Never Say Never Again
by Irvin Kershner
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DVD details
Actor: Barbara Carrera, Kim Basinger, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Max von Sydow, Sean ConneryDirector: Irvin Kershner
Brand: CONNERY,SEAN
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 2.35:1
Running Time: 133 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-10-17
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
DVD Reviews of Never Say Never Again
DVD Review: sadly...."Stirred not shaken"
Summary: 2 Stars
By no means a great bond movie....but not a complete flop either, I had to have it for the series (sigh!)...but will I watch it again...probably not. An adequate digital transfer, okay sound....but not a scratch on the real Bond franchise DVD Review: Connery's swan song
Summary: 3 Stars
The result of Kevin McClory's lawsuit against Ian Fleming (and much later Cubby Broccoli) over THUNDERBALL, it has Sean Connery returning to harness as Commander James Bond 12 years after departing the series. A film that had a torturous history. Originally announced in 1976 as JAMES BOND OF THE SECRET SERVICE (McClory's agreement with Cubby Broccoli & Harry Saltzman called for him to be able to remake the story 10 years after THUNDERBALL's release -- some have speculated that the two Bond producers didn't believe the character would survive that long), he was promptly sued by Broccoli & company. Later Sean Connery would come on board with British Spy novelist Len Deighton (THE IPCRESS FILE, FUNERAL IN BERLIN, et al) to write a new screen treatment now called WARHEAD. Connery even went on a scouting trip to NYC to check out locations (including the Statue of Liberty). As legal entanglements dragged on, McClory eventually sold the rights to Hollywood lawyer (and Talia Shire's husband) Jack Schwartzman. The film managed to lure Connery back for a reported $3 or $4 million. Basically using the THUNDERBALL scenario (legally, it couldn't stray too far from the original story) NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN is a curious film. While it works when Connery is on screen (and he is alot), somehow it isn't totally satisfying. It lacks the sense of urgency and worldwide menace that the original had. The Legrand score stinks (the fault of Sean Connery who insisted on him), the finale lacks the drama epic scope of the original underwater battle, Kim Bassinger is lovely but lack Claudine Auger's charm; Klaus Maria Brandeur -- a fine actor -- is interesting as Largo but everything seems less than the original. Of standout mention: Barbara Carrera as Fatima Blush -- sexy and murderously deranged. However her character departs half-way through the film. Edward Fox as M doesn't make it and Pamela Salem is a weak Moneypenny. Some nice touches: Aftering water sking into Bond's arms at a Bahaman bar...
Fatima Blush: I've made you wet!
Bond: Yes, but my martini is still dry.
Released the same year as the Eon series 13th outing, OCTOPUSSY, the Moore film made more money. Also of note, the same year George Lazenby played a character only referred to as "JB" in THE RETURN OF THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. So all three of the guys who had -- up to that point played 007 -- were all doing so again somewhere in the world!
DVD Review: He gets better with age.
Summary: 5 Stars
Wonderful comeback for Connery. His wit and humor are above that in any of his older Bond movies. DVD 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".
DVD Review: Everyone's a critic
Summary: 4 Stars
You know, I saw NSNA in theatres as a young teen, and having been brought up in the Moore era, I really did not see it as a bad or good movie, just an action movie. In later years, I kept hearing this was the orphan James Bond movie, that it really wasn't very good, and that when the Bond films were being released on VHS in the early 1990's, it was not worth looking for. I promptly forgot about the movie's existence.
Then something happened. Over the two successive DVD releases of Bond films over the last decade, I started remembering mysterious, hazy scenes of a chess game that caused the players to feel the pain of their decisions, with a round-faced bad guy who loved the water. Sean Connery played the lead role. Ooooh! And then there was that really, sexy bad lady in (what was for 1980) a very brief bathing suit. But what movie were these scenes from? Oh yeah! Never Say Never Again. The power of negative reviews! I decided to watch it again and yes, it did have some bizarre production values for a Bond film. The opening music is truly awful for the scenes shown. (Irving, my Empire Strikes Back friend, what were you thinking?)
But by the end of the movie, the good plot points outweighed the bad. There were some moments of humor...perhaps too many for a Bond film...but I didn't feel as if I wasted 2 hours of my life. I enjoyed it. And while I prefer the Broccoli/Salzman productions, I think seeing an alternative like this is rewarding. Even if you don't like it as much, it's a different take. Mind you, after many years of being a habitual fuddy-duddy, I now now enjoy trying new things and looking at different perspectives. You may not.
As a true Bond fan, it's almost a must own anyways, especially at Amazon's price. Extras? Well, yes, that would be nice. A commentary or two? Redux? Digital restoration? Sure, but think about it...if you owned the rights to this movie, after reading about so many low ratings over the years, would you invest $5 million in a redo? Well, I hope the owners/studio will consider it, because I think the film is worth it.
Description of Never Say Never Again
Agent 007 is hurled into an explosive pulse-pounding race to save the world from nuclear terrorist. Studio: Tcfhe/mgm Release Date: 05/22/2007 Starring: Sean Connery Max Von Sydow Run time: 133 minutes Rating: Pg Director: Irvin KershnerAfter years of enduring Roger Moore in the role of James Bond, it was good to have Sean Connery back in this 1983 film for a one-time-only trip down 007's memory lane. Connery's Bond, a bit of a dinosaur in the British secret service at (then) 52, is still in demand during times of crisis. Sadly, the film is not very good. In this rehash of Thunderball, Bond is pitted against a worthy underwater villain (Klaus Maria Brandauer); and while the requisite Bond Girls include beauties Kim Basinger and Barbara Carrera, they can't save the movie. The script has several truly dumb passages, among them a (gasp) video-game duel between 007 and his nemesis that now looks utterly anachronistic. For Connery fans, however, this widescreen print of the Irvin Kershner (The Empire Strikes Back) film is a chance to say a final goodbye to a perfect marriage of actor and character. --Tom Keogh
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