From the pen of James Bond. Circa 1965.
"I was at a funeral today and punched a widow right in the face. Disappointingly, it turned out to be a man. It wasn't a total loss though, as I got to fly away using my jetpack. Yeah, that's right bitches, I've got a jetpack now! All my missions are gonna be so boss now 'cause I've got a jetpack. Bond James Bond flies in, Bond James Bond kills some baddies, Bond James Bond flies away. Loads more time for getting pissed up and showing the ladies my double-oh face. Fuck yeah, I love my life."

Some time later.
"Stupid mostly underwater mission. Can't even use my jetpack. I'm going to sleep…

Film #5 of the James Bond Challenge

[to the shark that almost bit him]
"You can tell of the one that got away." - James Bond

This is another James Bond movie that I fondly remember as a child. From the opening sequence where James Bond makes a narrow escape on a jet pack and later on in the film makes a narrow escape from the jaws of a shark. There are countless images of this film that stick with me to this day. This is one of the most quintessential James Bond films. Even the title is great, THUNDERBALL! Just say that mere word and most people will think James Bond. And let's not forget the opening song by…

Part of:
Dr. No-vember or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bond Films

Try to be a little less than your frivolous self, 007.
-Q

The fourth James Bond film goes for bigger instead of better. The girls are gorgeous, but less engaging. The action is bigger, but less thrilling. The villains look more sinister, but are less charismatic. The plot goes for bigger, but ends up being a bit ridiculous. SPECTRE stole a couple of atomic bombs and attempts to hold the world ransom. Yes, apparently Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery was a remake of Thunderball.

What saves the film is Sean Connery's performance as James Bond was never better then this. He exudes confidence…

Terence Young is back for his 3rd and final contribution to the Bond franchise and he brings some of his best efforts for last. Young, in many ways, personified the Bond character and guided Sean Connery through the mannerisms and style of the world’s favorite spy. The gifted director started the Bond franchise with Dr. No, From Russia with Love (two of my favorites) and Thunderball. While Young sat out on directing the 3rd Bond, Goldfinger, he brought back his signature focus which is obvious. This 4th installment has a quality that Goldfinger lacked, though the momentum never skipped a beat. Young captured Bond on a more personal level and I’m more appreciative of his work than any other director…

Day four of the Bond Film Marathon, film 4: Thunderball. Finally! Everytime I watch this one, I just get chills. It's completely awesome and Connery's best! From the pre-title sequence with the Jetpack with the title song performed by the great Tom Jones all the way to the epic, fun conclusion. Thunderball is the definitive Sean Connery James Bond film. Action, Quips, Exotic locations, women, gadgets, and espionage, It's all in great fun.

In this fourth Bond adventure, 007's mission is to find two Atomic NATO bombs stolen SPECTRE agents. The bombs are being held for a large sum of money, ala ransom, but in Diamonds (Diamonds Are Forever, sorry couldn't help it!). They request this in return for them…

51/100

Right here is where Bond loses me, pretty much for good (though I was really young when I saw most of the Roger Moore films, will be taking a look at a couple of those as well). The prologue's jet-pack escape may be the dividing line, actually—some folks groove on the silliness, I realize, but I preferred the character when he was more grounded, figuratively and (here) literally. Even bearing that in mind, though, Thunderball seems awfully dull compared to its predecessors, with a villain whose menace is confined entirely to his eye patch (Largo doesn't even have any cool henchmen!) and a primary Bond Girl who seems to have wandered in from a calendar shoot, lacking even the…

Film #5 of the James Bond Challenge

[to the shark that almost bit him]
"You can tell of the one that got away." - James Bond

This is another James Bond movie that I fondly remember as a child. From the opening sequence where James Bond makes a narrow escape on a jet pack and later on in the film makes a narrow escape from the jaws of a shark. There are countless images of this film that stick with me to this day. This is one of the most quintessential James Bond films. Even the title is great, THUNDERBALL! Just say that mere word and most people will think James Bond. And let's not forget the opening song by…

Sean Connery takes us to the depths of the Bahamas in the first 'aquatic' Bond adventure which gives the film more visuality with amazing underwater sequences which really show off the quality of the cast and crew in their effort to portray James Bond as best they can.

Following on from the success of the previous films, James Bond faces the ultimate criminal genius again, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, and his organisation of SPECTRE. His top operative Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi) and his sexy but deadly female assistant Fiona Volpe (Lucianna Paluzzi) mastermind the theft of two atomic bombs from a British Vulcan bomber and uses them to hold the world's governments at ransom, ready to destroy 2 major cities unless…

Day four of the Bond Film Marathon, film 4: Thunderball. Finally! Everytime I watch this one, I just get chills. It's completely awesome and Connery's best! From the pre-title sequence with the Jetpack with the title song performed by the great Tom Jones all the way to the epic, fun conclusion. Thunderball is the definitive Sean Connery James Bond film. Action, Quips, Exotic locations, women, gadgets, and espionage, It's all in great fun.

In this fourth Bond adventure, 007's mission is to find two Atomic NATO bombs stolen SPECTRE agents. The bombs are being held for a large sum of money, ala ransom, but in Diamonds (Diamonds Are Forever, sorry couldn't help it!). They request this in return for them…

With the exception of some wonky editing and poor rear projection trickery in the third act (that serves only to diminish the impact of what would otherwise be a stellar climax) and an establishing scene that is designed to establish the power of SPECTRE but comes across as cheesy and childish, this is a pretty flawless James Bond film. In fact, I think it's superior to Goldfinger in just about every way. The stunts are better, the special effects are (mostly) more impressive, the locations are more exotic, and the bond girls are more stunning.

Is James Bond still a serial sexual harasser at best, rapist at worst? Yes. Are women still treated as novelties? Yes. Are there gimmicks that…