Thunderball
A criminal organization has obtained two nuclear bombs and are asking for a 100 million pound ransom in the form of diamonds in seven days or they will use the weapons. The secret service sends James Bond to the Bahamas to once again save the world.
Trailer
Director
Terence Young
Writer
Richard Maibaum, John Hopkins, Jack Whittingham, Ian Fleming
Studio
EON Productions
Release
1965-12-11
Runtime
2h 10m
Genres
Adventure, Action, Thriller
Cast & Characters
James Bond
Sean Connery
Dominique 'Domino' Derval
Claudine Auger
Emilio Largo
Adolfo Celi
Fiona Volpe
Luciana Paluzzi
Felix Leiter
Rik Van Nutter
Count Lippe
Guy Doleman
Patricia Fearing
Molly Peters
Paula Caplan
Martine Beswick
Did You Know?
Critical Assessment
Thunderball holds 6.9/10 on IMDb (139K votes), 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 73% audience score.
Critics and audiences are broadly aligned on this one.
Ratings as of August 3, 2026
AI Verdict
AI-generatedThunderball's 6.9 IMDb average and 85% Rotten Tomatoes score place it solidly mid-pack in the 60-plus-year Bond franchise.
Fan & Critic Buzz
The public reaction to "Thunderball" is overwhelmingly positive, with many considering it a peak Bond film featuring stunning women, great gadgets, non-stop action, and exotic scenery. Some praise the movie's increased sophistication and complexity compared to earlier Bond films.
Reviews
Sir, I'd respectfully request that you change my assignment to Nassau. Thunderball is directed by Terence Young and adapted to screenplay by Richard Maibaum and John Hopkins from a story by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham and Ian Fleming. It stars Sean Connery, Adolfo Celi, Claud…
John Chard · 7/10It can be difficult and not very useful to compare the early James Bond movies to the later ones. The female characters become more than merely ornamental and more interesting, the plots become more intricate, the villains less stereotypical, and the special effects better and be…
Peter McGinn · 10/10_**James Bond underwater adventure with the best female cast**_ After a couple atomic bombs are stolen from the RAF, agent 007 (Sean Connery) travels to Nassau, Bahamas, to clash with SPECTRE agent Emil Largo (Adolfo Celi) and his femme fatale accomplice (Luciana Paluzzi). Claudi…
Wuchak · 8/10**Thunderball goes all out, taking James Bond to new heights (and depths) with bigger action sequences, new gadgets, deadly villains, and beautiful locations. Thunderball is peak 60s Bond!** Thunderball is my favorite of Sean Connery’s James Bond films. How could it not be? With…
The Movie Mob · 8/10This is certainly the last of the classic 007 films. This is the last time we see 007 as the cold hearted assassin that he is. The last time we see a Bond that, the only reason he's really a good guy is because of what side he is on and not what he is. In later films they call hi…
GenerationofSwine · 10/10This is the hay day of Bond. We get it all. Stunning women, great gadgets, non stop action, wit, and the exotic scenery that make 007 films so iconic. We also get the two greatest evil henchmen deaths in 007 film History, and may in film History. The boardroom assassination stick…
drystyx · 9/10Whilst he isn't quite as megalomaniac as "Auric Goldfinger"; Adolfo Celi is great here as "Largo" - the Spectre agent charged with their most ambitious mission yet. A great deal of meticulous planning has gone into their scheme to hijack an RAF plane carrying nuclear missiles tha…
CinemaSerf · 7/10Thunderball is definitely one of the worst Bond films, after the 1st act nothing exciting happens and it is rather boring.
tmdb93836550 · 5/10
