Bond 4: Thunderball (1965)

Elevator Pitch.

When SPECRE steals two atomic bombs, by hijacking a Vulcan bomber, and holds the civilised world to ransom Bond is dispatched to the Bahamas to infiltrate the organisation and to firstly find out what is going on, and secondly to locate the bombs. But the clock is ticking so can he convince the villain’s mistress to change sides and help him save the world?

Content.

We join SPECTRE in their meeting room, where an inefficient agent is dispatched, spend time in a spa where Bond is staying for his health and people creep about in the corridors; the Vulcans fly (terrific) and one is hijacked ending up on the seabed. Bond goes to Nassau and dallies with various young women as well as investigating SPECTRE’s No 2 at his villa which has a pool full of sharks. Then a lot of underwater stuff including extensive fights between the goodies and baddies mostly with harpoon guns, and several instances of implied sex, some wearing of swim suits and bikinis, and a bit of drinking.

A View.

This was a well liked Bond outing although I am with those who considered that there was too much underwater stuff, particularly the semi-climax where there was a lengthy fight where you would have a job to see what was going on. It also seemed to me that some of the acting was pretty wooden, but I saw it on TV and my version might not have been the final one that made general release. So despite the general levels of approval I might choose another Bond if you are not going to watch the whole franchise.