Thunderball [DVD]

This is a decent Bond film. It's got Sean Connery as Bond and he hasn't lost any of his appeal. It's also close to the book which I really like. And yet, it's never been one of my favourites in the series. Having seen it less often than most of the other Bond films, I decided to give it whirl last night. It kept me nicely entertained, especially the first half of the film with some of the more memorable moments of the franchise. There is the pretitle sequence with Bond attending his own funeral, the epic getaway with the jet pack, and who could forget Fiona Volpe on her golden motorbike, played by the bewitching Luciana Paluzzi? The scenes in the spa where Bond is whipped back into shape are fun to watch, Adolfo Celi makes a decent adversary, the Spectre lair is suitably intimidating. All good so far.What doesn't work quite so well for me is the second half of the film. Not the story line, mind you. That's solid enough. And the Bahamas locations are glorious. But there are these endless underwater sequences, and I can't help finding them just a bit dull. I'm sure technically they're brilliant, and back in the 60 probably novel and exciting, but I found them too long and too slow and was wishing for a good fast paced chase on land. Or some dialogue. But maybe that's just me.The DVD is good. Excellent picture and sound, subtitles for those who may need them and any amount of extra material (this latter refers to the 2 disc Ultimate Edition I purchased).

James Bond goes The Bahamas to investigate why two nuclear warheads were stolen by S.P.E.C.T.R.E..Connery's forth film is one of his most disappointing. Staring with the positives, Connery again impresses in particular the action scenes, Adolfo Celi makes for a formidable adversary and Luciana Paluzzi is a memorable Bond girl. The John Barry soundtrack and Tom Jones's theme are suitably big and dramatic (it would have been interesting to see & hear Dionne Warwick's alternate song Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang used in the film) & the pre-credits sequence is excellent one of the most memorable in the film. However the best thing about the film is the action and effects by John Stears, there are incredibly well made and put together.There are a few downsides though, Claudine Auger as the leading lady "Domino" is one of the least memorable Bond girls and is totally out shined by the villainous Fiona Volpe (Luciana Paluzzi), director Terence Young making last Bond has a few difficulties in keeping the pace up, in particular underwater stuff and quite a few other scenes which last a little too long. The main weakness is for me though the above mentioned underwater sequences, they go too long and in turn it does become confusing as too what's going on at times and I also thought that the climax could've been edited together a bit tighter.Given the 3 films that went before, this doesn't stand out nearly as much but, overall this is still a very and enjoyable good action adventure that's easy to watch. 3.5/5

This is review of the HD quality. Well worth the upgrade from the Ultimate Edition DVD . Picture is sharp and the colours vibrant, but not quite as good as Dr No . We know Laury labs did an excellent job of cleaning and restoring the bond movies to perfection, within the capability of DVD. This is the only scene i have found a flaw on the Blu Ray . It’s not on the Laury make over UE DVD. The HD quality is that enjoyable, that you quite taken a back when you see the obvious flaw. Don’t be put off, it makes you realise how much work had gone into cleaning this film up.Again as I said before, you are probably viewing this film better now than when it was first released

The last of the truly great 60's Connery outings, 1965's 'Thunderball' was the first aquatic bond of the series, and is still one of the very best. The welcome return of director Terence Young makes it feel much like the first two instalments, though there is definitely an emphasis on 'bigger'. The movies finale, a huge underwater battle sequence was ground breaking stuff, and still impressive today. This title was one of Ian Fleming's best literary adventures, and at this stage the movies were still following the books closely. In the years ahead 007 movies of this standard were to become increasingly sporadic, however in this glorious vintage, it was the fourth classic in a row. The blu ray transfer is quality too, for this one my own favourites.

Despite beating box office records at the time of its original release this is a bit slow. A nice underwater fight scene, but too much toing and froing in Nassau and some longueurs at Shrublands make it more tiresome than I remember it when I saw it first when I was nine. Perhaps it - or I - have just become a bit dated. Good quality restoration (the film) though.

James Bond goes to the Bahamas to retrieve two stolen nuclear warheads after they are stolen by SPECTRE and comes up against their agent, Largo. The 4th Bond film, the films are growing in confidence now with Sean Connery playing the role of Bond in his sleep but as excellent as ever. Excellent action scenes, the first underwater action in the series and a good villain in Largo. SPECTRE dominate the early Bond films but still no sign of leader Blofeld, he'll be introduced in next film You Only Live Twice. One of my favourite Bond films, the films are on a roll here, it will get remade as Never Say Never Again, not an official Bond film but it once again stars Sean Connery. The regular supporting characters, M, Q, Miss Moneypenny and CIA agent Felix Leiter again played by a different actor all in the film and on form. A must for fans and again looks stunning on bluray.

A very good film that I am sure many will enjoy at any time of the weekor time of dayGet a nice mug tea an some biccies put your feet up and enjoy your selfSorry Ladies not a weepyBut a film that's worth Five Gold Stars at any time so try going forthe collection as I am doingfromSATAN