Never Say Never Again | | Cast : | Sean Connery, Kim Basinger | | Director : | Irvin Kershner | | Studio : | MGM/UA Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | , 1983 | | DVD Released Date : | October 17, 2000 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Dubbed), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 30, 2005 | | Summary | Never Say Never Again | Content
 | We just played the movie 2 days ago, and the disc hangs up around chapter 26. We tried it in several CD players and it is the same. The disc is not dirty or scratched. I was hoping to exchange it for another one with the same title. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 14, 2005 | | Summary | Even though flawed it's still Bond! | Content
| Sean Connery may have been old but he was still Bond and that was all it needed to be good. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 05, 2005 | | Summary | One Last Mission for the Genuine James Bond | Content
| I don't think anyone was more excited than I was that Sean Connery was coming back as James Bond in 1983.
The official Bond film that summer was OCTOPUSSY, the first post-RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK entry (although really showing his age by this point, Roger Moore's role was much more active and that film did have some cool action sequences). But I was really looking forward to NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN.
The film starts out well enough. The gun barrel opening and signature music are sadly missing here, but Connery looks great and the touches of humor--supplied by Lorenzo Semple, Jr. (who wrote some of the "Batman" series campiest and funniest episodes)--set the right mood.
But the movie runs out of steam. Barbara Carrera's character is infinitely more interesting than Kim Basinger's basic bimbo, so the movie suffers when her scenes end. I'd hoped, since this was a one-shot deal, that Connery would finally face Ernst Stavro Blofeld, but the script remains too faithful to the basic framework of THUNDERBALL.
I'd read an interview with Connery and he said the filming of NEVER SAY NEVER was a disaster, that it was more frustrating than his six previous Bond films put together. He was even called back to shoot more scenes so the movie would make sense.
It's too bad.
Because the original 007 deserved much better.
(Useless trivia: Klaus Maria Brandeur, who plays Largo, was originally cast to play the Russian sub commander in THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER in 1990--but was replaced by Sean Connery after a scheduling conflict. I thought that was interesting since they played hero and villian in this movie seven years before).
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| Rating | | | Date | March 27, 2005 | | Summary | Never May Have Been Too Soon | Content
| This movie was released in 1983 soon after the release of the Roger Moore Bond film "Octopussy." While fans may have welcomed Sean Connery's return to the screen as James Bond, this "unofficial" Bond film falls somewhat flat, and ties it with some of the weakest Bond films in the series. This movie is a re-working of the 1965 film "Thunderball." This film proves the adage of leaving well enough alone. While there are plot aspects of this movie that are improvements over the original, this movie does not have the depth or quality of the original.
We remember the essence of the plot. Bad guys steal two nuclear weapons from the good guys, and black mail the good guys for their return. Jack Petachi is the greedy drug-addicted U.S. Air Force officer who aids S.P.E.C.T.R.E. in stealing the nuclear warheads. Jack's sister Domino is played this time by Kim Basinger. Largo masterminds the theft and is effectively played by Klaus Maria Brandauer. Brandauer's Largo is psychopathic compared to Adolpho Celi's business-like Largo. I found Brandauer's Largo scarier because psychopaths are scary people, but I have always wondered how much any organization, even criminal organizations, could trust a psychopath.
In the tradition of other James Bond movies we have Fatima Blush, played by Barbara Carrera. Fatima is a good match for Largo in this version. She enjoys killing, but around Largo she seems almost like a dog on a leash. Felix Leiter is African-American in this version, well played by veteran actor Bernie Casey. M (Edward Fox), Q (Alec McCowen) and Miss Moneypenny (Pamela Salem) are also present.
This movie feels as though it is from some other dimension. When Bond visits Q it is as though there have been no double oh agents for a long time. There is an air of budget cuts. Q's lab, quite excellent in the "official" films, appears to be a machine shop in the basement of some building, looking cheesy. When Q asks Bond whether there will be gratuitous sex and violence, I was not sure whether I was appalled or annoyed. I got the impression that early portions of this film were snubs or poking fun at the "official" movies. M's character in this movie was absolutely awful. In the other Bond films M is always quite dour, focused on the interests of Great Britain. Edward Fox's M seems somewhat pompous and political; this may be another snub that I did not understand.
There were portions of the movie that I liked. Largo's boat in this movie was extremely sophisticated, though it did not split apart like Largo's boat in "Thunderball" did. Bond's motorcycle was also cool, though the cars in the other Bond films were better. I also thought where Bond and Domino were taken in North Africa was well done, and the auction for Domino was excellent, as was Bond's rescue of Domino.
There were a few other unusual items in this movie. The cave set near the end looked more like Indiana Jones than James Bond. There are also a few places where the movie drags just a little, very unusual for a Bond film as they are usually plotted for continuous action. There were also strange things that the movie failed to explain. For example, where did a U.S. helicopter come from to drop Bond into the well? It should have been an aircraft carrier, but in this Bond film the producer did not bother to explain the details. Another question, since when do U.S. submarines carry cannons? The gun firing from the submarine did not look very realistic, since it was more than likely drawn in after the fact. The whole discussion of budget with respect to Q's branch was likely to help explain why the movie had so few special effects, but it makes the movie come across as cheap.
Being a completist, I had to have this Bond movie. However, it is one of the lesser movies in the series. The movie has moments that keep it solidly in the three star range, but there is a lot of two star material here. Even the DVD release was cheap, with only a trailer on my edition, though the version I have is in widescreen.
This movie probably should never have been made. Those who are collecting the Bond films will want it, as will those who want all the Sean Connery films. However, there are better Connery Bond films, and there are much better Connery movies. I admit that I have watched this movie several times, but it always fails to impress me.
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| Rating | | | Date | March 20, 2005 | | Summary | Better Than Thunderball, good Bond film | Content
| I watched this movie and I have also seen "Thunderball", of which this is a remake and I must say I prefer this one by far.
- Maximilian Largo is much better in this one than in "Thunderball", he actually looks like a real criminal mastermind rather than an Austin Powers caricature
- The chicks are at least as good, especially Bond's beautiful and dangerous lady opponent
- It doesn't feature the lenghty and boring underwater scenes + the disturbing shrill screaching and painful sound effects of Thunderball
- The technical equipment is more up-to-date and believable than in Thunderball, I actually liked the video game that gives you electric shocks, great idea
- The locations are beautiful, not half of the time filmed in semi-darkness where you can hardly see anything, as is the case in Thunderball
- Fast paced action and plenty of humour, especially in the first half of the film
The only real point of criticism I have is that the end is too drawn out and the actors appear a bit unmotivated towards the end. All in all a great Bond movie and I must say, my favourite of all the Connery Bonds. I know this is sure to be an unpopular opinion here, but the 1960s Bonds all appear either technically flawed, everything has a movie set plastic look, or they are ordinary spy movies without the typical Bond extras. |
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