ReBONDing: Never Say Never Again
Reevaluating the Sean Connery Era (1962 - 1971, 1983)
NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (1983)
Directed by Irvin Kershner
Written by Lorenzo Semple, Jr., Dick Clement (uncredited), Ian La Frenais (uncredited)
Based On An Original Story by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham, Ian Fleming
Running Time: 134 minutes
Since I never provided an original verdict and score for Never Say Never Again, I'll share some backstory of how this film ever happened in the first place.
In 1958, Ian Fleming approached film producer Kevin McClory to help develop and produce the first James Bond motion picture. McClory didn't feel that any of Fleming's novels were very adaptable but knew that the James Bond character would translate well onto film. McClory, with the help of screenwriter Jack Whittingham, developed the new James Bond character through several treatments and screenplays resulting in Thunderball. In the two years it took to produce the film, Eon Productions swooped in and purchased the film rights to Fleming's book series and decided to adapt Dr. No as their first film. Fleming then penned the novel Thunderball, adapting it from the abandoned screenplay.
Since Fleming failed to obtain permission from McClory and Whittingham before writing the novel, it became a huge legal hassle for Fleming's estate and Eon Productions, as McClory claimed partial ownership rights to the basic plot premise of the film, the use of SPECTRE and specific characters, including Blofeld. The courts ruled in McClory's favor and in order to come to an agreement, McClory was given sole producer credit for the original 1965 Thunderball film and an agreement not to make his own film for 10 years. (Eon Productions retired SPECTRE and Blofeld altogether after Connery's departure, moving the series in an entirely different direction.)
There's a lot more to the story than what I've written here, but you get the idea.
Fast forward 18 years later...
After several attempts, even more litigation and seemingly endless legal disputes, McClory finally gets his way and produces his own James Bond film. With Never Say Never Again, we're basically treated to an updated rehashing of Thunderball, as McClory only had the rights to this basic plot involving James Bond.
Never Say Never Again is the red-headed stepchild of all the Bond films. Many Bond purists reject this film for absolutely no logical reason other than it wasn't produced by Eon Productions, therefore it is not a part of the official "Bond Canon." If that's true, then I find that sad, because while this film is far from perfect, there's also a lot of fun in Never Say Never Again.
THE EVALUATION
The Cold Open: Glaringly absent from Never Say Never Again is the iconic gun barrel sequence, the traditional cold open, and a classic opening title credit sequence. Instead of these motifs, we're given opening titles over what appears to be a James Bond on a rescue mission deep inside an unidentified tropical region while the viewer is subjected to a horrendous song that plays over it. (This godawful earworm of a song will haunt you for weeks after watching the film. Trust me, I know this from recent personal experience.) Bond works his way into a heavily guarded facility to rescue a kidnapped woman. Everything seems to be going according to plan until he unties her and she stabs him. It's actually a pretty brilliant concept for a James Bond opening until the filmmakers ruin it with that song.
In a perfect world, the film's opening would be re-cut like this:
The Villain: Maximillian Largo is a welcome change compared to the original villain. Here we're treated to a fantastic performance by Klaus Maria Brandauer. This Largo has an underlying venomous nature, just brimming underneath the surface. In all of the Bond films, he would easily make my Top 10 list of villains.
The Heavy: Fatima Blush, the beautiful, overtly sexual, and flamboyant femme fatale played by Barbara Carrera. Another wonderful stroke of genius placing her in this film. Her sexually dominant and playful antics are extremely fun to watch. She's ostentatious in both personality and style and I love it!
The Girls: In Never Say Never Again, Sean Connery's aging James Bond is treated to four women just like in Thunderball. (I don't count Nicole since she dies too soon after her character is introduced.) We have (1) Domino Petachi (Kim Basinger) who is Largo's mistress. She makes a suitable Bond girl, but she's nowhere near my favorite as her performance barely outranks Tanya Roberts in A View To A Kill. (2) Fatima Blush (see above). (3) "Lady in Bahamas" (seriously, that's how she's credited), and (4) Patricia Fearing, the physiotherapist at the Shrublands clinic. For a man who was 52 years old at the time, I would say he was doing surprisingly well.
The Gadgets: Bond is supplied with a laser watch, a rocket pen, and my personal favorite, the Yamaha Turbo Motorbike. Every gadget seems fantastic and perfectly placed giving the film just the right balance of fantastical mixed in with the real world. That is until the filmmaker's make a nod to the jetpack from the original Thunderball. It's a failed attempt at best, but by this time the wheels have already clearly fallen off of the film.
What Doesn't Work? The film's title, the opening song, Connery's toupee, and almost the entire third act, which includes the remarkably anti-climatic underwater climax. Never Say Never Again was one of my boyhood favorites and while there's enough material here to potentially sink this film, I won't continue to poke holes in the boat. I feel the film holds up surprisingly well for a 1983 release, especially when placed side-by-side next to Roger Moore's Octopussy.
Final Thoughts: As stated before, when I was a boy I loved this movie. I loved it like I loved most of the Roger Moore entries from the same era of the early 1980s. As an adult, I now love just two-thirds of this movie. Late in the film, I found myself checking out mentally. Once Bond and Domino make the spectacularly moronic horseback leap off of the castle cliff I was looking at my phone, apathetic at best. It's unfortunate since this film does so many things right but nevertheless, fails to nail down a good third act and an enjoyable climax (just like the original Thunderball). Even if the final act of the film falls flat, there are plenty of fantastic Bond moments in this film. The humorously brutal fight at the health clinic, Bond's playful banter with Q, the fun, intense (and obviously dated) video game of Domination played between Bond and Largo in the casino and the exciting motorbike chase that ends with the demise of Fatima Blush.
However, the best part of this film is Sean Connery. Never Say Never Again does what Eon Productions never did with Roger Moore: they take his age into consideration and then tailor the script around it. For that reason alone, the film works. Connery is incredibly charming and playful here, delivering more than just his wonderful one-liners, which of course are perfectly peppered throughout. It's nice to see a vibrant and engaging Bond, void of his 1960s sexist tendencies and overall disinterest in the role (especially towards the end of his original run). Like all of the ladies in this film, he wins us over with his magnetism proving once again why he is, and always will be, the original James Bond.
Final Score: 3.5 out of 5
James Bond will return...
NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (1983)
Directed by Irvin Kershner
Written by Lorenzo Semple, Jr., Dick Clement (uncredited), Ian La Frenais (uncredited)
Based On An Original Story by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham, Ian Fleming
Running Time: 134 minutes
Since I never provided an original verdict and score for Never Say Never Again, I'll share some backstory of how this film ever happened in the first place.
In 1958, Ian Fleming approached film producer Kevin McClory to help develop and produce the first James Bond motion picture. McClory didn't feel that any of Fleming's novels were very adaptable but knew that the James Bond character would translate well onto film. McClory, with the help of screenwriter Jack Whittingham, developed the new James Bond character through several treatments and screenplays resulting in Thunderball. In the two years it took to produce the film, Eon Productions swooped in and purchased the film rights to Fleming's book series and decided to adapt Dr. No as their first film. Fleming then penned the novel Thunderball, adapting it from the abandoned screenplay.
Since Fleming failed to obtain permission from McClory and Whittingham before writing the novel, it became a huge legal hassle for Fleming's estate and Eon Productions, as McClory claimed partial ownership rights to the basic plot premise of the film, the use of SPECTRE and specific characters, including Blofeld. The courts ruled in McClory's favor and in order to come to an agreement, McClory was given sole producer credit for the original 1965 Thunderball film and an agreement not to make his own film for 10 years. (Eon Productions retired SPECTRE and Blofeld altogether after Connery's departure, moving the series in an entirely different direction.)
There's a lot more to the story than what I've written here, but you get the idea.
 |
| One of McClory's first failed attempts to bring his James Bond to the big screen. |
Fast forward 18 years later...
After several attempts, even more litigation and seemingly endless legal disputes, McClory finally gets his way and produces his own James Bond film. With Never Say Never Again, we're basically treated to an updated rehashing of Thunderball, as McClory only had the rights to this basic plot involving James Bond.
Never Say Never Again is the red-headed stepchild of all the Bond films. Many Bond purists reject this film for absolutely no logical reason other than it wasn't produced by Eon Productions, therefore it is not a part of the official "Bond Canon." If that's true, then I find that sad, because while this film is far from perfect, there's also a lot of fun in Never Say Never Again.
THE EVALUATION
The Cold Open: Glaringly absent from Never Say Never Again is the iconic gun barrel sequence, the traditional cold open, and a classic opening title credit sequence. Instead of these motifs, we're given opening titles over what appears to be a James Bond on a rescue mission deep inside an unidentified tropical region while the viewer is subjected to a horrendous song that plays over it. (This godawful earworm of a song will haunt you for weeks after watching the film. Trust me, I know this from recent personal experience.) Bond works his way into a heavily guarded facility to rescue a kidnapped woman. Everything seems to be going according to plan until he unties her and she stabs him. It's actually a pretty brilliant concept for a James Bond opening until the filmmakers ruin it with that song.
In a perfect world, the film's opening would be re-cut like this:
- New and/or reinvention of the gun barrel sequence.
- Rescue mission (remove the original song, insert dramatic score) ending on Bond being stabbed.
- Opening Titles credit sequence (using a significantly better alternate song that was written for this film).
- Transition to Bond in M's office where he wasn't actually stabbed but is having his most recent training mission evaluated.
The Girls: In Never Say Never Again, Sean Connery's aging James Bond is treated to four women just like in Thunderball. (I don't count Nicole since she dies too soon after her character is introduced.) We have (1) Domino Petachi (Kim Basinger) who is Largo's mistress. She makes a suitable Bond girl, but she's nowhere near my favorite as her performance barely outranks Tanya Roberts in A View To A Kill. (2) Fatima Blush (see above). (3) "Lady in Bahamas" (seriously, that's how she's credited), and (4) Patricia Fearing, the physiotherapist at the Shrublands clinic. For a man who was 52 years old at the time, I would say he was doing surprisingly well.
 |
| A subtle nod to Ian Fleming whose Bond drove a Bentley in the books. |
The Gadgets: Bond is supplied with a laser watch, a rocket pen, and my personal favorite, the Yamaha Turbo Motorbike. Every gadget seems fantastic and perfectly placed giving the film just the right balance of fantastical mixed in with the real world. That is until the filmmaker's make a nod to the jetpack from the original Thunderball. It's a failed attempt at best, but by this time the wheels have already clearly fallen off of the film.
What Doesn't Work? The film's title, the opening song, Connery's toupee, and almost the entire third act, which includes the remarkably anti-climatic underwater climax. Never Say Never Again was one of my boyhood favorites and while there's enough material here to potentially sink this film, I won't continue to poke holes in the boat. I feel the film holds up surprisingly well for a 1983 release, especially when placed side-by-side next to Roger Moore's Octopussy.
However, the best part of this film is Sean Connery. Never Say Never Again does what Eon Productions never did with Roger Moore: they take his age into consideration and then tailor the script around it. For that reason alone, the film works. Connery is incredibly charming and playful here, delivering more than just his wonderful one-liners, which of course are perfectly peppered throughout. It's nice to see a vibrant and engaging Bond, void of his 1960s sexist tendencies and overall disinterest in the role (especially towards the end of his original run). Like all of the ladies in this film, he wins us over with his magnetism proving once again why he is, and always will be, the original James Bond.
Final Score: 3.5 out of 5
James Bond will return...
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