Oddball James Bond film is not part of the official Eon Production cannon. Kevin McClory, a producer and writer on "Thunderball" won a legal battle against Ian Fleming to make his own Bond movie based upon his version of the "Thunderball" script. In this versions Connery plays an older Bond, but very much like in the original "Thunderball" finds himself going after SPECTRE agents who've stole nuclear warheads. It's the usual Bond nonsense, but it's a lot better than the Roger Moore output at this same time (though "For Your Eyes Only" was quite good). Still, this one did subscribe to the over-use of gadgets that the Moore films were doing, which is unfortunate. On the plus side, this film does boast an excellent cast. Max von Sydow plays Blofeld, Edward Fox plays M, Bernie Casey plays Felix Leiter, Klaus Maria Brandauer is the industrialist villain, Largo. Barbara Carrera and Kim Basinger are Bond Girls. There's even Rowan Atkinson in his film debut in a small bit of comic relief. The film also has a quaint scene that was super cool back in the day, where James Bond plays a very lame video game where you have to claim more shapes on a digital line drawn map before your opponent. Hot off of "The Empire Strikes Back" the film was directed by Irvin Kershner, who brings an assured hand to the action. McClory offered John Barry a chance to score the film, but he declined out of loyalty to Albert R. Broccoli, producer of the main series. Instead, Michel Legrand provides a solid score for the film, even if it's lacking the "James Bond Theme." Even if this is far from the best bond film (though better than most of the 80s Bond output), this film does hold a fair amount of nostalgia for me; Brandauer and Connery's intense confrontation over the very lame video game, Connery chained up in a skeleton filled cell, and Kim Basinger dancing were all moments that burned themselves into my adolescent brain. Interesting note of trivia: a young Steven Seagal was the martial arts instructor for this film and broke Sean Connery's wrist during training.

1983 was an interesting year for Bond fans. We had the 13th official James Bond film Octopussy starring Roger Moore and an unofficial James Bond film by the name of Never Say Never Again starring Sean Connery. This is a remake of the 1965 Bond thriller Tunderball. I think if you are a fan of Sean Connery as James Bond then you'll like this movie. Barbara Carrera is this film's femme fatale and she is very over the top but she is incredibly enjoyable to watch in an otherwise dull movie. There is nothing visually appealing about Never Say Never Again, the cinematography is bland and the score is bad. But it still is fun for Sean Connery fans.

In a couple months I will turn 52, just about the age that Sean Connery was when he made this film, which I happened to have caught at the movie theater back in 1983 when I was 19 years old. With this in mind, I re-watched NSNA for the first time in almost 33 years over the course of 4 daily workouts on the treadmill machine, finishing up yesterday.Last night, I turned on a rerun of an old Johnny Carson show on the Antenna-TV network, and who turns up but Connery, sans toupee and sporting his classic 'stache. Turns out the show was from 1983, and Sean was promoting NSNA.Believing this to be another instance of synchronicity in my never-ending study of fine arts, I determined to add my review to the body of literature devoted to this cinematic opus.The most interesting thing about this movie is the middle-aged Connery, playing the middle-aged 007. These facts are used to advantage early on in the film but are mostly forgotten by midpoint, with the Scots thespian's handsomely craggy facial features being the only reminder that in addition to the evil Mr. Largo, Our Hero is also fighting the inevitable effects of father time. As such, this is a lost opportunity.(Two years after this film, cartoonist Frank Miller did a much-praised comic book story of a 50 year old Batman titled 'Dark Knight,' which became a genuine cultural phenomenon...Miller never forgot for a moment that the Caped Crusader was now 50, and in fact in the early scenes Bruce Wayne sports a mustache and receding hairline which make him strangely similar to Connery.) The other missed opportunity is the climactic physical confrontation between 007 & Largo, which takes place underwater, with both wearing scuba gear. As you can anticipate, the scuba fight takes place in slow-motion, thus sucking way much of the satisfaction. This was a story which clearly called for a knock-down, drag-out fight, ala Red Grant, the aging 007 going Mano e Mano against the young Teutonic Largo.The musical score is another weak spot. It seemed decent enough in 1983, but the fusion-jazz stuff seems very outdated now, whereas the bombastic John Barry stuff from the EON films has held up much better.Weaknesses aside, this is a fun enough film with which to waste a couple hours. Besides the enduring appeal of our old friend Mr. Connery, there are plenty of fights, vehicular chases, and fun spy-fi business to enjoy. If you are young and viewing this, remember that the when you are over 50, the world will be a different place, and you will be far more vulnerable than now. Your nemesis will not be SPECTRE, but rather the limitations of your body, and the cruelties of the workplace, where cocky young SOB managers like to treat experienced, seasoned pros as if we are all dead wood.

Never Say Never Again is a historic event and is remembered as the surprising return of Sean Connery in his iconic role as James Bond, but I grade films on quality. This film is just bad.The casting (Basinger aside) is weak. The weak score pales in comparison to John Barry's compositions. The set staging consisted of just buildings with expensive furniture rather than anything atmospheric. The plot is basically a rip off of Thunderball. The arcade scene was the most original part of the movie though. Overall, it lacks the iconic fantasy elements of the official Bond films but is far too campy to take seriously. It derives from them but doesn't push it in any new direction. Connery should have retired from the role for good after You Only Live Twice.