THUNDERBALL (1965)

The fourth film in the James Bond series finds 007 (Sean Connery) heading to Nassau when SPECTRE's #2 man, Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi), hijacks a military plane and steals the two nuclear missiles that were on-board.  Holding them ransom to the world, SPECTRE threatens the destruction of a major U.S. or UK city if their demands are met, putting Bond on the clock as he follows his lead to the Bahamas - where, of course, the usual Bond gadgets, Bond babes, and Bond super-megalomaniac villain await.  The underwater filming, especially the fight scenes, are very impressive when considering this was shot in the mid-1960's, and Connery is, of course, the unflappable Bond who will stop at nothing to save the world and catch the bad guy.  Having seen the updated version, Connery's Never Say Never Again, it was nice to finally catch the original at last - and Thunderball is an engrossing, well-made spy thriller (okay, with maybe a couple of hokey lines for modern-day audiences) that, more than ever, shows why the world will always love Bond ... and Connery AS Bond. (not rated)  B+

THUNDERBALL trailer