Main problem here is the overlong underwater sequences which nowadays make the film look more like a Cousteau documentary than a Bond episode. Despite their novelty at the time, they feel somewhat sluggish now and do slow the film's pace.
"Thunderball" does, however, have its thrills and some of the best lines in the series, and Connery shows a harder edge which was missing from the previous installment "Goldfinger".
Additionally, the film is veneered with glossy pop exoticism (due to the story's setting in Bahamas) that makes one feel sorry for not having lived in the sixties.
But as a whole, it doesn't really take off until its final third.
"Thunderball" does, however, have its thrills and some of the best lines in the series, and Connery shows a harder edge which was missing from the previous installment "Goldfinger".
Additionally, the film is veneered with glossy pop exoticism (due to the story's setting in Bahamas) that makes one feel sorry for not having lived in the sixties.
But as a whole, it doesn't really take off until its final third.