"Thunderball", the fourth James Bond film, was the first made from the position of the character having become a cultural phenomenon following "Goldfinger". In many ways, it is a transitional Bond film, with one foot in the world of Ian Fleming and the other in the realm of the spectacular epics that we now associate with Bond.
"Thunderball" is wonderful stuff, one of the most atmospheric of all the Bonds. John Barry's underwater music is dramatic and menacing, the Nassau locations look absolutely ravishing and Connery still looks the business. Compared with the lean efficiency of the previous three Bonds, however, "Thunderball" collapses slightly under its own weight. The story meanders and the film is too long, running out of steam long before the end.
Luciana Paluzzi is fantastic as the bad girl, though. Her scenes with Sean Connery positively crackle.