Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10
Cast: Toby Stephens, Tom Conti, Alfred Molina, Janet Montgomery, John Sessions, Lisa Dillon, James Callis, Josh Stamberg, Ian Ogilvy, John Standing, Janie Dee, Julian Sands, Nigel Lindsay, Matthew Wolf, Alan Shearman, Darren Richardson, Aaron Lyons, Simon de Deney.
A film that suffers under the weight of its writer’s history is one that finds itself developing the human disorder of duel personality, and whilst Thunderball is film that sparks the imagination, it also leaves the fan wondering how the series could hope to capture the brilliance of the previous film, Goldfinger.
Where Thunderball strikes in the modern age is in the fear of nuclear warfare and the dropping of the bomb on a civilian target by a third party, an independent enterprise, rather than a sovereign country. In the world of terrorism, the idea that such a weapon could be in the hands of the unregistered, hidden away and waiting for the right moment to strike, is one that still resonates and leaves a deep loathing in the pit of the stomach. Goldfinger may be the better film and even novel, but on radio there is something about the British spy that endears, that finds a way to pull back the layers of fallibility and the spectre of love that cannot be found on screen.
It is to Toby Stephens portrayal as James Bond that such a feat of production is possible in the radio dramatisation of the novel and in Archie Scottney’s adaptation, that fallibility, the sense of frailty is overwhelmingly sincere and shown to the audience with style, with a hubris that wasn’t convincing in the original film, or in its remake Never Say Never Again.
Nobody, not a country, not a third personal party should ever be in possession of such a weapon of mass destruction, however, as Thunderball shows the listener, it is vital to be able to deal with such a threat whilst it exists, that to cave to terrorism, of any kind, state sponsored or considered by the appearance of an evil organisation, is not an answer until all other approaches have been considered and acted upon.
With a complete performance by Janet Montgomery as Domino, Toby Stephens as Bond is given a freer role in his portrayal of the flawed but reliable spy, one that gets under the skin of the listener as they are drawn into world of Blofeld’s Spectre.
Thunderball remains an enigma wrapped in a puzzle when you watch it as a cinematic experience, but in an audio drama the lack of effects actually enlarges the plot, one that is exciting and dramatic. A decently paced thriller, Thunderball is one to search out.
Ian D. Hall