Flickering Myth’s writing team count down to the release of Skyfall by discussing their favourite James Bond films; next up is Martin Deer with Thunderball…
When I saw the notice pop up on the Flickering Myth Facebook page for us to pick our “favourite Bond” to review in the build-up to Skyfall I immediately typed “Thunderball” – even though at that point I still had 21 films to choose from. Afterwards I found myself thinking “why?”. Why had I picked Thunderball? It never stood out to me before as my favourite and yet here I was claiming it without having to think about it. It’s a great film, for sure, but I was wondering what my subconscious knew that I didn’t, and so I was eager to find out.
After re-watching the film I thought about its predecessors – Dr. No, From Russia with Love and Goldfinger – and I think Thunderball is definitely the beginning of some by-the-numbers story elements that we’d see in later films. It takes a lot of flack for this, with many claiming that Connery looks bored in the role by this point, which I’d wholeheartedly disagree with. I love Connery in this; from the charmer at the spa centre to the cold hearted spy when dealing with the SPECTRE agent Fiona Volpe, Connery is great. As great as the previous three? Probably not, but I think it’s a criticism that’s over used when analyzing his performance.
But that seems to be the thing with Thunderball. It’s criticised – although not completely under-appreciated – for what it is; for example the underwater fight scenes, which really are incredible from a technological standpoint. And whilst yes, I agree that they do indeed drag on too long, almost to the point of boredom, it is this negative that is focused on, rather than the wonderful cinematography and choreography in filming the scenes.
As previously mentioned SPECTRE are once again the major villains of the film, making their third appearance, although this time the primary antagonist is Emilio Largo, SPECTRE’s number 2. His plan, perhaps a little more OTT and theatrical than what we’d seen before, is to steal nuclear weapons from NATO and hold the United States and Great Britain to ransom for… One… Million… Dollars! It’s a little out there, but it works in this film.
Thunderball is, more than anything, a fun Bond movie. It’s still fairly serious, not quite reaching the highs of Goldfinger nor the grittiness of From Russia with Love, and overall is a more lighthearted affair, but still immensely fun in my eyes. My favourite Bond movie? Perhaps not looking back on it, but it’s certainly one of them, and I’m glad I chose it to give it the respect it deserves amongst the great entries in the Bond franchise.
Martin Deer
Originally published October 8, 2012. Updated April 14, 2018.
