THUNDERBALL - which finds Bond returning to the Caribbean in a race against the clock in order to prevent SPECTRE from detonating a pair of nuclear bombs
Coming off the huge success of Goldfinger, Thunderball seems to know it needs to try to be bigger, brighter, and bolder - and doesn't always succeed. SPECTRE returns as the upgraded evil organization in this movie, helmed by the still-shrouded-in-mystery Number One (holding court in a huge hidden sanctuary, quite the improvement from the tiny office we saw in From Russia With Love. Number One's second in command Number Two functions as the feet-on-the-ground villain Bond is up against, and while capable, can't hold a candle to Goldfinger.
Thunderball is SPECTRE's first chance to really shine as an evil organization - we get a much clearer picture of the scope and reach of their operations, and the extensive heist scene in the early section of the film - while tedious at times - really drives home the point that These Bad Guys Have Their Evil Shit Together. They are more than competent - and only Bond can stop them.
There are some moments when Thunderball really ratchets up the cheese factor. The cold open (featuring a crossdressing assassin and a truly guffaw-inducing out-of-nowhere jetpack flight) are the first times I've felt the franchise really crosses the line into cheese-ville. There are a few questionable uses of special effects and sped up background footage in places that just feel...off. Maybe they're trying to re-invent the wheel in places so as not to let Bond #4 get too "stale". One could hypothesize (or read trivia and making-of specials) all day - but I'm mostly working to take these movies at face value as I watch them.
For the most part, this is still a really good movie. It feels lackluster in places after Goldfinger, but almost anything would. The extensive underwater fighting scenes in Act Three suffer from a little bit of drag, but the choice to be innovative in having a large-scale hand-to-hand (and harpoon-gun-to-harpoon-gun) multi-combatant fight underwater is a nice fresh set piece.
Observations
- Here we get, for the first time, Connery (and not his stunt double) doing the opening credit Bond-gunshot-moment, and it's so, so, so much better. The one in the first three was painful. Connery makes it look good. What a relief.
- That THUNDERBALL opening theme song - oh, it's delicious. Goldfinger was good, but Thunderball as sung by Tom Jones is hands down the best theme song so far. Might it be topped? Sure, but it's an absolute stand out.
- I got worried when Q didn't show up with gadgets in Act 1 as usual - what a relief for him to show up for a "field supply" in the middle of Act 2.
- Some real shades of throwback to Dr. No - Bond working to uncover a mystery in the Caribbean alongside a USA special agent and a helpful red-shirted native.
- BONK COUNT - 3 with 3 different women (including one tryst with an OBVIOUS femme fatale and another one later in the movie underwater - living dangerously, James). This brings our total to 13 bonks with 11 bonkees.
We're over the halfway point for Connery and I already know I will be sad to see him go. But for now, there is still more to enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment