I know a lot of critics absolutely hate this film, and I understand why. However, I can't help but enjoy this film and pop it in the ol' DVD player from time to time. While it's exploitative and hardly necessary, it's still a film that fits in well in the James Bond series.

Why's the film not necessary? It's merely an update of 1965's Thunderball, which was a fine Bond film starring Sean Connery which was hardly in need of an update. Sure, I realize the film was touted as Connery's last film in the bond role, but I would have though someone could have come up with a more original approach to this 1983 film.

Never Say Never Again puts Bond against Houston "The Scalded Chicken" Nutt -- a charlatan, liar and no-gooder bent on taking over the world by becoming the head football coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks and running the program into the dirt. Wait, that's not the movie at all! That has more to do with current reality! A reality that's more diabolical than any little Hollywood producer could possibly imagine. So, now, back to our movie...

Never Say Never Again puts Bond against S.P.E.C.T.R.E. (which stands for Special-Executive for Counter-Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion), a criminal enterprise which has stolen two nuclear warheads from the U.S. The group of thugs threatens to blow up Washington, D.C. and oil fields in the Middle East unless the nations of the world pony up some serious cash.

Oh, so who can save the world from such a dire fate? Who, who, who? Why, Bond, of course! We find Bond rather called out of retirement in that he's spent the majority of the past decade or so teaching and the funding for "the agency" has been cut to the bone. However, Bond is called back into active service and is sent to resolve yet another major problem by utilizing his particular secret-agent skills. Want to guess whether he's successful or not?

That's about all I'll mention about the plot in this film. Really, all you need to know is this -- it's an action-packed, Bond flick featuring all manner of violence, globe-trotting and plenty o' sex.

The problems with this film are plenty. Sure, it's better than that, uh, "Octo" thing starring Bond as portrayed by Roger Moore that was released at the time, but Connery isn't that convincing as Bond in this film. First of all, there's that whole sex thing. Connery bonds with plenty of women in Never Say Never Again, but there's something a bit disturbing when one realizes he's bedding chicks that are roughly half his age (Connery was 53-years-old when this was released, after all). Indeed, regarding Bond as a dirty old man does little to boost the character's suave image which is central to all of the Bond films.

And, this film looks very, very dated by today's standards. When I say dated, I mean it looks even more tied to a particular era than the 1960s Bond films we all know and love. While earlier Bond films featured plenty of pop references, those were typically in the background and tended to not get in the way of the story. That's not the case with Never Say Never Again as pop culture references are very prominent in the film. After all, Bond spends a pivotal moment in the film playing a video game against the requisite insane villain (Klaus-Maria Brandauer as Largo). This film just screams, "I was made in the 1980s!" and seems flat out captured to that decade. The story just doesn't pull it out of its time period in the way classic Bond films like Dr. No or Goldfinger did.

Still, this film is very enjoyable. Bond is as tough as ever, and watching Kim Basinger (the "Bond girl" for the film") before she developed that "used up" look is always fun. While this isn't the finest Bond film out there, it's still pretty darn good.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12