Not the perfect Bond film, but it still represents the series in its zenith and provides excellent entertainment even after more than three decades.
Thunderball (1965)
Tomatometer
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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
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Reviews for Thunderball
Thunderball, the biggest, most lavish, and longest Bond film at that time, was the most popular of its day.
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.
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]
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.
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.
Slightly bloated Bond, with too much technology for my taste and a climactic slaughter that's a little too mindless to be much fun.
It's too long and doesn't make any sense at times, but it's a real jaw-dropper (especially for 1965).
...the movie becomes bogged down in underwater adventures towards the end.
If it doesn't live up to its illustrious predecessors...well, it still has Connery, and that's a plus in anybody's book.
Sometimes the most dated parts of an old film can be the most enjoyable; so it is with Bond's fifth movie, Thunderball.
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.
There's visible evidence that the reported $5.5 million budget was no mere publicity figure; it's posh all the way.
It loosely maintains the series’ early wit, which may be solely attributed, perhaps, to ease with which Sean Connery inhabits the role of Bond.
The fourth Bond, marking the point at which spectacular hardware began to dominate the series. Sleek and quite fun all the same.
Formulaic it may be, but this is still classic 007 action, featuring great underwater sequences and a wicked femme fatale.
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.
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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