My Review of Thunderball (1965)

 

Written by Richard Maibaum And John Hopkins And Kevin McClory And Jack Whittingham And Ian Fleming

Directed by Terence Young 

James Bond: "That gun, it looks more fitting for a woman."

Emilio Largo: "You know much about guns, Mr. Bond?"

James Bond: "No, but I know a little about women."

I'm definitely into my stride with Sean Connery's version of James Bond and there's a comforting familiarity with how he plays with the character.

Once again, SPECTRE are the focus of villainy. There's operative Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi). He wanted to hold NATO to ransom with the use of atomic bombs and he's something of a petty man throughout the film.

There's also Count Lippe (Guy Doleman). He had French Air Force pilot François Derval (Paul Stassino) murdered and replaced by Angelo Palazzi. Derval also took his face, so Stassino was technically on double duty for this film.

As intriguing as Lippe was as a potential baddie, he's not a character who went the distance. He rather quickly killed off by SPECTRE agent Fiona Volpe (Luciana Paluzzi). She was Largo's right hand woman and a pretty effective one to boot.

Of course, James had his own female love interest with Largo's mistress, Domino (Claudine Auger) betraying her villainous paramour in order to help Bond. Domino had some promise but she's somewhat relegated to a damsel in distress until she got her revenge.

Villain wise, Largo's not as dynamic as some of the previous ones. He's got an okay enough rapport with Bond and his death was certainly deserved. As for Bond and Domino, not the most dynamic but decent enough.

- This was the last film that Terence Young directed for the franchise. First one where Ian Fleming had a writing credit.

- There's a lot of cool underwater sequences in this movie.

- Standout music: John Barry's Thunderball.

- Chronology: Largely set in the Bahamas for the majority of the film.

Thunderball might not be my favourite from the Sean Connery era of James Bond but it's a solid enough entry nonetheless. The opening alone was one of the amusing moments in the film.

Rating: 7 out of 10