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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.

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.

Over-the-top James Bond movie in which he confronts Spectra and killer hoodlums around the world . World is threatened with destruction James Bond (a magnificent , as usual, Sean Connery) then goes to Bahamas and meets Emilio Largo (Adoldo Celi , as a formidable Bond villain) , a high-ranking nasty agent and involving a beauty (Claudine Auger) in order to retrieve atomic missiles that were stolen by Spectre and its Agent nº 2 . In Bahamas James has an ally character , another agent named Felix Laiter (Rick Van Nutter) . 007 is being lured into a deadly trap , and he will need all of his force , intelligence and cutting-edge technology to triumph over the enemies that seek to destroy him . Bond is pursued by Largo and his hoodlums .

This solid , slick thriller with magic mix of action-packed , dazzling stunts , gadgetry , self-deprecating humor and romance provided by sexy company as Claudine Auger ; in addition , Luciana Paluzzi as a memorably sexy villainess , after being rejected for the role of Domino . This is a very amusing installment , though when was released suffered from comparison to its two admittedly superior predecessor ¨From Russia with Love¨ and ¨Goldfinger¨ . Fourth entry Sean Connery as James Bond is very fine , he does remarkably well , he has toughness , irony, humor and sympathy, however also has coldness ,cunning , intelligence and roughness . Sean Connery said that this movie was his personal favorite out of the Bond films he did . Here Bond is an efficient , relentless agent trying to chase obstinately the criminals , traveling around the world as always , as this time is mostly set in Islas Bahamas . Bond to achieve his aims , along the way uses violent means , pulling off brutal killings against enemies who wreak all sorts of havoc . As always Bond will use "state of the art" and fantastic gadgets provided by ¨Q¨ interpreted , as usual , by Desmond Llewelyn , he would reprise the role of "Q" in 16 subsequent Bond films . In addition , there appears the usual as Lois Maxwell, ¨MoneyPenny¨ and Bernard Lee as M . Here appears four wonderful women ; Claudine Auger , Molly Peters Luciana Paluzzi and Martine Beswick who formerly played in ¨From Russia with love¨ as a gypsy at a memorable fight . This was the second James Bond movie to provide key elements for the series' success ; it was the first of Maurice Binder's opening titles sequences created in the form that they would become most famous for. It was also the first to have movie posters which had panoramic adventure-scene artwork.

The picture contains Connery's stylish acting , comic-strip adventure , sensational pursuits , spectacular set pieces , great stunts , tongue-in check humor , frantic unstopped action , amazing gimmicks and stimulating images like are the spectacular chases , the overwhelming underwater scenes made by Ricou Browning , and the breathtaking fights . As is like a roller-coaster , as is fast-paced , light, excitement, funny and entertaining ; it's a winner for oo7 fans and non-fans alike . The chase and suspense formula wears strong in this entry . The action-packed includes : impressive chase scenes in his Aston Martin , underwater battles and Bond escape in a rocket-propulsion Jet Pack originally designed and invented for military use , it is also known as the Small Rocket Lift Device . Hoping for an end to the Cold War, producer Kevin McClory didn't want James Bond's main enemy to be Russian, so for the film version his nemesis is the fictitious criminal organization Spectre . Enjoyable title song and stirring musical score fitting to action by John Barry in his classic style , the score allegedly still contains riffs from Monty Norman's work on ¨Doctor No¨. In premiere , ¨Thunderball¨was panned by reviewers , ; however , time has proved it to be one of the more amusing films based on Ian Fleming novels . . It was remade eighteen years later as ¨Never say never again¨ by Irvin Kershner , with Klaus Maria Brandauer (Adolfo Celi role) , Kim Basinger (Claudine character) and Barbara Carrera (Luciana Paluzzi role) .

Riveting and fancy main titles by habitual Maurice Binder , he returned to the series to design the main title sequence for this movie after being absent from the previous two Bond movies ; for the opening main title sequence, title designer Binder filmed swimmers swimming naked in black and white before adding in the color by an optical process afterward. Furthermore , eye-popping and overwhelming production design by Ken Adam . It's brimming with colorful and fascinating cinematography by cameraman Ted Moore . Evocative photography ,much of the film was shot on location, with only a bare minimum of back projection used ; something quite unusual for a film of 1965 . The motion picture was well directed by Terence Young ,author of three best James Bond films : ¨Dr No¨ , ¨From Russia with love¨ and ¨Thunderball¨ and directed to Audrey Hepburn in a good thriller titled ¨Wait until dark¨ and a failed film titled ¨Bloodline¨.

Thunderball is directed by Terence Young and adapted to screenplay by Richard Maibaum and John Hopkins from a story by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham and Ian Fleming. It stars Sean Connery, Adolfo Celi, Claudine Auger, Rick Van Nutter and Martine Beswick. Music is scored by John Barry and cinematography by Ted Moore.

The fourth outing for James Bond (Connery) sees 007 assigned to the Bahamas to try and thwart SPECTRE's number 2 operative, Emilio Largo (Celi). Largo has hijacked two atomic bombs from NATO and sets about extorting huge ransoms of money. If his terms are not met he will blow up major cities.

It was meant to be the first James Bond film, but Thunderball became part of a long drawn out legal battle between Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham and Ian Fleming. Eventually an out of court settlement was reached and Thunderball rolled into theatres in 1965. After the colossal success of Goldfinger, and Bond as a pop culture phenomenon, producers Albert Broccoli & Harry Saltzman knew that they had to try and up the ante to keep Bond on top. They were also acutely aware that many imitators were springing up on film and TV. These facts led Bond to go epic, with the producers going for a more is more approach, however, Thunderball is a considerable step down from Goldfinger.

As with many other Bond movies, Thunderball polarises opinions amongst the fans. Some are happy to laud the pure entertainment value on offer, the reliance on hardware and gadgets viewed as an aid to the Bond persona and not a hindrance to his humanistic worth. Technically the film is often exceptional, be it on or under the water, director Young really crafts some Bondian quality. The exotic Bahamas locale is beautifully realised by Ted Moore, Barry's blunderbuss score is one of his best for a Bond movie and Connery has charisma in abundance. The girls, too, are delightful, particularly Auger who positively sizzles with sexuality. Bond's by play with M, Q and Felix Leiter (Nutter very enjoyable and more charismatic than Cec Linder in Goldfinger) is well scripted and performed. While for those who adore the gadgets and daring stunts? Thunderball excels with its assortment of trick vehicles, under water weaponry and aids and radioactive pills! Without doubt the near $6 million budget is all up there on the screen.

Yet for other fans, and this is the category I fall into, it's a film of too many flaws to be considered one of the greats. Whilst it's undeniable that when it hits the high points it excites royally (the extended underwater battle is eye popping brilliance), but there's too much languid passages in the overlong running time. Young himself lamented that he couldn't get the pace right on account of the plot structure. The other major problem for me is Celi as Largo. Visually he's striking, with his white hair and eye patch, he well looks villainous, but physically he's wrong and someone you can't buy into as a man able to not only take on Bond, but to overcome him as well! While the finale lacks a grandness to reward those having sat for over 2 hours with the film. But what do I know? Film made a stunning $141 million at the box office! And the fanaticism that began with Goldfinger reached epic proportions here.

The more is more approach worked for the makers, and it ensured that for the time being Bond was going to stay in this epic, gadget effects strewn groove. Connery wasn't happy, he had voiced his concerns about Bond becoming characterless, while he hated the mania surrounding the films and his role within them. He would return for the next instalment, You Only Live Twice, question was, would it be his last performance as Bond? 7/10

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