The fourth film in this infamous series of espionage features Sean Connery returning to the role that brought him international fame. Of course it would be insane to imagine anyone else in this role at this point in time for the fledgling series that would go on to be the longest running series in the history of cinema.
The film begins with Bond still stuck in the ongoing war between himself and the conning SPECTRE organization and has acquired special attention from their mysterious faceless, cat-stroking mastermind who has now decided that James Bond, Agent 007, must be taken out of the picture before he further meddles with the affairs of SPECTRE. But who in their right mind would want to take on the British super-agent? SPECTRE's Number 2, Emilio Largo seems up to the task shortly after the death of Number 6 at the hands of 007 in the beginning of the film.
Largo's plan centers on the hijacking of two nuclear warheads which would cause enough fuss to attract any super-spy to the area, and he intends on it. Of course, why bother with a fully equipped agent if you can take Bond out when he's still recovering after his previous mission? Well, it turns out that even in relaxation James Bond isn't entirely defenseless and manages to leave the Spa unharmed...of course he doesn't leave without some invaluable information regarding Largo's plan.
Off to the Bahamas goes Bond, where he finally lets his womanizing go too far, nearly leading to his death, but once again he sweet talks, and dances his way out of danger (Literally!). Of course an Agent's job doesn't only center on sex and alcohol. It's actually serious business, as he discovers Largo's fortified estate (complete with a pool of sharks) and yacht are the center of this nuclear weapon plot. So you'd think this sounds easy enough for our dear agent 007, right? Wrong. You forget that Number between one and five in the SPECTRE organization is going to have a countless number of faceless henchmen ripe for the killing (So many hired hands...What do they pay all these scuba troopers?).
The entire thing leads up to one of the most interesting, violent fight sequences in the entire Bond franchise as a giant underwater battle erupts between SPECTRE and a group of Scuba commandos (joined of course by Bond) as they attempt to prevent Largo from detonating the bombs off the coast of Miami. Excitement and bloodshed erupts and the title of "Most Violent Connery Bond Film" is one by the end.
Sean Connery as usual proves that he IS James Bond and delivers his lines perfectly. At this point Connery obviously has the character down to near perfection. He can fight, shoot, smoke, gamble, drive nice cars, and seduce women and make it come across as convincing. This is definitive proof that he was born for this role and that the series wouldn't have gone very far without his leaving such a great impact upon his initial run as the character.
Adolfo Auger also makes for a good villain. Cold, heartless, and delivers his lines with the vicious nature of a shark. He is a driven villain, seeming to only desire to further impress his superior in SPECTRE, yet he never stoops to the rank of simple henchmen. So he works for himself, but also to impress his leader, but at the same time it feels he tries to detach himself as far away from the central SPECTRE organization as possible. Maybe he intends to prove himself and break away and form his own organization? He obviously has the money and resources to do so (unless ALL of that comes from SPECTRE).
This was my father's favorite Bond film growing up and I agree that it is a classic that is a worthwhile movie, though the one complaint I have is that it has several slow parts that seem to drag endlessly, but these are rare.
Also, the remastered picture quality on the latest DVDs is great, and if you don't already own the 007 editions from earlier this decade I'd highly recommend the Ultimate Edition of Thunderball, because it has quite a few extra features for you Bond fans (but not so many that it entirely outweighs the 007 edition; so if you have that release there is no need to buy again).
The film begins with Bond still stuck in the ongoing war between himself and the conning SPECTRE organization and has acquired special attention from their mysterious faceless, cat-stroking mastermind who has now decided that James Bond, Agent 007, must be taken out of the picture before he further meddles with the affairs of SPECTRE. But who in their right mind would want to take on the British super-agent? SPECTRE's Number 2, Emilio Largo seems up to the task shortly after the death of Number 6 at the hands of 007 in the beginning of the film.
Largo's plan centers on the hijacking of two nuclear warheads which would cause enough fuss to attract any super-spy to the area, and he intends on it. Of course, why bother with a fully equipped agent if you can take Bond out when he's still recovering after his previous mission? Well, it turns out that even in relaxation James Bond isn't entirely defenseless and manages to leave the Spa unharmed...of course he doesn't leave without some invaluable information regarding Largo's plan.
Off to the Bahamas goes Bond, where he finally lets his womanizing go too far, nearly leading to his death, but once again he sweet talks, and dances his way out of danger (Literally!). Of course an Agent's job doesn't only center on sex and alcohol. It's actually serious business, as he discovers Largo's fortified estate (complete with a pool of sharks) and yacht are the center of this nuclear weapon plot. So you'd think this sounds easy enough for our dear agent 007, right? Wrong. You forget that Number between one and five in the SPECTRE organization is going to have a countless number of faceless henchmen ripe for the killing (So many hired hands...What do they pay all these scuba troopers?).
The entire thing leads up to one of the most interesting, violent fight sequences in the entire Bond franchise as a giant underwater battle erupts between SPECTRE and a group of Scuba commandos (joined of course by Bond) as they attempt to prevent Largo from detonating the bombs off the coast of Miami. Excitement and bloodshed erupts and the title of "Most Violent Connery Bond Film" is one by the end.
Sean Connery as usual proves that he IS James Bond and delivers his lines perfectly. At this point Connery obviously has the character down to near perfection. He can fight, shoot, smoke, gamble, drive nice cars, and seduce women and make it come across as convincing. This is definitive proof that he was born for this role and that the series wouldn't have gone very far without his leaving such a great impact upon his initial run as the character.
Adolfo Auger also makes for a good villain. Cold, heartless, and delivers his lines with the vicious nature of a shark. He is a driven villain, seeming to only desire to further impress his superior in SPECTRE, yet he never stoops to the rank of simple henchmen. So he works for himself, but also to impress his leader, but at the same time it feels he tries to detach himself as far away from the central SPECTRE organization as possible. Maybe he intends to prove himself and break away and form his own organization? He obviously has the money and resources to do so (unless ALL of that comes from SPECTRE).
This was my father's favorite Bond film growing up and I agree that it is a classic that is a worthwhile movie, though the one complaint I have is that it has several slow parts that seem to drag endlessly, but these are rare.
Also, the remastered picture quality on the latest DVDs is great, and if you don't already own the 007 editions from earlier this decade I'd highly recommend the Ultimate Edition of Thunderball, because it has quite a few extra features for you Bond fans (but not so many that it entirely outweighs the 007 edition; so if you have that release there is no need to buy again).