If Thunderball's gimmickry seems to overreach at times, Actor Connery gains assurance from film to film, by now delivers all his soppiest Jimcracks martini-dry.

Slightly bloated Bond, with too much technology for my taste and a climactic slaughter that's a little too mindless to be much fun.

There's visible evidence that the reported $5.5 million budget was no mere publicity figure; it's posh all the way.

Thunderball is, at least, itself: the male fantasy mixture as before -- but perhaps a little lighter, less sadistic than Goldfinger, without the spectacular sequences but constantly in entertaining motion.