Plot Details: This opinion reveals everything about the movie's plot.
Thunderball was the top grossing Bond film until Moonraker and sold more tickets than any other Bond film. It's not hard to see why. Thunderball is Bond on an epic scale. What it lacks in dramatic perfection and casting, it makes up for in great visuals, music, and action sequences.
Historical Background: Although Terence Young did not direct the landmark third Bond film, Goldfinger, he directed all of the other films among the first four, which are three of the greatest in the entire series. Young was born on June 20, 1915 in Shanghai, to British parents. He was later educated at Cambridge and entered the movie industry in 1936. His first directorial experience came co-directing the documentary Men of Arnhem (1944). His first solo effort was Corridor of Mirrors (1948). Although he had made about 18 films before being tapped by Broccoli and Saltzman to direct the original Bond film, Dr. No (1962), none were especially noteworthy. He found his niche with the Bond series, however, following his first success with two more, From Russia with Love (1963) and Thunderball (1965). After that, he returned to cranking out obscure films, up to as late as 1982.
The Story: The pre-credit sequence begins in France, where 007 is disappointedly attending the funeral of Col. Jacques Boitier (Bob Simmons), an agent of SPECTRE responsible for the assassination of two British agents. Bond's disappointment stems from the fact that he had wanted to kill Boitier himself, but somebody else beat him to it. Or did they? Bond notices that the chauffeur doesn't open the door for the veiled widow as she gets into her car. When Madame Boitier arrives home, Bond is waiting in her room to "pay his respects." He cold cocks "her" because she's actually Boitier in drag. After a protracted fight entailing bookcases, chairs, and a fireplace poker, Boitier ends up dead. Bond has to beat a hasty retreat to the rooftop, where he dons a jetpack and quickly flies a few blocks away to his waiting Aston Martin, complete with bulletproof shield, water hoses, and a lovely lady from the section office in France.
The credits now run against the title song, "Thunderball," sung by Tom Jones, and a colorful credit sequence featuring silhouettes of girls swimming in pools of orange or blue water, with purple, green, or red bubbles and wakes. As the film proper begins, the scene shifts to a street in Paris, where the formidable Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi), wearing a patch over one eye, emerges from his car and enters SPECTRE headquarters. The top SPECTRE agents are delivering their progress reports to #1, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who sits partly hidden behind a steel screen, stroking his white cat. When #11 reports the profits from narcotic sales in America, supervised by himself and #9, Blofeld expresses his dissatisfaction by electrocuting #9 in his chair. The chair then sinks into the floor and later comes back up empty. Now it is time for #2, Emilio Largo, to report on his NATO project.
Largo's ambitious plan involves the theft of two atomic warheads during a NATO training exercise. Under the direction of SPECTRE agent Count Lippe (Guy Doleman), Angelo Palazzi (Paul Stassino) has been trained as a pilot and subjected to plastic surgery to make him a twin of NATO officer Major Francois Derval. Derval is murdered and Palazzi takes his place. The murder is undertaken at the Shrublands Health Spa and, as luck would have it, that's where Bond is taking some rest, recuperation, and physical therapy following his run-in with Boitier. In between sessions entertaining the lovely irrigationist, Patricia Fearing (Molly Peters), with a mink glove, the naturally suspicious Mr. Bond investigates the activities of Lippe and Palazzi. Lippe takes offense at Bond's prying and very nearly kills him by speeding of the exercise rack to which Bond is strapped. Bond later retaliates by locking Lippe into a heat treatment oven and cranking the heat setting to the max. Later, Lippe tries to kill Bond in a car chase but is himself killed by red-headed SPECTRE assassin Fiona Volpe (Luciana Paluzzi) because Palazzi had demanded more than the agreed upon payment for services.
Meanwhile, Palazzi has boarded the Vulcan jet carrying the warheads. He's been equipped by SPECTRE with an air pack to isolate himself from the plane's air supply so he can contaminate it with cyanide. With the rest of the crew dead, Palazzi lands the plane on the ocean surface near Nassau. After it sinks, Largo and his men, waiting aboard Largo's nearby luxury yacht, the Disco Volanté, retrieve the missiles and cover the jet with a camouflaging net. SPECTRE then delivers its ultimatum to the NATO leaders: a $280 million (£100 million) payoff or a major city in the U.S. or Britain will be destroyed.
The double-0's are called into emergency session for what will be code-named "Operation Thunderball." In the top security packet of material provided, Bond recognizes the photograph of Maj. Derval as the man he had seen dead at Shrublands. He requests M (Bernard Lee) to assign him to Nassau, where Derval's sister, Dominique (Claudine Auger) resides. Bond makes contact with Dominique (nicknamed Domino), skin diving near a coral reef. Domino's "guardian" (actually, she's his mistress), Emilio Largo, keeps her under close surveillance.
Bond acquires an assistant, Paula Caplan (Martine Beswick), and joins forces with local agent Pinder (Earl Cameron) and CIA agent Felix Leiter (Rik Van Nutter). Q (Desmond Llewelyn) also flies into town to provide some useful gadgets, including a Geiger counter disguised as a camera, an underwater camera, a four-minute underwater breather, and an ingestible homing device. That evening, Bond meets Largo at the blackjack table, where James's luck holds up nicely, much to Largo's chagrin. That evening, Bond does some reconnaissance, photographing the underside of Largo's ship. It has a suspicious underwater hatch, big enough for loading missiles. Largo discovers Bond snooping about and sends a speedboat with henchmen to kill him, with hand grenades and machineguns, but Bond manages to make it back to shore. There, he catches a ride with none other than the high-spirited Fiona Volpe, who drives him back to Nassau at a breakneck speed.
Bond accepts Largo's invitation to lunch with him at his plush estate on Palmyra, complete with shark pools. After the two men size up one another, Largo invites Bond to escort Domino to the Junkanoo (Mardi Gras-like) festival that night. Bond does so, until Leiter shows up to report that Paula Caplan is missing. Bond infiltrates Largo's estate, with the help of a brief blackout, but finds Paula already dead. When Largo discovers that there's an intruder around, he directs his henchmen, including Vargas (Philip Locke) and Janni (Michael Brennan), to find him. Bond evades his pursuers for a while, but, in a scuffle, he and one of the henchmen fall into the shark pool. Largo closes the pool's metal cover, trapping the two men with no breathing space. Then, to make doubly certain that Bond is killed, Largo releases the sharks into the pool from their holding pens. Bond, however, has the breathing device provided by Q and when the sharks emerge, Bond swims through the sharks' holding pen into another pool, from where he is able to escape.
Returning to the hotel, Bond confronts Fiona Volpe, who had taken the room adjacent to his own. Having seen her car at Largo's estate, he now knows that she too is a SPECTRE agent. She's bathing in her tub and Bond's sympathy for her situation extends only so far as handing her a pair of shoes to put on as she climbs out. The rivalry between the pair is not enough to keep them from climbing into bed for a go around, but, immediately thereafter, Fiona pulls a gun on Bond as a group of Largo's henchmen arrive at the door. As the thugs are driving Bond back to Largo's place, the car gets caught up in the Junkanoo congestion. Bond escapes by a ruse, but Fiona and the henchmen pursue him and ultimately corner him at the Kiss-Kiss cabana club. Bond gets stuck dancing with Fiona as one of her henchmen moves in for a clean shot. Bond manages to swing Fiona into the line of fire at the last moment. Then he deposits her in a spare chair at a table where a couple of men are sitting, saying, "Do you mind if she sits this one out? She's just dead."
With Fiona out of the way, Bond's attention is back onto Largo. Bond and Leiter return to searching the waters around Nassau for evidence of the missing plane. Finally, they locate it. The missiles are gone, however, so Bond recovers the watch and dog tags from the dead Palazzi – items that once belonged to Major Derval. Bond uses the items to open Domino's eyes to the death of her brother and Largo's involvement. James enlists her help, starting with her warning him that Vargas is approaching from behind, gun in hand. Bond dispatches Vargas with a spear gun, pinning him to a tree. Domino then informs Bond about a seaside cave that Largo will not allow anyone to go near.
Bond checks out the cave and sees Largo and his team of divers about to head into action. Bond overcomes one of their number and climbs into the man's diving gear, in which he is indistinguishable from the others. Bond is thus able to follow the group to where the bombs have been hidden. Bond's presence is ultimately discovered and he is prevented from entering the vault into which the villains have gone. Leiter, in a helicopter, finds Bond via his homing signal, and the two call for backup, which arrives in the form of an underwater combat team. Bond's unit, dressed in red wet suits, take on the black-suited divers of SPECTRE, ultimately overcoming them. Largo himself gets away and returns to the Disco Volanté. Allied navy ships are bearing down on Largo's vessel, but Largo still has an ace in the hole. His luxury vessel sheds its "cocoon" to reveal a high-speed hydrofoil that is able to outrace the Navy ships. Bond, however, had already climbed onto one of the pontoons and makes his way to the pilots cabin, for a final showdown with Largo and the remaining henchmen. Bond and Domino manage to jump off the Disco Volanté just before it blows up on a reef and, soon, Bond and Domino are rescued spectacularly from their life raft.
Production Values: The story behind the story for this film is rather bizarre. The film took its name and plot from the ninth novel by Ian Fleming and follows the book more closely than do most Bond films. The screenwriters, Kevin McClory and Jack Whittingham, had a special connection to the story. Back in 1960, before Broccoli and Saltzman had become interested in Fleming's characters, McClory and Whittingham approached Fleming to propose a film based on 007. They got as far as drafting a story, but the movie deal (which they hoped would star Richard Burton as Bond) fell through. Fleming then took the scenario that McClory and Whittingham had drafted and turned it into his novel, Thunderball (1961). McClory and Whittingham's contribution to the story were some of the hallmark components of the series, including the character Blofeld and the SPECTRE organization. In a series of pitched legal battles, McClory fought against Broccoli and Saltzman for the right to make his own Bond movies. In the end, McClory won only the right to remake Thunderball specifically, which became the non-series film Never Say Never Again (1983). The pressure of the legal imbroglio may have contributed to Fleming's deteriorating health and death.
The quality of the script is mixed. On the one hand, it provides more good comedy elements than the predecessor films, but without crossing the line into the spoof or self-parody that would become so evident beginning with Diamonds Are Forever (1971) and, more so, in the films of the Roger Moore era. The one-liners in Thunderball are as sharp and crisp as for any Bond film. Another script strength is how clearly it differentiated itself from its great predecessor film, Goldfinger (1964). Rather than trying to outdo the masterpiece in its own fashion, the writers wisely chose to strike out in a new direction, with an underwater epic. The weakness of the script for Thunderball is that it lacks the dramatic thrust of its predecessors and the best of the successors. It comes across a bit like a series of set pieces loosely strung together. Although there are more Bond girls in this film than the preceding ones, only one is especially interesting. There are also more henchmen, but equally ordinary. There are even multiple villains, if one counts both #1 (Blofeld) and #2 (Largo), but only Largo is featured and he's less memorable than Dr. No, Goldfinger, or, even, Klaus Maria Brandauer's brilliant rendition of the same Largo character in Never Say Never Again.
The success of Goldfinger opened up the funding spigot for Broccoli and Saltzman, allowing them to invest some $9 million in Thunderball, compared to just $2.5 million for Goldfinger. Although $9 million would be a pittance by today's standards, it was a hefty sum for a film of the mid-sixties. That strong financial backing allowed Thunderball to be made on an epic scale – for better and for worse. It was a film on a grander proportions than any preceding Bond film, but, as though to give it added weight, the film's creators allowed the length of it to stretch out to 133 minutes. Some of the underwater scenes drag on interminably. After spending so much money to produce gorgeous underwater footage, the editors apparently couldn't bring themselves to pare it down enough to suit the dramatic pace.
The cinematography for this film is truly spectacular, featuring the crystalline, azure-blue, shallow waters off the Bahamas, from both above and below the surface. The underwater scenes were expertly shot by specialist Lamar Boren, using as many as sixty divers at a time. All of the underwater scenes had to be choreographed in parking lots ahead of time since communication while underwater was highly impractical. Boren constructed airtight cameras with portable power supplies. Ted Moore provided the more conventional cinematography and added gorgeous and expansive Caribbean vistas along with some exciting and tension packed shots at a Junkanoo festival.
Several of the action scenes are top quality. I liked the drama of the pre-credit sequence and the nifty conclusion in which Bond flies away using a jetpack. The escape from the shark pool at Palmyra was fiendishly clever. The big action piece is the underwater battle between the Navy frogmen and the SPECTRE continent. John Barry haunting music, scored for full orchestra, adds to the magnificence of underwater scenes. The fight between Bond and Largo on the hydrofoil is somewhat of a disappointment, with overly obvious rear projections. The musical score for this film is certainly among the best of the entire series, even if the title song is only average.
The gadgets that spring up in this film are as numerous and imaginative as any Bond film has provided. The standouts are the jetpack in the pre-credit sequence and the cocoon-shedding Disco Volanté at the end, but between those two are a slew of clever, if lesser, devices. I particularly liked the four-minute breathing device, which bailed Bond out repeatedly. Production designer Ken Adam was responsible for Largo's unique luxury yacht, purchasing a hydrofoil and then constructing and attaching the cocoon.
If there's a disappointment with this film, it's in the casting. Adolfo Celi, though an accomplished actor, is a bit bland for a Bond villain. Celi effectively reprised his performance as Largo in the amusing That Man from Rio. I also adored Celi's work in The King of Hearts, but as a Bond villain, he only so-so. The henchmen are all forgettable as well, although Philip Locke has one moment as Vargas that is priceless. Largo introduces Bond to Vargas and comments, "We all have our passions, Mr. Bond. Take Mr. Vargas, for instance. Vargas does not smoke. Vargas does not drink. Vargas does not make love. What is your passion, Vargas?" Vargas suddenly looks askance as though deeply ashamed and we all understand that what Vargas does for passion is kill.
Thunderball certainly provides a select bevy of beauties. Luciana Paluzzi is outstanding as the rapacious Fiona Volpe, but, even so, Barbara Carrera would outdo her in the remake. Paluzzi finds a splendid balance between sophisticated seductiveness and cold viciousness. "Oh I forgot your ego, Mr. Bond," she says, icily. "James Bond, who only has to make love to a woman and she starts to hear heavenly choirs singing. She repents and immediately returns to the side of right and virtue. Well not this one! What a blow it must be to have a failure!" Molly Peters also does a fine job in the limited role of Patricia Fearing. Bond's sexism seldom makes me cringe but I don't much care for the threat he uses to coerce Fearing into shedding her clothing. Martine Beswick does all right in a small role as Paula Caplan. Luciana Paluzzi, a former Miss France, is gorgeous in both face and form, but her acting leaves a lot to be desired and, worse, her voice had to be dubbed by Nikki Van der Zyl, and it shows.
Off-setting the casting deficits is the fact that Connery was in top form, adding a touch of confident wit to his suave, tough, ironic, and charismatic macho demeanor. Bond is ultimately what most viewers watch these films to see, so Connery's performance goes a long way to elevating this film into the upper echelon.
Bottom-Line: The Special Edition DVD is loaded with extras. There are two commentary tracks, one with director Terence Young and the other featuring editor Peter Hunt and writer John Hopkins. Two documentaries are provided, one entitled "The Thunderball Phenomenon" and the other "The Making of Thunderball." There's also a promotional featurette called "Inside Thunderball." Also included is a collection of about 150 stills. This is one of the top Bond film, certainly in the top third of the series, despite some flaws. Here then, is my Overall Certified Gold Bond Rating for this film, using my system that facilitates comparisons across the series:
Bond: Sean Connery Rating: 5/5
Villains: Emilio Largo (Claudine Auger) 3/5; Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Anthony Dawson) 3/5; Col. Jacques Bouvar (Bob Simmons) 3/5 Overall Rating: 3/5
Bond (good) Girls: Dominique "Domino" Derval (Claudine Auger) with visibly poor lip-syncing 2/5; Patricia Fearing (Molly Peters) 4/5; Paula Caplan (Martine Beswick) 4/5 Overall Rating: 3/5
Colleagues: M (Bernard Lee) 5/5; Q (Desmond Llewelyn) 5/5; Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) 5/5; Felix Leiter (Rik Van Nutter) 3/5; Air Vice Marshal Sir John (Edward Underdown) 3/5; Pinder (Earl Cameron) 3/5 Overall Rating: 5/5
Storyline: Stealing nuclear warheads for ransom 3/5; underwater story elements 4/5; poor narrative momentum 3/5 Rating: 3/5
Action: Pre-credit killing of Col. Bouvar 5/5; shark pool escape 5/5; Fiona'a pursuit of Bond at the Junkanoo festival 4/5; climactic underwater battle 4/5 (beautifully choreographed but needing tighter editing); fight on Hydrofoil with obvious rear projection 2/5 Rating: 4/5
Toys: Jetpack 5/5; Aston Martin with shield and hoses 3/5; book with hidden tape recorder 3/5; four minute breather 5/5; camera Geiger counter 3/5; ingestible homing device 3/5; underwater sleds 4/4; CO2-powered spear guns 3/5; cocoon-shedding hydrofoil 5/5 Overall Rating: 5/5
Character Development: Bond persona perfected; Largo and Fiona moderately well-developed; Dominique poorly developed Rating: 4/5
Music: "Thunderball" theme song very good, but short of the best; overall soundtrack possibly the best of the series Rating: 5/5
Locales: Jamaica, above and below the azure blue coral seas Rating: 5/5
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Overall Certified Gold Bond Rating: 49/60
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