James Bond: 8 Movies You Need To See To Understand Spectre

3. Thunderball

After taking a break in Goldfinger, SPECTRE returned in 1965's Thunderball. The story behind Thunderball was developed by Ian Fleming and Kevin McClory for a movie. But when they had trouble getting the film made, Fleming just went ahead and wrote it as a novel. Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi), SPECTRE's Number 2, devises a plan to steal two atomic bombs and hold the world for ransom for £100 million in diamonds. If the world doesn't pay up, SPECTRE threatens to destroy a major city in either Europe or the United States. Blofeld once again reappears in this film, again voiced by Eric Pohlmann and again his face is never seen. And once he's portrayed as sitting in a chair and petting a cat, just as in From Russia With Love. We're also privy to a general SPECTRE meeting and discover just how far their reach extends. Although the film takes a while to get going and the underwater sequences are very drawn out, Thunderball is one of the better entries in the series. For bonus points, check out McClory's Thunderball remake, Never Say Never Again, which features Max Von Sydow playing Blofeld and the final appearance of Connery as Bond.