Review of Thunderball (1965) by Amheretojudge — 06 May 2019

Third time's not the charm, Young fails and Connery takes the blame, while the banner might still be happy with the result.

Thunderball Young is in charge again. And the vacation he took seems like, it was definitely an unaffordable one.Third time's not the charm, Young fails and Connery takes the blame, while the banner might still be happy with the result.

Thunderball.

Young is in charge again. And the vacation he took seems like, it was definitely an unaffordable one. The price this franchise faces, this time, is that it is the first upset of so many to come. But what's ironical is that while this film was pitched or presented with spectacular suggestions, it frankly would have seemed like the best of all. Using their budget to its best, what the creators have tried to pull off in such a scale is surely admirable. But tested with time, and it unfortunately doesn't hold up to the promises it has to offer. And mind you, it is not the inadequacy on technology or creativity, it is the execution itself.

With a narration so ambiguous and execution so precarious, there was always very little chance for it to ever make it into the big leagues. The director Terence Young is giving his all, from brimming his scenes with catchy one liners to levity and from brutal action to more fire blazing in the background, but while doing so, he left out a key ingredient: romance. The romance between Sean Connery and whoever the antagonist is this time, there is no dance between them for us to care about, frankly, either of them.

Connery playing this character for the fourth time, seems natural by now, flirting shamelessly and drinking carelessly, his unbiasedness towards his likes and dislikes has gone habitual to us. This longest chapter of the franchise, up till then, seems like a literal waste of time, for as far as brain is concerned, it doesn't have the ability to provoke us in using it. This Thunderball won't let you have a ball, it may not be even considered as an entertaining one, let alone a gritty thriller which so it blatantly claims to be.