Thunderball

release year: 1965
genre: James Bond
viewing setting: home Bluray, 1/9/19 and 12/8/12 and home DVD 11/27/99

synopsis: Bond has less than 100 hours to find the nuclear missiles that SPECTRE stole.

impressions: This was another great one. Notable features: lots of underwater action, a shark pool, a most conspicuous Felix, good final fight scene in speeding hovercraft.

acting: Sean Connery had a lot of good lines this time, and as far as messing with peoples' heads goes, this may have been his best show. The guy who played Largo was efficient and ruthless. I wasn't too impressed with Claudine Auger as Domino, at least not her acting skills.

car chases: 1

mass fight at end: SPECTRE agents vs U.S. Navy divers, underwater

neat gadgets: jetpack, Geiger counter watch, mini-oxygen tank, some car loaded with tricks

confirmed Bond kills: 17

confirmed Largo kills: 3

confirmed Bond seductions: 3

obnoxious female name: Domino

defining Bond moments:

tosses flowers onto body of guy he just killed
snatches some fruit from bowl in enemy's office while sneaking out
locks some guy in steam room as revenge for previous slight
blackmails massage girl into fooling around with him
casually hits fire alarm for no reason
disables the boat he and Paula are riding in so that he can hitch a ride with Domino
repeatedly toys with Largo, most notably in the skeet shooting scene
grabs some random woman to dance with him so he won't look conspicuous
uses treacherous woman as shield against attacker (just like in Goldfinger!)

quotable:

Bond: "Do I seem healthy?"

massage girl: "Too healthy by far."<

random woman: (after Bond covertly tripped the fire alarm and everybody's running around in chaos) "What's going on? What's happening?"

Bond: "I don't know. Could it be the front doorbell?"

(good minute-long sequence, too complicated to record, at 45:00)

Bond: "Your guardian has you watched?"

Domino: "He likes to know where I am."

Bond: "I don't blame him."

Fiona: "So. What sharp little eyes you've got."

Bond: "Wait til you get to my teeth."

Bond: (sees Q walk in) "Oh, no."

Fiona: "Well, this is as far as I go."

Bond: "Me too - this is my hotel."

Fiona: "What a coincidence!"

Bond: "It is. How convenient."

Bond: (regarding Largo's skeet gun) "Looks more fitting for a woman."

Largo: "Do you know much about guns, Mr. Bond?"

Bond: "No. I know a little about women."

Bond: (to the shark he just escaped) "Sorry, old chap. Better luck next time."

Fiona: (sitting naked in the bathtub) "Aren't you in the wrong room, Mr. Bond?"

Bond: "Not from where I'm standing."

Fiona: "While you're here, would you mind giving me something to put on?"

Bond: (tosses her some shoes)

final word: Another of the best Bond movies - worth seeing.

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