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You win. ;)
My other favorite thing about Thunderball.
Flawless victory.
That volcano lair alone is worth the watch
A big problem with Thunderball for me is we are told the plot immediately and are ahead of Bond throughout the majority of the film, whereas it was masterfully done in Goldfinger, how we were discovering the villains plot along with Bond
I like TB overall very much because of a variety of factors. The locations are FAR superior to the US locations in GF. I am fond of hot, wet places like the Caribbean, rather than a non-descript road mid-Kentucky with various tacky commercial establishments. I KNOW they were heading to a junkyard, so it won't be glamorous. The ladies in TB are stunning, and Connery himself looked terrific. Felix Leiter was played, for the first time since Jack Lord in DN, by a handsome tall guy who looked ready for action. (Underused, wasn't he ?) The glamor - a function of location, and of Largo living the high life. The sharks in the pool - I suppose they were the set-piece used in a manner like the buzz-saw in GF book and laser in GF film - a moment where Bond is in genuine danger, and he must find a way out of it. One aspect of TB I never liked was that it started the Bond-and-romantic partner-get-interrupted at the end of the film. Yes, they properly were on the water. Yes, they had a comfortable place to spend some time together before requesting rescue. But, also, yes - they got interrupted. This happened at the end of YOLT, too. Using a rather similar rescue float as was used in TB, which seemed rather lazy for the YOLT ending. Even in DN when Honey and Bond were rescued Bond let slip the tow-rope. Later, man, this was a time for the two to be together with no one else around ! TB also has Bond in a dinner jacket in a casino, for the first time since DN - though Bond's references to a word rarely used - "specter", as in spirit - was forced and not suave at all. It did, though, allow for a moment in which Largo reveals some of the baser aspects of his nature, despite the trappings of the high life with which he surrounds himself. Here's a question - and a timely one, given the bionic eye in NTTD - did anyone wonder much how Largo lost his eye ? Living a rough, violent life, sure. It might have made for an interesting bit of dialogue, though. For example - to heighten the weirdness between Largo and Vargas, if Vargas were the only person besides Largo who knew what happened. Perhaps even if Vargas did it, even unintentionally. There already was a very weird exchange between them, when Largo - in front of a person just met ! - said some VERY personal things about Vargas, and Vargas turned away. And then Largo just walks off as if it were nothing ! That weirdness between them is delicious. Not seen again until QOS, and only a bit. One might think it were present between Sanchez and Dario in LTK, but, nah, not really. At any rate, not that I want Bond films to be formulaic, but I like the way the settings, the glamor, the pretty ladies and handsome men, the dangerous and BIG villain's plan, the bit of globe-trotting, and Connery being in good shape and good form all came together.
While YOLT has a few superlatives including the cinematography, the score, and the insanely epic set design, the whole thing feels like a cartoon. I always shake my head through the whole “becoming Japanese” bit. I feel like this film set the stage for some of the most outlandish elements in the franchise.
Maybe I have the wrong perception of it, but I find the sections between Bond's escape from the airplane and his and Kissy's ascent to the volcano much slower and less engaging. I especially hate that section with Bond's Japanese makeover and the fake wedding. It's all so silly and seemingly useless.
Bingo! Cringey every time despite some beautiful scenery.
That's my one regret with my opinion, haha- the scenery really is awesome!
Can't really agree there. Maybe it would seem so after many repeated viewings, but it's all so varied I can't imagine many people get bored on their first watch of it. Not least because, as mentioned, it's all so beautiful to look and listen to.
Agreed. I also love how Bond seems pissed off to have to be walking around in the Japanese make-over. ;)