Sean Connery Is Back Again in My Watch Every James Bondathon
Read Time:2 Minute, 9 Second
MOVIE REVIEW
Thunderball
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Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Year Released: 1965
Runtime: 2h 10m
Director(s): Terence Young
Writer(s): Richard Maibaum (screenplay by,) John Hopkins (screenplay by,) Jack Whittingham (based on an original screenplay by)
Cast: Sean Connery, Claudine Auger, Adolfo Celi, Luciana Paluzzi, Rik Van Nutter, Guy Doleman, Molly Peters, Martine Beswick, Bernard Lee, Desmond Llewelyn, Lois Maxwell
Where To Watch: Available to stream on all major platforms
RAVING REVIEW: Not as good as DR. NO or GOLDFINGER but miles ahead of FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE; by this point, James Bond is the Bond that we’ve come to know and recognize.
By this point in the watch every James Bondathon, I’ve started to see the evolution come full circle. Growing up, I knew a specific style of James Bond, and that’s precisely what GOLDFINGER and this offered. While by today’s standards, this would be an offensive film, from some racial stereotypes to Connery’s terrible treatment of women in the movie.
One of the most significant weaknesses here is when the film takes us underwater, clearly an idea ahead of its time. Those scenes are particularly slow or almost cheesy (even compared with the rest of the film.) While I know Bond constantly pushes technology’s limits, this may have been just a bit too much.
This is very much a Bond that tries to take control of the scene; previously, he seemed more just to take orders and be that super spy. Here we see him taking control and having that defiant attitude that has also become synonymous with the character.
This time around, we still got some fun gadgets, but I feel like they took it down a notch after GOLDFINGER, which is a shame; I still think the over-the-top devices add a fun and unique twist to these films. Don’t get me wrong, there were still some greats here, but just a step backward.
While I appreciate Tom Jones as a singer, the title song for THUNDERBALL didn’t compare to Shirley Bassey’s song for GOLDFINGER. To be fair, I like all of the Bond theme songs, even the craziness that the 80s and 90s brought us.
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My wife says you can’t ever go wrong with a Sean Connery movie
I would have to agree for the most part.
TikTok: @mhawley1091. What is your favorite bond movie and whose is your favorite bond actor?
That’s tough; it’s honestly why I’m rewatching them all. I still have a long way to go but I still think Connery is the all-time James Bond.