The fourth Bond film, while no "Goldfinger", is nonetheless an enjoyable movie. Any Bond film with Connery has at least one redeeming quality, but "Thunderball" has other elements that make it worth watching.
The story, about Spectre stealing nuclear missiles and Bond attempting to retrieve them is a little preposterous, yet it's more restrained than later Bond entries. The location filming in the Bahamas is beautiful, as is the underwater photography. Domino is definitely one of the better Bond girls and 007's romancing of her is highly entertaining. Indeed, there are many things to like about Thunderball, including Tom Jones' title song. However, there are some flaws. For one, it drags on too long. The underwater scenes seem to last forever at times and you get the feeling that the plot could have been sped up a bit. Also, Largo is hardly a memorable villain worthy of Bond as an opponent. Although Largo does participate in the proud tradition of Bond villains by having a pool filled with man-eating sharks, he's dull and not as menacing as Goldfinger and has no memorable henchman. At least this film doesn't make the mistake of "You Only Live Twice" by showing us Blofeld. He's much more menacing when seen as a hand stroking his cat and pushing buttons. If you like action, see "Thunderball", just don't expect a classic Bond film.
The story, about Spectre stealing nuclear missiles and Bond attempting to retrieve them is a little preposterous, yet it's more restrained than later Bond entries. The location filming in the Bahamas is beautiful, as is the underwater photography. Domino is definitely one of the better Bond girls and 007's romancing of her is highly entertaining. Indeed, there are many things to like about Thunderball, including Tom Jones' title song. However, there are some flaws. For one, it drags on too long. The underwater scenes seem to last forever at times and you get the feeling that the plot could have been sped up a bit. Also, Largo is hardly a memorable villain worthy of Bond as an opponent. Although Largo does participate in the proud tradition of Bond villains by having a pool filled with man-eating sharks, he's dull and not as menacing as Goldfinger and has no memorable henchman. At least this film doesn't make the mistake of "You Only Live Twice" by showing us Blofeld. He's much more menacing when seen as a hand stroking his cat and pushing buttons. If you like action, see "Thunderball", just don't expect a classic Bond film.