Never Say Never Again (1983)

Directed by Irvin Kershner. Starring Sean Connery, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Kim Basinger, Barbara Carrera, Bernie Casey, Edward Fox, Max von Sydow, Rowan Atkinson, Gavan O’Herlihy, Prunella Gee, Alec McCowen, Valeria Leon, Pamela Salem, Pat Roach. [PG]

After an absence of over a decade, Connery returns to the role that made him a global superstar—James Bond; as it’s a remake of Thunderball, it’s easy to deride this outing as being entirely unnecessary, but Connery playing Bond is never unnecessary, even in rehash form. While many details differ, the basic plot is the same: SPECTRE hijacks a couple of nuclear warheads, holds the world hostage, Bond to the rescue. Although some elements are a considerable downgrade from the original adaptation (Basinger’s weak Bond girl, for one, plus the “James Bond Theme” is sorely missed), several others actually improve, particularly in the overall quality of the action scenes—including a nifty motorcycle chase and an inventive fight scene between Connery and Roach—as well as the lead villain, the suave yet unstable and menacing Brandauer. Plus, it spends much less time underwater, which is where Thunderball bogged down the most. Overextended down the stretch, but altogether a solid, often underappreciated outing…even though many don’t even consider it officially part of the series because it wasn’t made by Eon Productions. Challenges Live and Let Die for the most hideous fashion choices in the franchise (sexy but psychotic Carrera’s flamboyant wardrobe, Basinger’s aerobics spandex, Connery wearing…overalls??). Title theme sung by Lani Hall. For no apparent reason, Q (McCowen) is called Algernon here.

75/100