Thunderball
Directed by Terence Young
Written by Richard Malbaum, John Hopkins, and Jack Whittingham from an original story by Ian Fleming et al
1965/UK
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Domino: So… what sharp little eyes you’ve got.
James Bond: Wait ’til you get to my teeth.[/box]
The gadgetry is taken to new levels in the fifth of the Bond series.
SPECTRE steals two atomic bombs from a NATO plane and is holding them for 100 million pounds ransome. James Bond (Sean Connery) follows the trail to the underwater lair of SPECTRE big wheel Emilio Largo in the Bahamas.
Bond fights sharks, an army of speargun wielding divers, and assorted assassins, all while bedding a covey of Bond girls, both bad and good. The ending is never in doubt.
I thought this lacked some of the wit and pacing of the earlier films but thoroughly enjoyed it anyway. Some of the coolest gadgetry to date is included along with product placements which only increase in later films.
Thunderball won the Academy Award for Best Special Effects, Visual Effects.
