Thunderball: Warhead Edition

Not often do you get to see the original Thunderball edited, usually it's the nefarious remake that gets the attention, but the original source has it's own share of problems and rangerkris is out to correct them, it's mainly in the pacing that the edit excels, though I do think the initial fight scene in the pre-credits is slightly too quick, I found myself taken out of the zone a few instances with a second-long look at some shots before cutting back to the action. Aside from that, everything felt faster and more to-the-point. Narrative wise it is a film that takes a while to get going, and maybe the edit could have tried bolder cuts instead of fixating itself on the pacing issues...but that's just the experimental perfectionist in me. As it stands it is a fine edit and if you had problems with the original, you will want to give this a go.

RIP Paula, James Bond's assistant. You didn't know James Bond had an assistant? Not to worry--she wasn't terribly helpful nor around long enough to care about.
First, I feel like I need to quickly discuss the original movie, before this fanedit: Sean Connery probably looks better in this movie than any other Bond film. The Bond women are really beautiful and all the elements are present for a classic 007 movie. Yet it is mind-numbingly boring (at least to me). So this is what was being worked with. For a James Bond movie, there are nearly no cool "Bond moments". There's the jetpack for a few fleeting moments at the start, ...there's the very last scene with the plane and the lifeboat and....uh....lots of swimming. Is there even a decent car chase in this movie? No, not really--though Bond has a car with some gadgetry, and Q eventually shows up on location with a few toys. The plot does hinge on coincidence, even in this edit there is no getting around the coincidence of 007 being at the spa when the dead pilot is brought there. (BTW--why did they bring that dead guy to the spa anyway?? Did he need a massage?)
I feel this edit is the best version of this movie there is. I wish that was saying more though. All the issues I have are really with the original movie. It just lacks action. It made this 99 minutes feel a lot longer--though it was so much better than the original 130 minute running time.
I wanted to love this, because (a)--I love James Bond movies and have owned them all in VHS and then DVD for as long as I can remember. (b)--Sean Connery is the best Bond and the 60s were the best time for Bond. I don't hate Roger Moore or Lazenby, Dalton, Brosnon or Craig, but Sean Connery and the 1960s were THE primo Bond era to me.
The music choices throughout this edit were excellent, and the video quality (which I NEVER bother to comment on in my previous reviews) was very very good. I usually don't notice such things unless it is very bad or very good. In this case it was very good. The clarity of the underwater scenes surprised me. But this movie just lacks the thrills associated with the best Bond movies, even stripped down. It is frustrating because, as I said, Connery has never looked better and so many of the elements for a classic Bond are in place.
In closing, I am very glad I got to see this edit, it is an improvement over the original cut, but overall it can't quite bring it up to par with From Russia With Love or Goldfinger. But that is the fault of the source. If I were to have a go-to version of Thunderball, this would be it.
I recommend all 007 fans check this edit out.