Never Say Never Again

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Jacob B Owing to its unofficial status in James Bond's filmography, it's not uncommon to see Never Say Never Again be treated as a red-headed stepchild. It's an issue that's not helped by the fact that Sean Connery was reprising his role making it harder to ignore than the more unanimously poorly-received Casino Royale film from 1967 since that was a spoof film and thus not worthy of Bond fans' attention. NSNA also has its share of defenders however, insinuating that 007 fans are operating under an "only the creator does it right" mentality and pointing out that the official series wasn't exactly in the best place at the time, seeing how Roger Moore was actually OLDER than Connery. Keep in mind that critics generally liked this film, albeit not an outright darling. Other things that contribute to the film's polarising status are the behind-the-scenes drama and how much one enjoyed Thunderball, which NSNA serves as a remake of. And I didn't even have to bring up that this was from the same director as The Empire Strikes Back, meaning that some people's expectations would be set unrealistically high. I liked NSNA and, if I'm being honest, prefer it over Thunderball. The latter film is still enjoyable in its own right but it had pacing issues that made the plot feel more convoluted than it should've been. Not to mention having to follow the critically acclaimed From Russia With Love and Goldfinger. NSNA, on the other hand, had to deal with Octopussy which I haven't seen yet but have heard of how tonally indecisive it is. NSNA isn't perfect, even when ignoring the Thunderball connections. It has a couple of goofy moments (Bond kills a guy with his own piss, for instance), it still remains committed to the formula for better or for worse (there's a reason why this film's Q is a one-scene wonder; by not just being a retread of Desmond Llewelyn) and I think the runtime could've been trimmed down a bit but overall, I had a good time watching this film. Sean Connery still delivers a good performance (and the one-liners, too) as an older 007, Fatima Blush is an enjoyable villainess, the action sequences are really fun and the cinematography is quite good too. Everyone talks about how Thunderball's underwater sequences have stood the test of time but let's not act like the crew didn't do a good job here as well. Max von Sydow as Blofeld really was a missed opportunity, wasn't it? And this movie can't be called that bad when we get to see the OG Bond and Johnny English in the same film. Finally, I thought this film's theme song was better than the Tom Jones one from the official discography. Placing the song in the action prologue was an odd choice but it didn't bother me that much and I figured it was a case of killing two birds with one stone because they didn't want to risk getting sued if they made their own opening credits sequence. Frankly, knowing how this film originated from a producer's petty rivalry with EON Productions, it's a miracle that the final film is even watchable in the first place. It's certainly a better send-off for Connery's Bond than Diamonds Are Forever was. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/26/25 Full Review James P Yes NSNA may not be a genuine Bond film but compared to the mediocre final 2 that Grandpa Moore did this one is superb! Connery looked like the Bond we first saw in the early 60's despite being 52 and a greying toupee! Kim Basinger is foxy, Barbara Carrera is a sexy lunatic! Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 06/13/25 Full Review Liam D after rewatching Thunderball earlier this year and being kinda let down, I prefer Never say Never Again. Sean Connery gives his best performance as Bond since Goldfinger and the plot is a lot less boring Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/30/25 Full Review Obi-wan K Mid pacing Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/28/25 Full Review Jelisije J Even though this is a remake of Thunderball its still has its own unique look and feel that actually is better than other James Bond flicks. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 12/03/24 Full Review Gerald H way better than octopussy, hands down. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/20/24 Full Review Read all reviews

Never Say Never Again

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