feel part of the action. So, one needs to keep this perspective in mind. The film was made for the movie theaters to make the audience part of it rather than for home viewing where you can pause the film to get a beer or whatnot. Claudine Auger is actually my favorite Bond lady ever! I had a major crush on her. And Lucianna Paluzzi a VERY close second. Two very beautiful women. Claudine designed her own costumes/wardrobe used in the film. Her character had depth and she actually saves Bond. IIRC, in the novel, Bond and Domino's relationship was deeper and more meaningful. He actually cared for her.
I'm a bog fan of all the Bond films (less so in the Craig era) and this one is my absolute favorite. At the time, Nassau was quite exotic, and the Bond women in this film are just outstanding. Fiona Volpe is absolutely the best match for Bond. Some of my fascination is personal. Some years after Thunderball, my parents took the family to Nassau and my sister and I found the jetty where the divers jumped into the sea behind our hotel. On the same trip, we went to Miami Beach and found the rear section (non hydrofoil) docked along A1A. That was quite a thrill for 2 children.
I saw this twice on ABC and after, could not remember the plot. Then I read the novel, and it became a favorite. Then I saw the film a 3rd time, and suddenly realized WHY I couldn't remember the plot. It's too complicated. There's TOO MUCH going on, too many characters, too many gadgets, too many side-plots, and nothing gets developed enough. I feel the novel is the best version of this story-- but it baffles me that Fiona is not in that! When I taped this off HBO in 1980, I was stunned to find that HALF of the 8-minute final battle was missing on ABC. You sit thru all that to get to the climax, and half the climax wasn't there. Sheesh. Sadly, a dispute between Fleming and his regular newspaper publisher saw the comic-strip adaptation CUT SHORT after only 12 weeks. When they resolved their differences a year later and continued, they started "OHMSS", and "Thunderball" was NEVER finished. It's like there's a curse on this story. Some years back I came up with a serious re-imagining of the film, cutting out unneccesary stuff and replacing half the cast. For example: Telly Savalas would have had WAY more personality and charisma as Largo; ditto, Raquel Welch as Domino. (She was cast in the part but was yanked away at the last minute by her studio to do FANTASTIC VOYAGE instead.) The sudden jump-cut in the end credits suggests the "Bond will return" text was removed because ABC was running the films out of sequence. Do you mean to say it's STILL NOT THERE on the Blu-Ray??? WHAT? Modern films have much-longer end credits. Dionne Warwick singing "Mister Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" should have been over the END CREDITS. "Thunderball" is Largo's song. Dark and menacing. "MKKBB" is Bond's! Upbeat and fun! It would have been a much-better fit at the end than at the beginning. Check out "Q PLANES" (1939) written by Jack Whittingham to see where the writer later RE-USED some of his own ideas when he worked on the unfilmed version of "Thunderball"!! I believe the whole idea of downing a plane to steal its contents WAS HIS, not Fleming's! I still have never seen this thing in WIDESCREEN. Gotta fix that one of these days.
Fans of Raquel Welch may find this bit of trivia interesting. She was in the process of being signed to play Domino when 20th Century Fox film executive Richard Zanuck, with the consent of Cubby, won her over to his Fantastic Voyage project instead.
Ok this is going to seem really trivial, but my biggest issue with the underwater battle is the music John Barry uses. For the underwater battle, he uses the 007 theme like in the fight on the Disco Volante, except its played REALLY slow and it just sort of hobbles along. I feel like this choice makes the battle feel incredibly lathargic. If he had just used the song at the normal tempo, I think the footage we have right now would be plenty more exciting. Its interesting how even a choice in music can mean wonders for how a scene is interpreted
This one might actually be my least favorite of the Bonds. You'd think if the world was held to ransom with a pair of stolen A-bombs, they'd show a little more urgency, but no! We're too busy dicking around a health spa and running around the Bahamas pretending not to know who our enemies are to actually solve the problem at hand!
New subscriber here. I've really been enjoying your videos. While it does have it's flaws, I like Thunderball a lot. I can see why it was so successful. I agree with you that the film could have used a bit more editing. The big underwater fight at the end was very impressive, especially for the time, but it does run on too long. I think they were so in love with what the had shot for that sequence, and earlier scenes, that they over-indulged and just put too much in.
I appreciate the support. Overindulgence is a good way to describe some aspects of this film. It's not as guilty of that sin as Casino Royale 1967, but you can tell Kevin had a weird fascination with underwater scenes. I agree they're quite mystical in a way, but that doesn't translate to gripping entertainment.
Never minded the length. Thunderballs an easy film for me to get immeresed into, and even though a lot of the underwater stuff is too long I get wrapped up in the charm. It's such a product of it's time, treated dead serious and cool since it wasn't cliched yet. Bond was such a phenomenon at the time, and Thunderball aims to satisfy that allure more than any other. The plot is huge, the Spectre cast are fun 60s villains, they got over-excited showing revolutionary underwater filmmaking, and all of it has so much weight. Sure Goldfinger is the big icon of Bond but Thunderball is the true 60s super spy movie in my head. Not one of my favorites, but I love going into it from a historical context perspective.
Great review of one of my favorite Bond films. The repetitious music in the climactic underwater batter is accompanied by the recurring use of the "scuba bubbles" sounds. The editing of those battle scenes seems to have run away from the control of director Terence Young in his efforts to "out do" Guy Hamilton. Thanks for the review.
Yeah sadly the producers asked Peter Hunt to extend his original edit of the underwater battle, and by this point Terence Young had moved on to start making 'The Poppy is also a flower', so I've read. This and the speeded up film in the climax are the only two real flaws for me in Thunderball...
Thankyou for another comprehensive review - but am I blind or have you skipped Goldfinger? Thunderball is not amongst my favourite Bond films, sitting 5th amongst Connery's six EON films and 15th of 21 EON films that I care to rank. I do agree with you that the return of Terence Young was critical in the way Thunderball was made (ie, to be bigger and more bombastic than the hugely successful Goldfinger) and some Terence Young stylistic touches can be seen here there and everywhere. However it is the lesser of his three Directorial efforts in this series because it is overblown and slow. The source material is partly to blame for this, but plenty of screen adaptations of novels have managed to abridge the details without losing the story - and in this one, there is even the addition of Fiona Volpe who was not part of the source material. As interesting a character as Fiona is, it is the big role given to her character which adds a lot of run time to the film. Here's another thing: The name "James Bond" and his place in the scheme of things are already known to SPECTRE (in the film series) and so it would be expected that Largo would try to dispose of him very quickly lest the conspiracy be exposed. But he doesn't. And in the book, this was the first appearance of SPECTRE and Largo has no reason to suspect that Bond is a spy. So the characterisation and actions of Largo get mixed up between film continuity and book continuity (a similar problem exists in the film of On Her Majesty's Secret Service). Okay, I've yakked enough here. Looking forward to the next review.
You're not blind. I had a review of Goldfinger up for about a day a few weeks back, and then copyright bots struck. I've had to go through about 20 different edited versions to get one that finally lasted more than a day or two as an unlisted video. Check back in tomorrow; it'll be uploaded then (I wanted to give Thunderball a chance to shine).
While I love this film and it easily slots into my top ten Bond movies, the one part which drives me to distraction (and which I am surprised you didn't comment on), if this the horrendous quick cuts and over-cranking speed ups of the out-of-control hydrofoil during the final fight between Bond and Largo (and before the big bang when the boat collides with the rocks). It looks so farcical and amateurish and detracts rather than adds to the drama of the fight. My opinion, and others may differ.
You're absolutely right, but I didn't cover it because it's less than a minute and while it's very distracting, it's usually over before it starts to give me a headache. I did have to pause the film as the bit with the waiter just makes me laugh.
Fair enough. My point was that the darker side of Bond character had been done better, and I probably could have listed a few more Scaramanga is in my top 3 favorite main villains, so I definitely agree with you there.
I am appalled at your comments. The underwater sequence in which the Vulcan is camouflaged, to the most amazingly evocative music, is possibly the best sequence in all of the Bond movies. The sequence is an exemplar of how to add substance, cinematic weight and style to a film and with the killing of the pilot, a ruthless edge to the plot. The inserts of wildlife also added to the pace and weight of the film. Many films use such inserts to add mood and weight to a film, you will be moaning that Il Dolce Vita or 2001 spend too much time on mood-setting pieces and should just get on with the most minmal delivery of a story. Modern films skate over mood and weight in a desperate attempt to up the pace in the belief that pace and action are what is required, this is a recipe for a superficial product that is little more than a video game. Perhaps you prefer the Fast and Furious films to a well-rounded and rich film like Thunderball?
I'm actually glad to see such a staunch defender of the film. It's one of my favorite things about this series; every film is someone's favorite and they will fight tooth and nail to see it get some recognition. A few things I offer in a somewhat longer response: 1. I think I'm far kinder to the film than most modern reviewers (check in with Calvin Dyson on his worst days and ask him about he feels towards Thunderball). Plus, this film sits just outside my top 10, alongside The Living Daylights, so I'd say I like it a lot. 2. I've not seen Il Doce Vita, but I have seen 2001 and enjoyed it immensely. The 1950s version of The Ten Commandments and Schindler's List are some of my favorite films, and I regularly watch films like Lawrence of Arabia, Ben-Hur and Lord of the Rings, so attention span isn't the problem, nor is appreciating subtlety. 3. I won't disagree with most modern films sacrificing depth for pace (though that's not a recent problem), but I don't think there are only two things you can do with a film: long and meaningful versus short and shallow. You can have depth while still being a well-paced film. 12 Angry Men is only about an hour and a half and it tells its story brilliantly, as is Dr. Strangelove and The General. The 1932 version of the Mummy is only 73 minutes long and I would argue has more depth and is better paced than most films (including Bond). 4. Video Games have grown up a lot during the last 30 years, with some offering more meaningful depth than a lot of films. Nier: Automata, Mass Effect, and The Last of Us are some of the most thought provoking stories I've seen from any medium, period. I get it if you were referring to things like Mortal Kombat and Fortnite, but those are also games that don't have story and character at the forefront, so it feels unfair of a comparison. 5. I'm not a big fan of the Fast and Furious films either, but thinking of the entire series as the epitome of stupid and showcasing everything wrong with filmmaking is a gross oversimplification. Maybe if you picked a specific film like Fast and Furious or Hobbs and Shaw, I might agree with you, but films like Fast 5 and Furious 7 are solid and I think some of the Bond films (like Spectre) could learn from a thing or two from them. Granted, none of that series rivals the best from Bond (Russia, Royale, Goldfinger, and so on), but that's not to say the entire series is pointless and without some interesting things to experience. Regardless of our disagreements, I do want to thank you for taking the time to watch the video and comment. It does mean a lot to me.
"Adjusted for inflation". If you just go by straight contemporary box office numbers, Moonraker did over $200 million, and wasn't bested until Goldeneye.
So you taught at university. That explains the intellectual rigor in your videos and their standards. I liked the analysis because you identified the bugbear of the movie: its pacing and overindulgence. I think a lot of that Peter Jackson kind of padding was because Bond Fever was mad in 1964 and 65. Theaters were showing this movie around the clock and around the world. I spoke with folks who saw "Thunderball" on its opening release. (It was re-released several times after as a double feature with either "Goldfinger" or "You Only Live Twice" or by itself. Broccoli and Saltzman were printing money, and they figured they would adapt the S.P.E.C.T.R.E. books in order of publication. "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was indeed slated next after "Thunderball". A warmer than normal winter prevented that from happening, but that's another story. So my point is that just as "King Kong" was permitted a ridiculous runtime in 2005 on the heals of the Oscar win for "The Return of the King", so was "Thunderball" allowed more of a run time in response to the success of its predecessors. Obviously, it hurt the movie, but Broccoli and Saltzman were too busy gearing up to make the next film and couldn't care less. After all, it was a miracle "Thunderball" got made with McClory complicating the production. Bond was succeeding beyond anyone's expectations. Everything counts in large amounts. A word about the Bahamas: it's beautiful, but nothing like the Bahamas of 1964. I grew up on Miami Beach and could ride my bike to the Fontainbleau Hotel from "Goldfinger". I admit it has probably been renovated in the last ten years, but in the 1970s, it was nothing like it was a mere decade before. (Yes, that pool with its glass walls in the deep end was real. So was Joe's Stone Crabs as mentioned in the book.) Grand Bahama Island has gorgeous beaches and is lovely to visit, but it's traded its shiny glamour for kitchy tourist value since the 70s. Just don't idealize these locations. I did to my bewilderment when I went there in 1990 and 2015. I know you never clicked with Largo, but to me with his dubbed voice and eyepatch, he was a great introduction to Bond villains. (I watched this movie when I was 9 or 10 years old on a 9" black and white television that I managed to sneak into my room.) I had a crush on Luciana Paluzzi for years because of this movie. My first wife and several loves of my life were redheads, although only one had Italian heritage - that's how bad a crush it was. And when the extended soundtrack came out some years ago, I listened to it anew with real joy. I loved this soundtrack, even when it recalled the scenes that plodded along. I'm looking forward to your dissecting of "Goldfinger". I need to find you subscribers.
2005's King Kong is a really good comparison. I remember seeing that around the same time as I did the 1932 original. I liked it fine, but guess which one I have in my DVD collection? I'm always really jealous when people share their amazing experiences with elements of Bond's world. I know that Thunderball presents a very glamorous view of a place that's been changed quite a bit, but then again, I found I had a similar experience with Cortina when I went there, and it was still a highlight of my trip. I've danced back and forth with Largo. Robert Rietti's voice is always a delight (he would also voice several other characters in the series, including Strangways, Tanaka, and Blofeld in FYEO), I love how much Bond and he mirror each other, and he doesn't do anything particularly wrong with the part. I've just never found him particularly appetizing. Can't argue about Luciana Paluzzi. She's a gem, and really easy on the eyes.
For me it’s a toss up between this and Goldfinger as my favourite Connery. Goldfinger benefits from a stronger style but it’s hard not to get swept up in the lavishness of Thunderball. Shame so many scenes feel as if they’re too long. Maddening sometimes, watching it and thinking “Cut here. Here!” I happen to be doing a kind of Bond marathon at the moment, watching one more or less every week when I go to visit my father. Just got past Spy Who Loved Me. I’ll probably leave another comment when you get to it but I was surprised by how much I disliked You Only Live Twice, because I remember liking that one.
You bring so much extra behind the scenes info to these reviews that other youtubers/reviewers fail to. You clearly do your research for every video, and it goes a long way. No one else is out there citing facts they got from two DVD commentary tracks. Great stuff, love the channel man.
I could swear blind that there exists a version of this film with "James Bond Will Return" in the end credits, although as I recall it incorrectly announced On Her Majesty's Secret Service as the next film in the series (much as you apparently found with a very early print of Goldfinger, although I've never seen that one). This was the version that used to play on ITV in the late nineties/early noughties when I started watching (and videoing) them religiously, so I've seen it multiple times. That wasn't the only difference, either: there were a few lines of dialogue that differed from the version now offered on DVD/Blu-ray, and possibly an alternate music cue over the final scene and credits. The version broadcast on British television (back then, at least) was always different from the one available on DVD, and some trawling around on RUclips just now reveals comparisons of the different versions (alternate dialogue and final music cue), but I'm not finding any videos that reveal the missing credit... it's annoying, because it definitely exists! Or used to, anyway. Incidentally, I'm glad that I caught this within a few hours of its being uploaded, because I didn't get to the one on Goldfinger before it was taken down again; hopefully, like James Bond, it will return...
Check back in tomorrow, and there’s a special one-off episode on Friday as a sort of apology for the inconvenience of the Goldfinger review being taken down. ;) There are indeed prints of Thunderball out there that did have the "James Bond Will Return", and incorrectly stated it would be Majesty's.
I feel certain I saw "James Bond Will Return" at the end at least ONCE. There's an obvious jump-cut, and I long suspected it was because ABC was running the films in the wrong order. When ABC re-ran YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, they actually moved the theme song to BEFORE the space capsule capture, so they could fit a commercial break in at 15 minutes instead of 30. When HBO ran YOLT in 1980, they actually ran the ABC butcher job!!! I could not believe it. I had that on tape for years, before a friend at work got me a copy of a rental, which had the theme song in the right place.
On paper the plot of Thunderball should be a perfect Bond film, that went wrong during transfer to screen. I think the film overindulges Spectre's dastardly plan, so there is no tension left in Bond's attempts to thwart it. Maybe the heist should have been compressed into the pre credits sequence, with Bond and the audience left to work out the rest. Eon might have attempted something new - a procedural of an antagonist's evil scheme, tracked until eventually overthrown by Bond. The film has a startling harpoon death, a great climax and rousing score. The story is untidy, the acting almost uniformly dull. Connery acts as if he's bored and Celi and Paluzzi (the best things in the film), embarrassingly outperform him in every scene they share
Not sure if I agree with the acting note, but I do have to wonder about the idea to place the heist into the pre-credits sequence. Maybe it would have worked as a condensed version immediately after the titles, kind of like how Tomorrow Never Dies does the Devonshire sinking.
My own idea was to compress the Shrublands sequence into the pre-credits sequence, while eliminating the entire "double" sub-plot. (In the book, it is Domino's brother in the plane. MUCH-smipler!) I pictured the pre-credits sequence ending with Lippe trying to kill Bond on the road, but getting blown to hell by Fiona instead. Then, she disposes of her motorcycle by dumping it into the water... which fades directly into the THUNDERBALL title sequence! Then, we'd see the SPECTRE board meeting, and the hijacking. Also, Bond should have simply met Felix at the airport. The bit where you don't know who it is is left over freom when THUNDERBALL was supposed to be the 1st film. By here, they already played that game in DR. NO. Crazy enough, the fight with Jack Bouvar at the beginning is similar to how Bond KILLS Blofeld in the novel "You Only Live Twice", by breaking his neck. I could have done with that entire pre-credit sequence.
I'm not a big fan of that film either, and yet I have received plenty of comments from defenders over one aspect of the film or another. My mantra is that no Bond film is without merit, even Never Say Never Again. However, it's the one Bond film I never look forward to rewatching.
Thunderball will always have a special place in my heart as it was the first Connery Bond I watched on tv before collecting the films on dvd when I was 10. It was on tv on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve and I immediately was captivated by Connery and the beautiful locations and girls of this film. Yes it has its flaws, but it does rank within my top 15
@@stephenjarvis534 Thunderball I had as number 9 in my ranking but I think it’s slipped out of my top 10 The Living Daylights I had as number 18 believe it or not. It could tick up a couple places on my list. I don’t think it’s a bad film but like you I just happen to love a lot of Bond films and while I enjoy parts of The Living Daylights, there just happens to be other films I enjoy watching more.
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Please read my thoughts why for me is the best classic Bond movie:
1) CONNERY'S PERFORMANCE:: In Dr No, Connery is still experimenting with the role and he is great but yet a bit stiff. In FRWL he explores more the "dark" side of the character. In Goldfinger he adds more charm and "witticism" and completes the formula. But in Thunderball he IS James Bond and the formula is perfected. Connery's performance on this is truly unique. He shows the greatest confidence ever. His style, his movements, the way he speaks, his one-liners, his demeanor and even the way he looks, everything that was built in the previous 3 films, reach perfection. He is "dark" and gritty and at the same time charming and stylish. He looks tough and ruthless which at the same time combines with a dark dry witt coated with venure sophistication and style. And he obviously enjoys playing the character more than ever, either before or after.
2) PLOT AND VILAIN: Τhis movie tends on focusing on Bond for the first time and not the vilain. It is a celebration of Bond himself as a character. The plot is smart and realistically believable. It has some great twists: It is not just the first reveal that SPECTRE wants to steal two atomic bombs. It is how they do it. The whole idea of seducing and killing a flying officer (Major Dervall) and replacing him with another pilot after a plastic surgery and how Bond finds out about it, is intriguing and it is revealed to us progressively and not from the start. As for the vilains: I always liked most the "invisible Blofeld" which we have only in FRWL and in this. As for Largo, he seems stylish, resourcefull and smart. He is dangerous and twisted. And most of all he is not relying on his henchmen to do the job (as Goldfinger for instance). He fights himself, he dives himself, he leads his men into battle. As for Fiona Volpe, what can i say! She is the icon of every "femme fatale" of the franchise.
3) THE SPY ELEMENTS: Bond is doing a great spy work and seems unstopable:
-He first gets in contact with the sister of Dervall. -Then through her he discovers Largo. -Then he is spying into his house. -Then he is diving under his boat to find out where the bombs are, he takes pictures, he fights, he gets attacked with grenades. -Then he tries to seduce Fiona and find out more. -He is captured and manages resoursefully to escape but gets wounded. -He gets surrounded but manages to escape again by killing her. -Then he disguise him self as an enemy diver and finds out where the bombs are hidden underwater. -He gets attacked again and escapes. -He notifies where the bombs are to the Parachute Special Forces. -He then enters into the underwater battle him self. -He heroically stops Largo to escape by fighting till the end inside the boat.
This is a far better spy work than in Goldfinger where in the second half of the movie he is a prisoner οf the vilain.
4) ACTION, UNDERWΑTER SCENES AND FINAL BATTLE: The action scenes are great. The first fight with Jack Bouvar in the beginning is gritty and violent. So is the final battle with Largo (even if the bad projector scene behind it is an unfortunate momentt). The gadjets are believable, smart (geiger counter, breathing machine, underwater camera) and not rediculous. Even the jet-pack which seems over the top, was a real thing and a revolutionary invention. The underwater shooting was a revolutionary achievement for the time and especially the final underwater battle was a unique sample of cinematography for 1965! The crisp underwater photography is excellently choreographing so many divers under the water at the same time in a full scale battle of epic proportions with some very gritty and violent moments. Such a complicated action scene has never been replicated in any other movie since.
5) THE "ESCAPISM" ELEMENT: It is also the ultimate "escapism" movie. Beautiful exotic places, wonderful scenery and landscapes, incomparable lifestyle, amazing women (Fiona Volpe is an amazing femme fatale and Domino one of the hottest Bondgirls). some of the greatest one-liners in the franchise, while it is even considered alongside with Goldfinger a "fashion icon" movie!
6) HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Thunderball is also historically extremely significant for the franchise that we love: It broke the smashing box office records. It is to this date the highest grossing Bond movie of all time (inflation counted). If Goldifinger created the "Bondmania", then Thunderball turned it into a high fever. The flms remarkable achievements transformed James Bond from a popular fictional hero, into a phenomenon in cinema history
7) FINAL THOUGHTS: If Goldfinger found the "classsic formula" of Bond movies, then Thunderball perfected it. It is the timeless epitome of the classic Bond movies, before Connery got tired of the role in You Only Live Twice and before the production turned the franchise to a more comical version of Bond, with Diamonds Are Forever and the Roger Moore era. Initially in Goldfinger but mainly in Thunderball, Connery' Bond reaches the fine line of perfection, as he becomes at the same time tough and refined, stylish and ruthless, a real killer with a sense of humor, who lives on the edge and therefore enjoys every minute of his life as if it were his last.
Fiona Volpe is my single favorite Bond girl. Breathtakingly beautiful and pure evil
Sean Connery is the best Bond ever, he owned it then and owns it now.
Bigger isn't necessarily better Most of the action.is underwater and could use serious editing
Great review, thank you! Now, in my opinion, "Thunderball"(1965) was the first BIG-BIG-BIG James Bond film! Great film! Although I really like the first 3 movies(1962,1963,1964), I think these movies were still a prelude to the greatness: THUNDERBALL!!! And you are so right: aspect ratio 2,35:1 is much better than 1,66 or 1,85 or whatever! ***** My Top-10 Bond movies are: 1965, 1967, 1969, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1995.
My favorite climax battle with 2 opossibg comando scuba units battling over a nuclear package withe spearguns leading to domino getting the final blow on the hypersonic ship
I enjoy that battle people say it drags on but it is well shot I always laugh when the flipper floats out of the wreck after Bond blows up 3 frogmen.
Got to be honest, I really don’t like this film, have watched it 3 times in an attempt to have it grow on me but it just never has. The soundtrack is stellar thanks to Barry, the theme song is great and Connery is in his prime but otherwise it just bores me to tears. And this is coming from a massive bond fan who has seen all of the films multiple times. I almost feel guilty for not liking it since it’s such a classic favourite but it just doesn’t do it for me, such a step down from Goldfinger
Don't feel too bad. Some of these won't land with everyone, and that's fine.
Love this film. I still maintain that the superb 3 film run of FRWL, Goldfinger, Thunderball has never been matched in the entire film series. I am an old fart. I had the good fortune and benefit to see these films on the big screen. The actions take on a whole new aspect and feel seeing it in the movie theaters. I know people think the underwater battle sequences are long. BUT, when watching it in the theater, you are enveloped by them and feel part of the action. So, one needs to keep this perspective in mind. The film was made for the movie theaters to make the audience part of it rather than for home viewing where you can pause the film to get a beer or whatnot.
Claudine Auger is actually my favorite Bond lady ever! I had a major crush on her. And Lucianna Paluzzi a VERY close second. Two very beautiful women. Claudine designed her own costumes/wardrobe used in the film. Her character had depth and she actually saves Bond. IIRC, in the novel, Bond and Domino's relationship was deeper and more meaningful. He actually cared for her.
I'm a bog fan of all the Bond films (less so in the Craig era) and this one is my absolute favorite. At the time, Nassau was quite exotic, and the Bond women in this film are just outstanding. Fiona Volpe is absolutely the best match for Bond. Some of my fascination is personal. Some years after Thunderball, my parents took the family to Nassau and my sister and I found the jetty where the divers jumped into the sea behind our hotel. On the same trip, we went to Miami Beach and found the rear section (non hydrofoil) docked along A1A. That was quite a thrill for 2 children.
I've never uderstood the screen wipe effect that is prevalent throughout the film.
I saw this twice on ABC and after, could not remember the plot. Then I read the novel, and it became a favorite. Then I saw the film a 3rd time, and suddenly realized WHY I couldn't remember the plot. It's too complicated. There's TOO MUCH going on, too many characters, too many gadgets, too many side-plots, and nothing gets developed enough. I feel the novel is the best version of this story-- but it baffles me that Fiona is not in that! When I taped this off HBO in 1980, I was stunned to find that HALF of the 8-minute final battle was missing on ABC. You sit thru all that to get to the climax, and half the climax wasn't there. Sheesh.
Sadly, a dispute between Fleming and his regular newspaper publisher saw the comic-strip adaptation CUT SHORT after only 12 weeks. When they resolved their differences a year later and continued, they started "OHMSS", and "Thunderball" was NEVER finished. It's like there's a curse on this story.
Some years back I came up with a serious re-imagining of the film, cutting out unneccesary stuff and replacing half the cast. For example: Telly Savalas would have had WAY more personality and charisma as Largo; ditto, Raquel Welch as Domino. (She was cast in the part but was yanked away at the last minute by her studio to do FANTASTIC VOYAGE instead.)
The sudden jump-cut in the end credits suggests the "Bond will return" text was removed because ABC was running the films out of sequence. Do you mean to say it's STILL NOT THERE on the Blu-Ray??? WHAT?
Modern films have much-longer end credits. Dionne Warwick singing "Mister Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" should have been over the END CREDITS. "Thunderball" is Largo's song. Dark and menacing. "MKKBB" is Bond's! Upbeat and fun! It would have been a much-better fit at the end than at the beginning.
Check out "Q PLANES" (1939) written by Jack Whittingham to see where the writer later RE-USED some of his own ideas when he worked on the unfilmed version of "Thunderball"!! I believe the whole idea of downing a plane to steal its contents WAS HIS, not Fleming's!
I still have never seen this thing in WIDESCREEN. Gotta fix that one of these days.
Fans of Raquel Welch may find this bit of trivia interesting. She was in the process of being signed to play Domino when 20th Century Fox film executive Richard Zanuck, with the consent of Cubby, won her over to his Fantastic Voyage project instead.
I am a simple man. I see SLJ Productions, I give it a thumbs-up.
Aw, thanks, man. You'll have two more videos by Friday.
Ok this is going to seem really trivial, but my biggest issue with the underwater battle is the music John Barry uses. For the underwater battle, he uses the 007 theme like in the fight on the Disco Volante, except its played REALLY slow and it just sort of hobbles along. I feel like this choice makes the battle feel incredibly lathargic. If he had just used the song at the normal tempo, I think the footage we have right now would be plenty more exciting. Its interesting how even a choice in music can mean wonders for how a scene is interpreted
This one might actually be my least favorite of the Bonds. You'd think if the world was held to ransom with a pair of stolen A-bombs, they'd show a little more urgency, but no! We're too busy dicking around a health spa and running around the Bahamas pretending not to know who our enemies are to actually solve the problem at hand!
I like to underwater fighting hand a hand combated.
New subscriber here. I've really been enjoying your videos.
While it does have it's flaws, I like Thunderball a lot. I can see why it was so successful. I agree with you that the film could have used a bit more editing. The big underwater fight at the end was very impressive, especially for the time, but it does run on too long. I think they were so in love with what the had shot for that sequence, and earlier scenes, that they over-indulged and just put too much in.
I appreciate the support.
Overindulgence is a good way to describe some aspects of this film. It's not as guilty of that sin as Casino Royale 1967, but you can tell Kevin had a weird fascination with underwater scenes. I agree they're quite mystical in a way, but that doesn't translate to gripping entertainment.
Yeah I agree, another month of post production could've perfected it!
The only thing about Thunderball is that it gets boring when underwater - incl the fights.
For real man, that pool with the sharks that you couldn't get out of once covered - that became a childhood fear every time I'd get in a pool.
Never minded the length. Thunderballs an easy film for me to get immeresed into, and even though a lot of the underwater stuff is too long I get wrapped up in the charm. It's such a product of it's time, treated dead serious and cool since it wasn't cliched yet. Bond was such a phenomenon at the time, and Thunderball aims to satisfy that allure more than any other.
The plot is huge, the Spectre cast are fun 60s villains, they got over-excited showing revolutionary underwater filmmaking, and all of it has so much weight. Sure Goldfinger is the big icon of Bond but Thunderball is the true 60s super spy movie in my head. Not one of my favorites, but I love going into it from a historical context perspective.
Great review of one of my favorite Bond films. The repetitious music in the climactic underwater batter is accompanied by the recurring use of the "scuba bubbles" sounds. The editing of those battle scenes seems to have run away from the control of director Terence Young in his efforts to "out do" Guy Hamilton. Thanks for the review.
Yeah sadly the producers asked Peter Hunt to extend his original edit of the underwater battle, and by this point Terence Young had moved on to start making 'The Poppy is also a flower', so I've read.
This and the speeded up film in the climax are the only two real flaws for me in Thunderball...
Thankyou for another comprehensive review - but am I blind or have you skipped Goldfinger? Thunderball is not amongst my favourite Bond films, sitting 5th amongst Connery's six EON films and 15th of 21 EON films that I care to rank. I do agree with you that the return of Terence Young was critical in the way Thunderball was made (ie, to be bigger and more bombastic than the hugely successful Goldfinger) and some Terence Young stylistic touches can be seen here there and everywhere. However it is the lesser of his three Directorial efforts in this series because it is overblown and slow. The source material is partly to blame for this, but plenty of screen adaptations of novels have managed to abridge the details without losing the story - and in this one, there is even the addition of Fiona Volpe who was not part of the source material. As interesting a character as Fiona is, it is the big role given to her character which adds a lot of run time to the film. Here's another thing: The name "James Bond" and his place in the scheme of things are already known to SPECTRE (in the film series) and so it would be expected that Largo would try to dispose of him very quickly lest the conspiracy be exposed. But he doesn't. And in the book, this was the first appearance of SPECTRE and Largo has no reason to suspect that Bond is a spy. So the characterisation and actions of Largo get mixed up between film continuity and book continuity (a similar problem exists in the film of On Her Majesty's Secret Service). Okay, I've yakked enough here. Looking forward to the next review.
You're not blind. I had a review of Goldfinger up for about a day a few weeks back, and then copyright bots struck. I've had to go through about 20 different edited versions to get one that finally lasted more than a day or two as an unlisted video. Check back in tomorrow; it'll be uploaded then (I wanted to give Thunderball a chance to shine).
It’s under water, so it slows up the action.
Thumbs Up to Thunderball
For this films flaws I will still always love it for the Vulcan scenes. One of if not the most beautiful aircraft ever.
Also, one of my biggest issues with this film is how Kutzes switch to Bonds side is entirely glossed over, it should've been an important plot point.
Nahhh Ladislav Kutze is not a real villian
lol Kevin McClory lol
Excellent review, enjoyed it a lot. As an aside, for me, "Thunderball" has my favorite Bond girl: Claudine Auger.
While I love this film and it easily slots into my top ten Bond movies, the one part which drives me to distraction (and which I am surprised you didn't comment on), if this the horrendous quick cuts and over-cranking speed ups of the out-of-control hydrofoil during the final fight between Bond and Largo (and before the big bang when the boat collides with the rocks). It looks so farcical and amateurish and detracts rather than adds to the drama of the fight. My opinion, and others may differ.
You're absolutely right, but I didn't cover it because it's less than a minute and while it's very distracting, it's usually over before it starts to give me a headache. I did have to pause the film as the bit with the waiter just makes me laugh.
Darker side of Bond and you forget to mention Scaramanga! YOU FUCKED UP :) But I like your reviews off course ;) Keep up the good work!
Fair enough. My point was that the darker side of Bond character had been done better, and I probably could have listed a few more Scaramanga is in my top 3 favorite main villains, so I definitely agree with you there.
I am appalled at your comments. The underwater sequence in which the Vulcan is camouflaged, to the most amazingly evocative music, is possibly the best sequence in all of the Bond movies. The sequence is an exemplar of how to add substance, cinematic weight and style to a film and with the killing of the pilot, a ruthless edge to the plot. The inserts of wildlife also added to the pace and weight of the film. Many films use such inserts to add mood and weight to a film, you will be moaning that Il Dolce Vita or 2001 spend too much time on mood-setting pieces and should just get on with the most minmal delivery of a story.
Modern films skate over mood and weight in a desperate attempt to up the pace in the belief that pace and action are what is required, this is a recipe for a superficial product that is little more than a video game.
Perhaps you prefer the Fast and Furious films to a well-rounded and rich film like Thunderball?
I'm actually glad to see such a staunch defender of the film. It's one of my favorite things about this series; every film is someone's favorite and they will fight tooth and nail to see it get some recognition. A few things I offer in a somewhat longer response:
1. I think I'm far kinder to the film than most modern reviewers (check in with Calvin Dyson on his worst days and ask him about he feels towards Thunderball). Plus, this film sits just outside my top 10, alongside The Living Daylights, so I'd say I like it a lot.
2. I've not seen Il Doce Vita, but I have seen 2001 and enjoyed it immensely. The 1950s version of The Ten Commandments and Schindler's List are some of my favorite films, and I regularly watch films like Lawrence of Arabia, Ben-Hur and Lord of the Rings, so attention span isn't the problem, nor is appreciating subtlety.
3. I won't disagree with most modern films sacrificing depth for pace (though that's not a recent problem), but I don't think there are only two things you can do with a film: long and meaningful versus short and shallow. You can have depth while still being a well-paced film. 12 Angry Men is only about an hour and a half and it tells its story brilliantly, as is Dr. Strangelove and The General. The 1932 version of the Mummy is only 73 minutes long and I would argue has more depth and is better paced than most films (including Bond).
4. Video Games have grown up a lot during the last 30 years, with some offering more meaningful depth than a lot of films. Nier: Automata, Mass Effect, and The Last of Us are some of the most thought provoking stories I've seen from any medium, period. I get it if you were referring to things like Mortal Kombat and Fortnite, but those are also games that don't have story and character at the forefront, so it feels unfair of a comparison.
5. I'm not a big fan of the Fast and Furious films either, but thinking of the entire series as the epitome of stupid and showcasing everything wrong with filmmaking is a gross oversimplification. Maybe if you picked a specific film like Fast and Furious or Hobbs and Shaw, I might agree with you, but films like Fast 5 and Furious 7 are solid and I think some of the Bond films (like Spectre) could learn from a thing or two from them. Granted, none of that series rivals the best from Bond (Russia, Royale, Goldfinger, and so on), but that's not to say the entire series is pointless and without some interesting things to experience.
Regardless of our disagreements, I do want to thank you for taking the time to watch the video and comment. It does mean a lot to me.
Big of all of the films and I’m loving these individual bond reviews. Can’t wait to see more of them!
It's a shame they didn't use that outro music during the end and credit scene. I thought Moonraker was the most money milker.
"Adjusted for inflation". If you just go by straight contemporary box office numbers, Moonraker did over $200 million, and wasn't bested until Goldeneye.
So you taught at university. That explains the intellectual rigor in your videos and their standards.
I liked the analysis because you identified the bugbear of the movie: its pacing and overindulgence. I think a lot of that Peter Jackson kind of padding was because Bond Fever was mad in 1964 and 65. Theaters were showing this movie around the clock and around the world. I spoke with folks who saw "Thunderball" on its opening release. (It was re-released several times after as a double feature with either "Goldfinger" or "You Only Live Twice" or by itself. Broccoli and Saltzman were printing money, and they figured they would adapt the S.P.E.C.T.R.E. books in order of publication. "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was indeed slated next after "Thunderball". A warmer than normal winter prevented that from happening, but that's another story.
So my point is that just as "King Kong" was permitted a ridiculous runtime in 2005 on the heals of the Oscar win for "The Return of the King", so was "Thunderball" allowed more of a run time in response to the success of its predecessors. Obviously, it hurt the movie, but Broccoli and Saltzman were too busy gearing up to make the next film and couldn't care less. After all, it was a miracle "Thunderball" got made with McClory complicating the production. Bond was succeeding beyond anyone's expectations. Everything counts in large amounts.
A word about the Bahamas: it's beautiful, but nothing like the Bahamas of 1964. I grew up on Miami Beach and could ride my bike to the Fontainbleau Hotel from "Goldfinger". I admit it has probably been renovated in the last ten years, but in the 1970s, it was nothing like it was a mere decade before. (Yes, that pool with its glass walls in the deep end was real. So was Joe's Stone Crabs as mentioned in the book.) Grand Bahama Island has gorgeous beaches and is lovely to visit, but it's traded its shiny glamour for kitchy tourist value since the 70s. Just don't idealize these locations. I did to my bewilderment when I went there in 1990 and 2015.
I know you never clicked with Largo, but to me with his dubbed voice and eyepatch, he was a great introduction to Bond villains. (I watched this movie when I was 9 or 10 years old on a 9" black and white television that I managed to sneak into my room.) I had a crush on Luciana Paluzzi for years because of this movie. My first wife and several loves of my life were redheads, although only one had Italian heritage - that's how bad a crush it was.
And when the extended soundtrack came out some years ago, I listened to it anew with real joy. I loved this soundtrack, even when it recalled the scenes that plodded along.
I'm looking forward to your dissecting of "Goldfinger". I need to find you subscribers.
2005's King Kong is a really good comparison. I remember seeing that around the same time as I did the 1932 original. I liked it fine, but guess which one I have in my DVD collection?
I'm always really jealous when people share their amazing experiences with elements of Bond's world. I know that Thunderball presents a very glamorous view of a place that's been changed quite a bit, but then again, I found I had a similar experience with Cortina when I went there, and it was still a highlight of my trip.
I've danced back and forth with Largo. Robert Rietti's voice is always a delight (he would also voice several other characters in the series, including Strangways, Tanaka, and Blofeld in FYEO), I love how much Bond and he mirror each other, and he doesn't do anything particularly wrong with the part. I've just never found him particularly appetizing.
Can't argue about Luciana Paluzzi. She's a gem, and really easy on the eyes.
For me it’s a toss up between this and Goldfinger as my favourite Connery. Goldfinger benefits from a stronger style but it’s hard not to get swept up in the lavishness of Thunderball. Shame so many scenes feel as if they’re too long. Maddening sometimes, watching it and thinking “Cut here. Here!”
I happen to be doing a kind of Bond marathon at the moment, watching one more or less every week when I go to visit my father. Just got past Spy Who Loved Me. I’ll probably leave another comment when you get to it but I was surprised by how much I disliked You Only Live Twice, because I remember liking that one.
I've never been the biggest fan of Twice, though I do enjoy it fine. I'm looking forward to revisiting it soon.
Keep these video coming dude
You bring so much extra behind the scenes info to these reviews that other youtubers/reviewers fail to. You clearly do your research for every video, and it goes a long way. No one else is out there citing facts they got from two DVD commentary tracks. Great stuff, love the channel man.
The video left out the fact that the movie won an Oscar for best visual effects.
Are you working on re uploading the Goldfinger review?
Check back tomorrow, with another special one-off episode on Friday. ;)
@@stephenjarvis534 👀
I could swear blind that there exists a version of this film with "James Bond Will Return" in the end credits, although as I recall it incorrectly announced On Her Majesty's Secret Service as the next film in the series (much as you apparently found with a very early print of Goldfinger, although I've never seen that one). This was the version that used to play on ITV in the late nineties/early noughties when I started watching (and videoing) them religiously, so I've seen it multiple times. That wasn't the only difference, either: there were a few lines of dialogue that differed from the version now offered on DVD/Blu-ray, and possibly an alternate music cue over the final scene and credits. The version broadcast on British television (back then, at least) was always different from the one available on DVD, and some trawling around on RUclips just now reveals comparisons of the different versions (alternate dialogue and final music cue), but I'm not finding any videos that reveal the missing credit... it's annoying, because it definitely exists! Or used to, anyway.
Incidentally, I'm glad that I caught this within a few hours of its being uploaded, because I didn't get to the one on Goldfinger before it was taken down again; hopefully, like James Bond, it will return...
Check back in tomorrow, and there’s a special one-off episode on Friday as a sort of apology for the inconvenience of the Goldfinger review being taken down. ;)
There are indeed prints of Thunderball out there that did have the "James Bond Will Return", and incorrectly stated it would be Majesty's.
I feel certain I saw "James Bond Will Return" at the end at least ONCE. There's an obvious jump-cut, and I long suspected it was because ABC was running the films in the wrong order.
When ABC re-ran YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, they actually moved the theme song to BEFORE the space capsule capture, so they could fit a commercial break in at 15 minutes instead of 30. When HBO ran YOLT in 1980, they actually ran the ABC butcher job!!! I could not believe it. I had that on tape for years, before a friend at work got me a copy of a rental, which had the theme song in the right place.
On paper the plot of Thunderball should be a perfect Bond film, that went wrong during transfer to screen. I think the film overindulges Spectre's dastardly plan, so there is no tension left in Bond's attempts to thwart it. Maybe the heist should have been compressed into the pre credits sequence, with Bond and the audience left to work out the rest. Eon might have attempted something new - a procedural of an antagonist's evil scheme, tracked until eventually overthrown by Bond. The film has a startling harpoon death, a great climax and rousing score. The story is untidy, the acting almost uniformly dull. Connery acts as if he's bored and Celi and Paluzzi (the best things in the film), embarrassingly outperform him in every scene they share
Not sure if I agree with the acting note, but I do have to wonder about the idea to place the heist into the pre-credits sequence. Maybe it would have worked as a condensed version immediately after the titles, kind of like how Tomorrow Never Dies does the Devonshire sinking.
@@stephenjarvis534 Yes, like that in Tomorrow Never Dies, a very fine film on many levels
My own idea was to compress the Shrublands sequence into the pre-credits sequence, while eliminating the entire "double" sub-plot. (In the book, it is Domino's brother in the plane. MUCH-smipler!) I pictured the pre-credits sequence ending with Lippe trying to kill Bond on the road, but getting blown to hell by Fiona instead. Then, she disposes of her motorcycle by dumping it into the water... which fades directly into the THUNDERBALL title sequence! Then, we'd see the SPECTRE board meeting, and the hijacking. Also, Bond should have simply met Felix at the airport. The bit where you don't know who it is is left over freom when THUNDERBALL was supposed to be the 1st film. By here, they already played that game in DR. NO.
Crazy enough, the fight with Jack Bouvar at the beginning is similar to how Bond KILLS Blofeld in the novel "You Only Live Twice", by breaking his neck. I could have done with that entire pre-credit sequence.
While the legal back-and-forth is fascinating, the less said about the dumpster fire that is "Never Say Never Again" the better
I'm not a big fan of that film either, and yet I have received plenty of comments from defenders over one aspect of the film or another. My mantra is that no Bond film is without merit, even Never Say Never Again. However, it's the one Bond film I never look forward to rewatching.
Thunderball will always have a special place in my heart as it was the first Connery Bond I watched on tv before collecting the films on dvd when I was 10. It was on tv on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve and I immediately was captivated by Connery and the beautiful locations and girls of this film. Yes it has its flaws, but it does rank within my top 15
This and The Living Daylights sit outside my top 10.
@@stephenjarvis534 Thunderball I had as number 9 in my ranking but I think it’s slipped out of my top 10 The Living Daylights I had as number 18 believe it or not. It could tick up a couple places on my list. I don’t think it’s a bad film but like you I just happen to love a lot of Bond films and while I enjoy parts of The Living Daylights, there just happens to be other films I enjoy watching more.