Never Say Never Again
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Movie Reviews of Never Say Never Again
Movie Review: THE REAL THING
Summary: 5 Stars
A 007 PICTURE STARRING SEAN CONNERY CAN NEVER BE CALLED UNOFFICIAL...BUY IT!Movie Review: Never Say Never Again
Summary: 5 Stars
This one was not in the box set. As a 007 fan I had to have it.Movie Review: Winner Of The Battle Of The Bond's
Summary: 4 Stars
1983 was "the battle of the Bonds". That year both Roger Moore and Sean Connery starred in two separate James Bond film, the former (Octopussy) was produced by the "official" makers of the Bond films while the later (Never Say Never Again) was produced "unofficially" by a group led by Kevin McClory who held the film rights to Thunderball. Surprisingly enough is the "unofficial" film that is better despite the obvious flaw of missing elements from the official films and the fact that Never Say Never Again is a remake of Thunderball.
Never Say Never Again has the distinction of sporting one of the best casts ever assembled for a Bond film. It all starts with Sean Connery, returning to the play Bond for the first time since 1971's Diamonds Are Forever. Connery might be older then he was then but he looks better here then he did in Diamonds Are Forever. Gone is the bored Bond of Diamonds and in is an older version of the Bond of the early Connery films. The Bond of Never Say Never Again is the sleek and dangerous shark of Dr. No or From Russia With Love, just a few years older. Connery's delivery of one liners and dialogue is as dead on as it ever was. The one downside to Connery's age is his believability, especially when it comes to the ladies of the film. Let's face it even Connery, despite being in top physical shape, looks as odd as Moore when he is bedding women half his age. Yet despite this believability issue, Never Say Never Again shows Connery in one of his better Bond performances and a definite improvement on his two earlier Bond performances.
Kim Bassinger plays Domino in one of her early film roles. Bassinger plays the role with considerable confidence for a relative newcomer and she makes the character believable. Bassinger holds her own against her co-stars and has considerable chemistry with them as well. In fact she may well outshine her Thunderball counter-part played by Claudine Auger.
Then there's the villain, Maximilian Largo played by Klaus Maria Brandauer. Brandauer's Largo is everything a James Bond film villain should be: suave, charming, evil and above all believable none the less. One can believe in the villain of this film, a billionaire playboy with an evil streak in him that remains well hidden. Brandauer makes the role realistic and chooses not to fall into the trap many other Bond villains have fallen into by going over the top. Brandauer plays Largo with a silent menace and charisma unseen in many adversaries of 007.
The excellent cast extends into the supporting cast as well. Barbara Carrera makes a fine henchwoman in the guise of Fatima Blush and the screen lights up when ever she appears. Max Von Sydow makes a rather nice appearance as Blofeld, though his appearance is more akin to a cameo role. Rowan Atkinson makes an early screen appearance as Bond's bumbling contact in the Bahamas that makes for some of the best scenes in the film. With all that the highlight of the supporting cast comes from the MI6 staff from Edward Fox's M who makes for a great contrast to Bernard Lee, Pamela Salem who make s affine Moneypenny and the icing on the cake with Alec McCowen's wonderful Q. The supporting cast has a couple of misfires though in the form of Bernie Casey as Felix Leiter (the first African-American to play the role) and Gavin O'Herlihy as Jack Petachi who both seem to lack credibility in their respective roles. Otherwise this film sports one of the best casts ever assembled for a Bond film.
On top of an excellent cast the film has several other essential ingredients: good action sequences, good special effects and good direction. From the opening Central America sequence to the fight at Shrublands to the underwater sequences and motorbike chase, this is a film where the action sequences are not only great but service the plot as well for the most part. The film also sports good special effects in terms of cruise missile models, explosions, and all the things we expect from a Bond film. Irvin Kershner, then fresh off doing The Empire Strikes Back for the Star Wars series, brings a tight sense of direction to the film especially in sequences like the substation of nuclear warheads and the subsequent theft of the cruise missiles.
Yet this film is far from perfect. Never Say Never Again is easily one of the most dated of the Bond films with its heavy use of 1980's computer sand video games. While technology dates any film after a time, this film's heavy reliance on it, especially in the hijacking of the cruise missiles and the Domination sequence makes the film look incredibly dated some quarter of a century after its release. The script also tends to suffer from predictability due to the very fact it's a remake of Thunderball.
Yet for its predictability the script for Never Say Never Again is pretty good. The script sports good dialogue scenes, not a single cringe worthy one liner (how many of the Roger Moore era scripts can you say that about?), some humorous situations, and yet is watchable and tense for the most part. Once you look past he fact that it's a remake, there's quite a lot of good things in the script for the film.
Music is in fact the biggest weakness of the film. Due to the "unofficial" status of the film, the James Bond Theme could not be used. That said this could have shown with the right composer that a Bond score without it could work. Unfortunately first choice James Horner (fresh off Star Trek II at the time) was passed over in favor of Michael Legrand, whose score is far from adequate. Legrand's score is totally out of place in a Bond film and there is only of or two places where it actually works. To make matters worse the film is also lumbered with one of the worst title sequences ever to grace a James Bond Theme.
Yet despite being heavily dated, somewhat predicable, and having a bad score Never Say Never Again is still a good Bond film. With one of the best casts of any Bond film, good action sequences, good special effects, good direction, and some terrific dialogue. Never Say Never Again proves that "unofficial" isn't a bad thing. In fact it is better then quite a few official films and is better then Octopussy and the winner of "the battle of the Bonds".
Movie Review: A truly underrated gem.
Summary: 4 Stars
I love this movie. But, be forewarned, I also love License To Kill. These are two Bond movies that seem to have either love 'em or hate 'em appeal. I guess because they stray a bit from the norm. This one's maligned because it's not an "official" James Bond film. It's got a few faults, but those are heavily outweighed by the good. In fact, I find myself wanting to re-watch this one more than quite a few other Bond films. It's very refreshing seeing Bond as a human being. Connery's body, like his car, shows wear, but as he puts it best, "it's still in pretty good shape." In fact, the fights in this one are very believable. Sean has a tough time of it in many situations and has to actually think his way out of the box which is extremely refreshing. I've always found real guys struggling to fight their way out of tough situations more exciting than super hero types versus human punching bags which is all too prevalent in films. Here's a quick list of the bad just to get it over with (and to prove I'm not one of those love all Sean Connery Bond guys): no Monty Norman Bond theme (man! but they didn't have the rights), the actor playing M plays it mockingly, Rowan Atkinson's bumbling dufus is totally out of place in this fairly serious entry, not Desmond Llewelyn as Q, some may find the video game scene dated, some may find the running time a little long. Now for the good (oh, yeah!): Connery is fantastic (human, charming, witty, tough, etc.), Barbara Carrera creates one of the sexiest and most wicked Bond villainesses ever, Kim Basinger is smokin' hot, Brandauer's Largo (the main baddie) is one of the slimiest and realistic Bond villain's in history, gorgeous locations and beautiful underwater photography, suspenseful shark scene, the exploding pen (boom!), a terrific opening twist, witty one-liners spoken to perfection by Connery ("I made you all wet.", "Yes, but my martini's still dry."; "Mr. Bond, I need a urine sample. Could you fill this beaker for me?", "From here?"; "You know that making love to Fatima was the greatest pleasure of your life.", "Well, to be perfectly honest, there was this girl in Philadelphia...", "SHUT UP!", ETC.). If you haven't seen this one, definitely check it out. It's a blast!
Movie Review: Sean Connery's Last Bond Film Is A Flawed Winner
Summary: 4 Stars
Holding the rights to Thunderball, Kevin McClory decided to make a new Bond Film in 1975. Amazingly enough, Sean Connery was interested in playing Bond again if he had script approval. The film originally was going to only loosely based on Thunderball, but after a few years of legal battles with EON it became simply a remake of that earlier film. Still, it is a good Bond film, even though it does have its flaws. The most obvious strength that Never Say Never Again has is Connery, Sean Connery. Even though he looked his age, he looked fit and ready for the usual Bond action. In fact, he looked like he was in better shape than he was for his last Bond film, Diamonds Are Forever, in 1971. The plot of the film very closely follows that of Thunderball, with some updating of the details and technology for 1983. Director Irvin Kershner (The Empire Strikes Back) does a fine job with the movie, and the cast gives some excellent performances (including Klaus Maria Brandauer as Largo, Barbara Carerra as Fatima Blush - her performance and character seems to be the blueprint for Xenia Onatopp from Goldeneye, Kim Basinger as Domino, Bernie Casey as Felix Leiter, and the great Max Von Sydow as Blofeld). The weaknesses of the film? It doesn't quite LOOK as spectacular as the official Bond films - it has a lower budget look to it than the EON films. Another flaw: the characters of "M" and Nigel Small-Fawcett, both of whom seem like they belong in a Bond spoof rather than the real thing. Both of them ruin their respective scenes due to the attempts at comedy by Edward Fox and Rowan Atkinson. The music is often great (some really good Jazz), but at other times seems inappropriate for particular scenes. The lack of the "James Bond Theme," also detracts a little from the film (but not much). But when you've got Sean Connery, a solid plot, and a good (overall) supporting cast, you've got a winner. NSNA could have been better, but for a Bond film outside of the official EON Productions banner Never Say Never Again acquits itself quite nicely. It's a shame that the DVD wasn't given the Bond Special Edition treatment, but it is still worth buying anyway.