Generally speaking, Bond villains are far more obsessed with power and projects than they are with sex. And none is more sexless than Auric Goldfinger, the eponymous villain of the third Bond instalment. The ridiculousness of his Fort Knox plan is in inverse proportion to his level of interest in base physical desires.
The story goes that the reason producers Harry Saltzmann and Albert R Broccoli had chosen to make From Russia With Love as their second James Bond instalment was because JFK had named it in his top ten favourite books.
Billed as “the biggest Bond ever!” upon release, Thunderball is just that - more money, more danger, more girls, more explosions and more ravenous man-eating sharks kept as pets. Unfortunately all that adds up to more bloat - apt, considering one-quarter of the film’s hefty 2 hours 10 minute running time is set underwater.
