64
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80The New York TimesBosley CrowtherThe New York TimesBosley Crowther[Bond] also has a much better sense of humor than he has shown in his previous films. And this is the secret ingredient that makes Thunderball the best of the lot.
- 80Time Out LondonTime Out LondonSleek and quite fun all the same, with SPECTRE holding the world to ransom after stealing a couple of nuclear bombs, Bond almost getting his in the villain's shark-infested swimming pool, and a cleverly choreographed underwater battle to provide the icing on the mix.
- 80Though From Russia with Love remains the liveliest Bond opera to date, Thunderball is by all odds the most spectacular. Its script hasn't a morsel of genuine wit, but Bond fans, who are preconditioned to roll in the aisles when their hero merely asks a waiter to bring some beluga caviar and Dom Pérignon '55, will probably never notice.
- 75ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliThe underwater sequences, which are choreographed and directed with great skill, are Thunderball's standout feature... Thunderball is classic 007 -- not the best picture in the long-running series, to be sure, but a more-than-worthwhile diversion for the action-loving escapist in us all.
- 60EmpireKim NewmanEmpireKim NewmanConnery [is] cruising by this point and the movie doesn't quite match the swagger of Goldfinger, but still effortlessly plies the glory Bond years, concluding with a stunning underwater battle.
- 60TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineThe action is reasonably well-staged, but the film is overlong and occasionally draggy.
- 60The New YorkerPauline KaelThe New YorkerPauline KaelNot bad, but not quite top-grade Bond. A little too much under-water war-ballet.