Hoo boy, I generally enjoy early Bond, but I feel like you’re being too kind to Thunderball. As I understand it, the underwater photography was pretty astonishing at the time, and it certainly feels like the movie was structured around the idea of SCUBA being the new hotness. Unfortunately, now that those concepts are relatively quotidian, you’re left with a slow, clunky movie whose big action sequences are (by nature of being filmed underwater) slow and clunky.
Whenever I get the urge to go back and watch the early Bonds, Thunderball is always one I skip.
So far all of the movies are slow and the action is just so old school that I didn’t even really clock anything odd about the underwater stuff. It is interesting to know that it was cutting edge at the time. For what it’s worth I do think it’s the worst one I’ve seen so far, but I wouldn’t call it bad
That’s fair. For me, those first Bond movies are like a travelogue. Not only to a different place, but also a different time. So, I forgive the parts of From Russia with Love (for example) that drag, because I can still luxuriate in seeing Venice at that time. With Thunderball, the big “destination” is the Bahamas if I remember correctly. Coming so soon after Dr. No’s Jamaica set stuff, and the focus on filming the sea floor more than the scenery, just leaves me underwhelmed ultimately.
As I noted, this isn’t a concerted effort. Most of the time I sit down to watch a movie I don’t want something longer than 2 hours which means most Bond movies are out. I’m only 4 films in by October so I’m probably not finishing this year and so I don’t judge it as closely to its contemporaries as much as I judge it for its era
Hoo boy, I generally enjoy early Bond, but I feel like you’re being too kind to Thunderball. As I understand it, the underwater photography was pretty astonishing at the time, and it certainly feels like the movie was structured around the idea of SCUBA being the new hotness. Unfortunately, now that those concepts are relatively quotidian, you’re left with a slow, clunky movie whose big action sequences are (by nature of being filmed underwater) slow and clunky.
Whenever I get the urge to go back and watch the early Bonds, Thunderball is always one I skip.
So far all of the movies are slow and the action is just so old school that I didn’t even really clock anything odd about the underwater stuff. It is interesting to know that it was cutting edge at the time. For what it’s worth I do think it’s the worst one I’ve seen so far, but I wouldn’t call it bad
That’s fair. For me, those first Bond movies are like a travelogue. Not only to a different place, but also a different time. So, I forgive the parts of From Russia with Love (for example) that drag, because I can still luxuriate in seeing Venice at that time. With Thunderball, the big “destination” is the Bahamas if I remember correctly. Coming so soon after Dr. No’s Jamaica set stuff, and the focus on filming the sea floor more than the scenery, just leaves me underwhelmed ultimately.
I’d be curious where you rack and stack it later.
As I noted, this isn’t a concerted effort. Most of the time I sit down to watch a movie I don’t want something longer than 2 hours which means most Bond movies are out. I’m only 4 films in by October so I’m probably not finishing this year and so I don’t judge it as closely to its contemporaries as much as I judge it for its era