The criminal organisation SPECTRE implements a plan to steal two atomic bombs and use them to blackmail NATO. Unfortunately for them, random chance puts James Bond, codename 007, in the same place as the agent they're using for the mission. While they still succeed in stealing the bombs, Bond's seen enough to have a good lead on how to find the missing weapons. That said lead involves a beautiful woman is certainly not something to disappoint 007!
Thunderball was apparently considered as the first Bond novel to be adapted to the screen, but rights issues - or possibly finances - saw it pushed back, so ultimately it became the fourth novel to be filmed. It leans heavily into the tropes now established for the franchise, with beautiful women, sardonic quips and quirky gadgets all having a featured role. Structurally, the finale of this movie also seems to be heavily inspired by that of the immediately preceding film, Goldfinger. The extensive underwater battle this involves is definitely the film's major set-piece, and one I deeply enjoyed when I first saw this film in the 1980s. Nearly forty years later, I am not as much of a fan: the battle choreography doesn't hold up well by modern standards, and the sequence goes on rather longer than I think it should, contributing to the movie's comparatively long run time (it is about 15 minutes longer than the previous 3 films).
How is Thunderball? If you like Bond, you should enjoy it. It ticks all the expected boxes and does so in quite entertaining fashion on the whole.
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