Thunderball Movie Review

The fourth Bond film is Thunderball (1965)

Dave's review:

Thunderball is the Bond film that many instinctively refer to as the one that has too many underwater scenes. In fact, there is so much more to the film. It's got one of the best plots of any Bond film. In fact, so good that it was duplicated in Never Say Never Again. The pre credits sequence features a great fight between Bond and a villain disguised as a woman. What works against Thunderball were the massive expectations after the first three films. In particular, the main villain Largo lacks the same commanding presence as say Dr. No or Goldfinger. Claudine Auger as Domino, is one of the most stunningly beautiful Bond girls, but she is given little to do. And to make matters worse on the sexism scale, Bond basically commits sexual assault on a nurse in a rehab clinic. Well it is the 60s. Overall Thunderball is solid fun just not epic.

TT's review:

Thunderball is fun to watch and has all the elements of a great Bond flick (villain, "love" interests, action scenes, exotic locale), but it falls a bit flat. Maybe it's because they tried to cram too many things in a two hour film. My biggest gripe is the gratuitous underwater scuba shots. Who cares?!

Underwater scenes aside, Largo is my favorite villain so far. His suit, his white hair, his bronze tan, and his EYEPATCH. The set designers also deserve kudos, from the SPECTRE boardroom to the Nassau hotel rooms. It is fascinating to look at the technology of 1965. The Mustang and Continental are definitely antiquated. But how much have jet engine (Vulcan bomber) and scuba gear technologies advanced in the last 56 years?

Another observation. Fiona Vulpe was a far more interesting character than Domino. And yet Vulpe had to play second fiddle to Domino. Injustice. And I have to make a correction. Alotta Fagina's name was obviously inspired by Pussy Galore, but the Austin Powers character was definitely inspired by Fiona Vulpe.

Dave's response: Agreed regarding Fiona Vulpe. She was a highlight of the film and one of the great Bond villianesses. 

TT's response: Other than Dave's low opinion of Largo, I agree with everything else he said.

Dave's grade: B

TT''s grade: B

Rate Thunderball (1965) please:

— Tamerlane's Thoughts (@TamerlaneBlog) January 1, 2021