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Movies / On DVD / Thunderball
Thunderball

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Thunderball (1965)

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Reviews Counted:33

Fresh:30

Rotten:3

Average Rating:7/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 14 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Synopsis: Based on Ian Fleming's 1961 novel, THUNDERBALL is 007 at his best. The fourth film in the Bond series finds the super spy (Sean Connery) battling a powerful organization named S.P.E.C.T.R.E. and... Based on Ian Fleming's 1961 novel, THUNDERBALL is 007 at his best. The fourth film in the Bond series finds the super spy (Sean Connery) battling a powerful organization named S.P.E.C.T.R.E. and its nefarious Number Two, Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi), who has threatened to destroy Miami with an atomic weapon unless a huge ransom is paid. Of course, James Bond has something else in mind: a full-on infiltration of Largo's boat, the Disco Volante. With double the Bond girls (with Claudine Auger as the luscious Domino and Luciana Paluzzi as the villainous Fiona Volpe), this favored Bond outing features captivating underwater action sequences that hold up to this day. THUNDERBALL was nominated for a Best Special Effects Academy Award in 1965 and is not be confused with the "unofficial" 1983 James Bond film NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN, which also stars Connery and is based on the same novel. [More]

Starring: Sean Connery, Claudine Auger, Adolfo Celi, Luciana Paluzzi

Starring: Sean Connery, Claudine Auger, Adolfo Celi, Luciana Paluzzi, Bernard Lee, Guy Doleman, Molly Peters, Desmond Llewelyn

Director: Terence Young

Director: Terence Young
Producer: Kevin McClory
Story: Richard Maibaum, John Hopkins
Composer: John Barry

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Feb 6, 2007

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Reviews for Thunderball

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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Not the perfect Bond film, but it still represents the series in its zenith and provides excellent entertainment even after more than three decades.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Thunderball, the biggest, most lavish, and longest Bond film at that time, was the most popular of its day.

Full Review Source: Turner Classic Movies Online | comment Comment
04/04/09
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
Turner Classic Movies Online

Classic 007 -- not the best picture in the long-running series, to be sure, but a more-than-worthwhile diversion for the action-loving escapist in us all.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Sean Connery's fourth Bond film, Thunderball, slips from the peak of From Russia with Love and Goldfinger, but still provides plenty of thrills of the brand only 007 can provide. [Blu-ray]

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
10/25/08
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

The color is handsome. The scenery in the Bahamas is an irresistible lure. Even the violence is funny. That's the best I can say for a Bond film.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/09/05
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

In this, the fourth instalment in the series from the original team, you have a classic Bond film that wants for nothing but a trim.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
06/27/01
Nick Hilditch
Nick Hilditch
BBC

Slightly bloated Bond, with too much technology for my taste and a climactic slaughter that's a little too mindless to be much fun.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
05/06/08
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's too long and doesn't make any sense at times, but it's a real jaw-dropper (especially for 1965).

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

...the movie becomes bogged down in underwater adventures towards the end.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
08/01/03
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

If it doesn't live up to its illustrious predecessors...well, it still has Connery, and that's a plus in anybody's book.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
11/21/03
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

Sometimes the most dated parts of an old film can be the most enjoyable; so it is with Bond's fifth movie, Thunderball.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews

It's remarkably good fun. It's retro enough to be amusing in the dull bits and timeless enough to be fresh and vital today.

Full Review Source: Netflix | comment Comment
11/07/02
James Rocchi
James Rocchi
Netflix

It was still fun despite its shortcomings.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
02/12/09
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

There's visible evidence that the reported $5.5 million budget was no mere publicity figure; it's posh all the way.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
05/06/08
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Sean Connery is fantastic

Full Review Source: sbs.is | comment Comment
02/07/08
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
sbs.is

It loosely maintains the series’ early wit, which may be solely attributed, perhaps, to ease with which Sean Connery inhabits the role of Bond.

Full Review Source: Not Coming to a Theater Near You | comment Comment
03/22/05
Rumsey Taylor
Rumsey Taylor
Not Coming to a Theater Near You

The fourth Bond, marking the point at which spectacular hardware began to dominate the series. Sleek and quite fun all the same.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Formulaic it may be, but this is still classic 007 action, featuring great underwater sequences and a wicked femme fatale.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/06/08
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If Thunderball's gimmickry seems to overreach at times, Actor Connery gains assurance from film to film, by now delivers all his soppiest Jimcracks martini-dry.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
10/13/08
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Relatively disappointing.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
05/06/08
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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Latest News for Thunderball

October 24, 2008: Bonding with Bond, Day 4: Thunderball
Community Manager RT-Ryan has never seen a single James Bond film, except for 2006's Casino Royale. To rectify the situation, he decides to watch every Bond film and write... More...

June 30, 2006: ANOTHER "Thunderball" Remake??
Movie producer Kevin McClory owns "some" of the rights to the old-school Bond classic "Thunderball," which explains why, several years ago, he was able to... More...

November 11, 2005: Sean Connery Earns AFI's Highest Honor
Thanks to ComingSoon.net for sharing a press release from the American Film Institute: Sir Sean Connery has been selected by the American Film Institute's (AFI) Board of... More...

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