Thunderball (1965) - Originally written August 29, 2012

 The RunUp to Skyfall: Thunderball (1965)

Author's Note

In 2012; I set out to watch all the official "Everything or Nothing" (EON) studios James Bond films in preparation for what was the 23rd film in the series; Skyfall (2012). For the sake of  brevity; these are being posted here as originally written, though my opinion in some cases may have changed. I've been tinkering with screening them again under different circumstances. However, as of right now, these are my official thoughts on all the James Bond series.
 
Due to the repeated themes and messaging that appears in series films; especially ones spanning five decades at the time; I chose to use a "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" format. I also ranked all the pressing "lists" that Bond fans tend to on occasion.

The Numbers

Bond: Connery (4 of 6)
M: Bernard Lee (4 of 11)
Q: Desmond Llewelyn (3 of 17)
Moneypenny: Lois Maxwell (4 of 14)
Director: Terence Young (3 of 3)
Theme Song(s): "Thunderball” – Tom Jones
The Villain(s): Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi)
The Henchmen: Fiona (Luciana Paluzzi)
The Girl* - Domino (Claudine Auger)
* - only the girl Bond ends the film with will be considered for the sake of brevity. This is especially important in more recent films.
The Evil Scheme: S.P.E.C.T.R.E steals two atomic bombs from NATO forces; then blackmails NATO for a ransom to have the bombs safely returned. . .as opposed to detonating in major metropolitan cities

The Good: 

The writing. Bond's one liners are pretty epic here, as Connery was by now well versed with Bond; having played the character for the 4th time in as many years. There really are just an incredible amount of quality verbal zingers throughout Thunderball. Also, this is the film where we see a lot of the actual "espionage" portion of being 007 for the first time. Little things like punching Felix in the stomach before the "little fish" hiding to kill Bond can hear him referred to by his Double-O number. Bond is at his "too cool for the room" best in this outing. The cat and mouse game between Bond and Largo is good, but not nearly as good as the one between Bond and GoldFinger.

The Bad: 

There's a LOT going on in this flick. So much so it really feels like 3 or 4 shorter movies all shoved together. A lot of the dot connecting feels lost in the shuffle, with so much "Okay, how did Bond figure that out again?" Bond movies are not known for their brevity anyway; but Thunderball really feels like its much longer than it needs to be for the simple nature of the story. The story just doesn't move at nearly the pace it should for such a simple premise; mostly because it keeps getting hung up on small details and ignoring key exposition that will help keep the viewer engaged.

Final Thoughts: 

There are many people who LOVE Thunderball and count it in their favorites of Bond films. I just happen to not be one of them. I think it plods too much in places; then rapidly sprints from point A to point B before plodding too much at point B. It's really a poorly paced film. Still, it does have the legacy of being the only Bond film that has been remade twice. . . once in earnest ("Never Say Never Again" (1983)), and once in premise ("Broken Arrow" (1996)). If Thunderball had been made before "Goldfinger" (1964), I might rank it higher...but probably not.

3 out of 5

The Rankings:

The Villains:

1. Aurich Goldfinger (Goldfinger)
2. Emilio Largo (Thunderball)
3. Klebb/Morzeny (FRWL)
4. Dr. No

The Henchmen:

1. Oddjob (Goldfinger)
2. Donald Grant (From Russia with Love)
3. Fiona (Thunderball)
4. Mr. Jones/Professor Dent (Dr. No)

The Girls:

1. Tatiana (From Russia With Love)
2. Domino (Thunderball)
3. Honey Ryder (Dr. No)
4. Pussy Galore (Goldfinger)

The Songs:

1. Thunderball (Thunderball)
2. James Bond Theme/"From Russia with Love" (FRWL)
3. James Bond Theme (Dr. No)
4. Goldfinger (Goldfinger)

The Movies:

1. Goldfinger (1964)
2. From Russia with Love (1963)
3. Thunderball (1965)
4. Dr. No (1962)

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