Thunderball Ultimate Edition (Blu-ray) (1965)

ReelViews 8 of 10
By the time Thunderball, the fourth in the "official" James Bond film canon, was released, the "Bond Formula" had already been perfected. It goes something like this: take the suave 007 (always impeccably dressed and ready with a witty one-liner) and add several beautiful, scantily-clad women, at least one exotic locale, a few neat gadgets, multiple polished action sequences, a megalomaniac villain, and a musical score by the inimitable John Barry. These elements, taken together, made Bond a huge success in the 1960s and have kept him riding a crest of financial profitability for more than three decades...Of all his Bond performances, Sean Connery seems the most comfortable here (not that he was ever uncomfortable). With three movies behind him and two more yet to come, Connery was in the midst of a career-making, successful run...The underwater sequences, which are choreographed and directed with great skill, are Thunderball's standout feature. Connery is more often in a bathing suit than a tuxedo here. A fair amount of time is spent beneath the ocean's surface, and, down in Neptune's realm, the photography (by Lamar Boren) is clear and the action sequences are invigorating (when they don't seem to last forever, that is). Thunderball is classic 007 -- not the best picture in the long-running series, to be sure, but a more-than-worthwhile diversion for the action-loving escapist in us all. - James Berardinelli
 
Reel.com 9 of 10
The challenge facing Bond producers Harry Saltzman and Albert "Cubby" Broccoli and director Terence Young in planning Goldfinger's follow-up was to come up with a stylish entertainment that would meet or exceed the Bond audience's now-raised expectations. What they came up with was Thunderball, a lively mix of girls, guns, and gadgets...Sean Connery is back in Thunderball as the sexiest of all the Bonds. This time, Agent 007 battles the agents of SPECTRE from the pristine beaches of Nassau (in the Bahamas), as he races against time to uncover the nuclear weapons stolen by SPECTRE agent Number Two, Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi) in SPECTRE's attempt to blackmail the world...Goldfinger had the Aston Martin sports car and all of its many gadgets to excite audiences. The Aston Martin disappears in Thunderball after the opening sequence, but what replaces it is nearly as amazing: some of the most spectacular underwater sequences ever put on film. Bond doesn't just have to contend with SPECTRE agents, but sharks as well. Production designer Ken Adam outdid himself in creating slick underwater crafts and gadgetry that add flavor to the underwater scenes. The final climactic battle between the forces of good and evil, shot by underwater-camera ace Lamar Boren and directed by Ricou Browning, is a sensational underwater ballet pitting man against man and man against fish. - Pam Grady