Thunderball1965
Thunderball (1965)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Lavishly rendered set pieces and Sean Connery's enduring charm make Thunderball a big, fun adventure, even if it doesn't quite measure up to the series' previous heights.
Thunderball Photos
Movie Info
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Cast
as James Bond
as Emilio Largo
as Domino Derval
as Fiona Volpe

as Felix Leiter

as Felix Leiter
as Count Lippe
as Patricia Fearing
as Paula Caplan
as M
as Q
as Miss Moneypenny

as Varga

as Major Derval/Angelo Palazzi
as Pinder

as Mme. Boitier

as Kutze

as Janni

as Group Captain
as Foreign Secretary
as Air Vice Marshall

as Kenniston

as Quist

as Mlle. La Porte

as Jacques Boitier

as Hydrofoil Captain
as Ernst Stavro Blofeld
as Prue
News & Interviews for Thunderball
Critic Reviews for Thunderball
All Critics (52) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (45) | Rotten (7) | DVD (10)
If Thunderball's gimmickry seems to overreach at times, Actor Connery gains assurance from film to film, by now delivers all his soppiest Jimcracks martini-dry.

Slightly bloated Bond, with too much technology for my taste and a climactic slaughter that's a little too mindless to be much fun.
There's visible evidence that the reported $5.5 million budget was no mere publicity figure; it's posh all the way.
The fourth Bond, marking the point at which spectacular hardware began to dominate the series. Sleek and quite fun all the same.

The color is handsome. The scenery in the Bahamas is an irresistible lure. Even the violence is funny. That's the best I can say for a Bond film.
Two Bond staples, gratuitous sex and violence, are captured in Thunderball's underwater-photography scenes, and they still look incredible 25 years later.

Audience Reviews for Thunderball
"...And he STRIKES!!! Like Thunderbolt!!!" (Gotta love that Tom Jones theme song) A bit overlong but still remains my personal favorite Sean Connery-era James Bond film. Great larger-than-life set pieces perfectly balanced out by carefully crafted slow-burn suspense sequences. Terence Young (Dr. No, From Russia with Love) returns to helm and I think this movie demonstrates that he was by far one of the franchises best directors next to Martin Campbell, John Glen, and Sam Mendes. Connery gives probably his most self-assured performance yet as James Bond and Fiona Volpe (played wonderfully by the beautiful Luciana Paluzzi) remains one of my favorite femme fetales of the series next to Xenia Onatopp of "Goldeneye." The usual make-or-break element of this film are the extensive underwater sequences, but personally I love them. They are gorgeously shot and the epic underwater battle between the good and evil Spectre army is fantastic.
Super Reviewer
"Thunderball" may not be a crowd favourite, but I really got a kick out of the story in this film and how well the underwater action scenes presented themselves. The action is top-notch and I could easily re-watch this film for that reason alone. As always, the acting is fantastic by the entire cast, especially Sean Connery, and all the elements of a great Bond film are present. It is definitely not without it's overlong running time, but if you sit through the film and be patient, you will get was you deserve. This film has great direction and very solid effects for it's time. "Thunderball" is one of the better bond films I've seen.
Super Reviewer
Though the gadgets get too gimmicky and the climax feels like anything but, 'Thunderball' is significant because it is carried by Connery's most assured performance as Bond.
Super Reviewer
Thunderball Quotes
James Bond: | What I did was for Queen and country. Surely you don't think it gave me any pleasure? |
Emilio Largo: | Someone has to lose! |
James Bond: | Yes, I thought I saw a spectre over shoulder! |
Emilio Largo: | What did you mean? |
James Bond: | The spectre of the defeat! |
Domino Derval: | I'm glad I killed him. |
James Bond: | You're glad? |
James Bond: | I hope we didn't scare the fishes. |