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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Slick, enjoyable but not quite premium Bond, March 11, 2009
At once the victim of impossible expectations after years of false starts and rumors about Connery's return to Bondage and also a breath of fresh air as the Roger Moore Bond films increasingly floundered, Never Say Never Again was a welcome riposte to the worst excesses of the EON franchise in 1983, but time hasn't been that kind to it. There are certainly some horrible miscalculations, Carrera's cartoonish villainess Fatima Blush (like Faye Dunaway on steroids), Edward Fox's self-parody as M, Pamela Salem's moronic Moneypenny and an embarrassingly over-the-top Rowan Atkinson's horribly unfunny Nigel Small-Fawcett among them, not to mention that problematic and much-despised easy listening score from Michel Legrand.
A famously troubled production, with Cubby Broccoli frightening studios, investors and co-stars away through years of lawsuits and Connery taking against the film's inexperienced producer Jack Schwartzman so violently that he would reportedly hide whenever the actor came anywhere near his office, most of the scars aren't visible in the finished product. Thankfully the worst excesses of the legendary unfilmed but sadly rather silly and OTT script Connery and Len Deighton penned in the early 70s, Warhead (which climaxed with a hang-glider attack on the Statue of Liberty and boasted a villain with his own underwater lair), were also toned down, albeit largely for budget reasons. With only a watered-down version of their radio-controlled sharks remaining, this version is at least a little more grounded than the rampant silliness that had seen the Bonds stray unrecognisably far from their roots in Ian Fleming's novels. Despite uncredited co-writers Ian La Fresnais and Dick Clements pilfering their earlier movie spinoff of Porridge for some of the jokes, the more streamlined screenplay flows better than Thunderball, which was always the clunkiest of Bond scripts in its desperation to throw everything including the kitchen sink into the mix, but it's also less fun. Odder still is the very American feel to the film, with a clean, spare look that's uncomfortably at odds with Connery's previous outings.
On the plus side, Klaus Maria Brandauer is particularly good as Largo, Bernie Casey brings an easy familiarity to his role that makes him one of the best of the many Felix Leiters in Connery's tenure, and Alec McCowen and Max Von Sydow are fine in undemanding parts while Robert Rietty, who voiced Largo in Thunderball as well as numerous other Bond characters over the years, turns up briefly onscreen for a change. It's also thankfully light on the gadgets that got particularly out of control in the EON series during the 80s and the action scenes are for the most part well-handled, with an excellent fight with Pat Roach the standout despite a particularly lame gag ending. Enjoyable but no enduring classic.
After years as only a no-frills edition with just a trailer, this NTSC collectors edition includes a heavily-lawyered three-part documentary on the making of the film, audio commentary by director Irvin Kershner and Bond historian Steven Jay Rubin, trailer and stills gallery.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Connery's Swang Song, March 2, 2009
The result of Kevin McClory's lawsuit against Ian Fleming (and much later Cubby Broccoli) over THUNDERBALL, it has Sean Connery returning to harness as Commander James Bond 12 years after departing the series. A film that had a torturous history. Originally announced in 1976 as JAMES BOND OF THE SECRET SERVICE (McClory's agreement with Cubby Broccoli & Harry Saltzman called for him to be able to remake the story 10 years after THUNDERBALL's release -- some have speculated that the two Bond producers didn't believe the character would survive that long. Connery once described Broccoli & Saltzman as "Two guys sitting across a desk, looking at each other and each one thinking, 'That bugger's got half what should all be mine.'"), he was promptly sued by Broccoli & company. Later Sean Connery would come on board with British Spy novelist Len Deighton (THE IPCRESS FILE, FUNERAL IN BERLIN, et al) to write a new screen treatment now called WARHEAD. Connery even went on a scouting trip to NYC to check out locations (including the Statue of Liberty). As legal entanglements dragged on, McClory eventually sold the rights to Hollywood lawyer (and Talia Shire's husband) Jack Schwartzman. The film managed to lure Connery back for a reported $3 or $4 million. Basically using the THUNDERBALL scenario (legally, it couldn't stray too far from the original story) NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN is a curious film. While it works when Connery is on screen (and he is alot), somehow it isn't totally satisfying. It lacks the sense of urgency and worldwide menace that the original had. The Legrand score stinks (the fault of Sean Connery who insisted on him), the finale lacks the drama epic scope of the original underwater battle, Kim Bassinger is lovely but lack Claudine Auger's charm; Klaus Maria Brandeur -- a fine actor -- is interesting as Largo but everything seems less than the original. Of standout mention: Barbara Carrera as Fatima Blush -- sexy and murderously deranged. However her character departs half-way through the film. Edward Fox as M doesn't make it, Bernie Casey as Felix Leiter is fine but Pamela Salem is a weak Moneypenny. Rowan Atkinson, a fine comedian, is completely absurd as British Embawsy nebbish Nigel Small-Fawcett. Some nice touches: Aftering water sking into Bond's arms at a Bahaman bar...
Fatima Blush: I've made you all wet!
Bond: Yes, but my martini is still dry.
Released the same year as the Eon series 13th outing, OCTOPUSSY, the Moore film made more money. Also of note, the same year George Lazenby played a character only referred to as "JB" in THE RETURN OF THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. So all three of the guys who had -- up to that point played 007 -- were all doing so again somewhere in the world! Besides a new transfer there is audio commentary by director Irvin Kershner and 007 scholar Steven Jay Rubin (THE JAMES BOND FILMS: A BEHIND THE SCENES HISTORY), featurettes on the road to NSNA and a look at Connery's return.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Battle of the Bonds, September 7, 2009
1983 was a big year; especially for movies with 3s (Return of the Jedi, Superman, Jaws and even this, Connery's third final Bond film). Not only that, it was the Battle of the Bonds. EON Productions "official" Roger Moore film Octopussy vs. the triumphant return of Sean Connery in this "unofficial" remake of Thunderball (due to a lawsuit of Kevin McClory against Ian Fleming then Cubby Broccoli). Though many plot elements are similar (the theft of two nuclear warheads, SPECTRE, Domino, etc.), there are also a lot of differences. Largo (played by Klaus Maria Brandauer) is a philanthropist, whose vessel The Flying Saucer (the English translation of Largo's boat from Thunderball Disco Volante) is a fully functional villain hideout, which is one of the pluses of the film. Another plus is to the characterization of Largo. In the first film, he was more intimidating and involved. In this, he's slightly insane (even admitting to it in one of my favorite scenes). But he's also involved and very sophisticated, who doesn't let Bond's antics seem to bother him as much as in Thunderball. Domino (played by Kim Basinger) I'm kind of on the fence. In this she pretty much wants to be with Largo (though insinuating earlier that she might leave him, though only playfully bringing it up) and doesn't seem to mind being his mistress until Bond tells her about the death of her brother. In Thunderball, she's much more vulnerable and emotional towards Bond and actually doesn't like being kept around by Largo. And when it comes to evil henchwomen, Fiona Volpe wins out over Fatima Blush (played by Barbara Carrera). Carrera plays Blush to over the top but she does mix elements of Volpe and future Bond bad girl, Xenia Onatopp. As far as action goes, this ones very light on it. The fight in the health spa could've been trimmed a bit. And even though the motorcycle chase doesn't have any gadgets, its still quite exciting. And the final assault on Largo is also quite fun and exciting, saving the big explosvies for the finale. And lastly, music wise, this is near the bottom of my list (but above DAD and QOS). The music is jazzier and can be, at least to me, quite obnoxious. It doesn't seem like a Bond score at all (which may be the effect they were going for anyway, but at least David Niven's Casino Royale had a big brassy score. Coincidentally Herb Alpert, who played the theme of that film) does have a solo in the end credits). And Lani Hall's voice I just don't like, she sounds off key sometimes to me. I wish they used the recently discovered unused theme performed by Phyllis Hyman, now that sounded like a Bond song.
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