Miles Messervy 007
Posts: 6870
Joined: 11/2/2009
|
I disagree on Thunderball. Here is a great fan review of it (not mine, I'll review it in April):Thunderball
It's safe to say that James Bond is back in action!
Sure, they said that about Goldfinger, but I believe Thunderball was far more exciting and more Bond-esque than Goldfinger was. Of the films following DN and FRWL, I also think that TB was the film that could most closely relate to those two. By that, I mean, Bond seems like the Bond he was in those films, the locations are again stunning, we've got beautiful women, tons of danger, and the return of another bunch of ruthless SPECTRE agents.
The locations in this Bond flick were nearly as gorgeous as the places we saw in Dr. No. Sure, at first we're stuck with Bond while he's at the clinic- what could be beautiful about that location? However, as we move on to Nassau, there's hardly an unattractive site. The water's gorgeous, the beaches are beautiful, the hotel is high-end and comfortable looking, and the streets are swarming with plenty of people. Then, we even get a look at SPECTRE's main meeting room- grand and diabolical seeming, thanks again to Ken Adam.
Barry delivers another superb soundtrack, with plenty of themes that fit right in with the underwater scenes, beach scenes, and the beauty of the locations. We also get a few Bond themes, which also add Connery's suave and stylish looks in the film. Not much to complain about here. My favorite piece is probably the Chateau Flight, which really enhances Bond's PTS fight.
Emilio Largo- I see him as a Dr. No 2.0. He's certainly a well-respected SPECTRE member, and even has the high rank of #2. He's a very serious man, even when he's joking around with Bond. By the way he treats Domino, and his fellow SPECTRE henchmen, it's pretty easy to notice that Largo will do anything to succeed with his plans and impress Blofeld.
I see Connery's performance in this film as one step below his performance in Dr. No. For me, that's his top-notch performance... but his acting in Thunderball doesn't fall far from it. Again, as he had in the past three pictures, he's got that natural Bond style, look, and attitude. Having viewed all of the Connery films this week, to me, it's safe to say that this man is the only classic cinematic James Bond. I don't think anyone can replace him.
The girls in this movie were gorgeous. We had Domino, Fiona, and Paula. Unfortunately, we didn't see Paula as much as the others, however she was a very pretty woman for Bond to be working alongside of. Fiona- definitely the best bad girl of the Bond series, and sexiest bad girl too. Then, Domino- an innocent, nice girl, caught up in one big mess, in my opinion. The gorgeous Claudine Auger played the part well, and she was certainly a memorable Bond girl.
Rik Van Nutter played a decent Leiter, I suppose. It wasn't great, nor atrocious. I certainly thought his Leiter could be taken more seriously than Linder's from GF. It further proves that no Leiter was as great as Lord, though.
Aside from those aspects, Thunderball offers classic Bondian action, romance, humor, locations, plots, and characters. The overall plot of the film wasn't too complex, and intelligent- much like the earlier films. The gadgets were kept to a minimum: Bond had the re-breather, which is probably one of the most useful Bond gadgets. The jetpack was good fun in the PTS, too. The rest of the gadgets seemed more like real spy gadgets- the watch, the camera, the tracking pill. I think they threw a realistic touch on the world of Bond gadgets.
There are a few choppy bits of editing in this film, however, it's not anything to get worked up about.
Other than that, Thunderball makes for an excellent Connery Bond film, and is a superb addition to the series. While I hold DN and FRWL higher than it, Thunderball is given a secure #3 spot in my Bond film ranking list. Also- perhaps Terence Young has to do with my liking of some of the early Bond films. So, I just thought I'd give him a nod here, as he's my favorite Bond director.
RATING: 9.5 of 10
Here's the guys site:
http://brownonbond.wordpress.com/
_____________________________
quote:
jamesbondguy:
Miles is clearly the finest film theorist of his generation
quote:
Deviation:
if it isn't ham, I'll eat a living pig.
|
Printable Version
The Bond Thread: 22 - Quantum of Solace (2008) - 
: 
). 
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread