Review of Never Say Never Again (1983) by Ross B — 15 May 2013
Irvin Kershner directs this Bond film which is really the only other serious Bond film outside of Eon Productions' true franchise. Sean Connery returns as James Bond 12 years after his last 007 picture (Diamonds are Forever), this time to find two stolen nuclear warheads which are being used to hold the world for ransom.
Bond though is much older and out of shape. M and MI5 have started to move away from the 00 program but when this new threat comes up, M has no choice but to call on Bond and his expertise. The villain is a wealthy businessman by the name of Largo (Klaus Maria Brandauer), who is actually working for the evil Blofeld (Max von Sydow) and SPECTRE.
Will Bond be able to foil the plot in time? The film itself feels like a Bond film that seems to only know half of the formula. M is turned more into a person against Bond then an ally. The glee over sex and violence is more overt than through suggestion and winks.
The villain seems too relaxed and, even though they hired the great Max von Sydow to be Blofeld, they seem to have nothing for him to do. That all being said, it is still a satisfactory Bond film. The action is fun and at least tailored to an aging Connery.
The Bond girl in this film (Kim Basinger as Domino) does exactly what she is supposed to do. The film still has all the cool gadgets and was not as over the top as Bond was getting in the early 1980s.
While this film is certainly better than some of the worst entries in the Bond franchise, it still is only an average Bond film.
This review of Never Say Never Again (1983) was written by Ross B on 15 May 2013.
Never Say Never Again has generally received mixed reviews.
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