Thunderball (1965)

"The cinema was a duller place before Bond." - Dilys Powell. The Sunday Times

"In the raw, racy action of the tale, Connery is better that ever - a maturer, more self-assured hero who wears the role like a glove. A mink one." - Donald Zec, The Daily Mirror

"It's not just that Sean Connery looks a lot more haggard and less heroic than he did two or three years ago (success can age a man so); but there is much less effort to establish him as connoisseur playboy. Apart from the off-handed order for Beluga, there is little of that comic display of bon viveur-manship that was one of the charms of Connery's almost-a-gentleman 007." - David Robinson, The Financial Times

"Unless things pick up somewhat it will take more than a one-man jet equipment to extract Bond with equal popular success from his next assignment." - The Times

"The explanation of SPECTRE's ransom plan takes a little time, but once the plot is clear it gallops from one lethal situation to another, dallying amusingly between them in the company of (with Bond) a succession of lovely girls, some good, some bad. The whole improbable concoction is put over with shattering speed and an irresistible sense of humour; you can't help laughing while you enjoy the dangers and admire dazzling use of Caribbean colour on the very large screen." - Kinematograph Weekly, 20 December 1965

"There's visible evidence that the reported $5,500,000 budget was no mere publicity figure; it's posh all the way, crammed with pop value, as company moves from France and England to the Bahamas... One of highlight sequence is the underwater battle between US Aquatroops, whom Bond calls upon after he locates the hidden bombs, and the heavies, both using spear guns for spectacular effect..." - Whit, Variety

Last Updated: 15 October, 2008