Opération Tonnerre

Do you have an enthusiasm for water sports like Bond? If you do then you will probably love Thunderball. For me, however, there were too many boring underwater scenes (snorkeling, diving, or whatever he was doing), and that drags the rating down to a 6/10. This film is still a fun adventure. It just doesn't compare favorably to the other Bond films. I actually liked the remake, Never Say Never Again, more than this. On the plus side, Thunderball has more than the usual number of Bond girls. I counted four (two good, one henchwoman, and one which was not involved in the plot). The bad guy (No. 2) was also one of the more memorable Bond villains. A 6/10 is still a good score for me, so don't get the wrong impression. I still like this film. It just has some boring parts that make it a below average Bond film.

Rating-7/10

Thunderball is a Bond that may be slightly slower than the ones before it, but it still packs a punch in the franchise and stands tall among all the entries. With Connery continuing his suave but violent role, he manages to make this film fun yet plausible at the same time with the villain being not so insane as seen before. I felt that this film was solidly a Kind of good film film, and here below is why I felt so.

The story is good fun and the adventure although maybe not scraping every part of the world, still manages to get a lot of out of only one real location it is set in. It has some good action and good scenes that are quintessential to any Bond fans, with big weapons and an underwater scene that is one of the resounding images of this film, it is just all good stuff, and with a plot that isn't afraid to be both light and dark.

Connery comes back with maybe a film that wouldn't be his proudest Bond, but still manages to entertain and do a job that many think, no one can do better. Largo the villain is a good villain, maybe slightly stereotypically Bond but is still a bad one, which turns out good. I felt Adolfo Celi who plays him is very good and stands out for me as one of those villains who is evil when you least expect it, a cunning man indeed.

The stunts are good fun and some of the things involved go a long way to entertain you, I especially liked that this film didn't have to rely on car chases for fun, it has more thrilling chases and a lot of boats are involved too. It is written OK and the script doesn't really go anywhere to help the film although Connery uses it well to his advantage, overall it is Connery who helps this film to it's rating.

The only thing I could really find wrong with this film is that at times it can be slow and maybe just a bit boring, I feel this was only because the film has one setting for the majority of the film and although it is an interesting plot, maybe the over use of location effects it. It could also be said that the film lacks enough humour needed for early Bonds but that it is really up to you if you decide to watch it.

Bond fans should enjoy this and although I don't think this will be there favourite one, it will still serve to entertain. Those who like Bonds with a much more spy like feel will enjoy this as he seems to get into some hiding places and stake outs to root out his enemy. One more thing to say is that this film has some great characters throughout and who is good and who is bad is always hard to predict, good fun.

Overall I give this a 7/10, Solidly a kind of Good film, with this you have to just enjoy this and see exactly what Sean can do in a Bond film, I will mention the underwater scenes again because Connery executes them very well and it is one thing that sticks in your mind when you think about the film. Just see what you think with this and ignore all other ratings including mine, you might just love this.

Thunderball is the fourth entry in the ever ongoing James Bond franchise and in my opinion one of the better installments. This film features the secret services arch-enemy SPECTRE and I must say that in this episode of James Bond adventures it works better than in From Russia with Love. What I liked about this film, was that there were a lot of good one-liners from Connery, that there weren't too many goofy stunts / henchmen / gadgets and that the film was able to maintain exciting throughout. I've read quite a few comments stating that the underwater scenes dragged on too long, but I must say that I felt even that bit to be quite entertaining and thrilling. I actually have only one criticism and that regards the ending. I felt that the whole out-of-control boat thing was really stupid. I mean I understand that they tried to make it look spectacular, but in using the same technique they used to buff up the fistfights, they made it look cheesy and cheap. Luckily this is just one short moment in the film and the film is not ruined by something as a dreadful character or a bad actor. All in all this is one of the better Bond films and well worth watching if one sets out for 2 hours of pure adventurous entertainment with a standard-formula story.

7 out of 10

This Bond film (the 3rd best; the others being From Russia With Love, Goldfinger and 4th would be Dr. No) has exotic locale, superb soundtrack, formidable bad-guy, the hottest real Bond gal (Claudine Auger as Domino), other hot chicks - Martine Beswick and Lucianna Paluzzi, and Sean's toupee still looked good before his final three Bond adventures.

There may have been too many Bond effects underwater in this one, but everything else about it makes up for the scuba scenes, which are necessary to the "plot". Adolfo Celi (Largo) had presence, great white hair, an eyepatch, and figured out Bond almost immediately. It flows with best scenery (Bond-wise) and had no major problems, although a tad long. A 7 out of 10. Recommended for 1965!

This is the fourth Bond film, and it's a bit of a step back. SPECTRE has stolen two nuclear weapons from a NATO aircraft, and is blackmailing the west for £100M. Bond must investigate leading him to Bahamas.

Adolfo Celi is playing the bad guy Largo. He's not as scary. The most interesting thing about him is an eye patch. The pace is a lot slower this time around. It's mostly due to the massive amount of underwater work. It's a big technical challenge, but it doesn't maintain the tension. The action is slower underwater, and the people can be obscured by the action. I guess the underwater work was cool back then, but it doesn't make it great viewing today. As far as gadgets, the Bond franchise keeps it coming with a rocket pack. There isn't an evil henchman like Oddjob. There isn't an iconic Bond girls in this one although they are very beautiful. It's a small step backwards for the franchise.