Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Scrapes by on Connery's charisma alone, 6 Nov 2007
At a time when Roger was playing Bland, James Bland... the prospect of an unofficial Bond movie enticing Sean Connery to return to the role was mouthwateringly tantalizing. And at the time it came out in 1983, the competition was one of Moore's weakest efforts, Octopussy, making the Bond versus Bond clash seem one sided in this movies favour. Never Say Never Again has a larger budget, stronger cast and is based on an Ian Fleming story.
Alas, the end result turns out to be not much better than a parody of the earlier Bonds, and despite a strong cast the script is so clunky and obvious that the wit and panache of Bond is missing. Worse, the music is anachronistic and dated. Of course, for legal reasons, they could not use John Barry's timeless themes, but all the more reason one would have thought to spend more time getting the score just right for the tone of the movie. Perhaps the most serious crime of all.. it is more than a bit dull. You find yourself waiting for an action scene to come along, then when one comes along, you wish they would get it over with. Aside from an effective bike-chasing-car scene, no other action scene resonates after the credits have rolled.
It's not all bad.. Kim Basinger is a lithe and lovely Bond girl, and Klaus Maria Brandauer is a deliciously quirky villain. A few scenes hold up - the dance scene when Bond tells Domino her brother is dead, the fistfight at Shrublands with Pat Roach (from Auf Wiedersehen pet), and at least we don't have the dreadful speeded up boat scene from the original and superior 'Thunderball'.
Finally, with the `official' Bond movies so well digitally remastered and sound remixed, the very poor quality of the sound mix and blemished print are all the more obvious. Sound is very boomy and with no surround mix - speech is muffled, and I had to turn up the volume much higher than usual to hear any detail. Aside from one trailer, there are no extras.
The worst of Moore's Bond outings can still be enjoyed, even when the grin is mixed with a groan... here though, the grin has become a fixed grimace, and the pleasures are few and far between. Connery's charisma pulls us through without feeling obliged to give up half way through - but the temptation is never far away. Worth watching only for nostalgia's sake, to see Connery's Bond swansong.
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8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A unique Bond movie and to be enjoyed as such, 16 May 2003
When Kevin McClory teamed up with the Eon company to make the movie Thunderball in 1965 he was contractually obliged not to exercise his rights to the James Bond character for ten years, Sure enough in 1975 McClory started pitching a 007 script titled Warhead to all the competing studios, but it wasn't until 1983 that Never Say Never Again actually made it to the silver screen opening opposite the lame Roger Moore vehicle Octopussy. Never Say Never Again (a title suggested by Sean Connery's wife) has on display a variation of the plot that McClory had produced almost 20 years earlier. There are slight differences and the look of the film bears a stark contrast to the EON produced series. Despite a rather slim plot, the movie does showcase one the best villains of any Bond movie with the brilliant Klaus Maria Brandeur hamming it up as the megalomaniacal Largo. In addition to his sterling performance and a (too short) appearance by Max Von Sydow as Blofeld, there is the delicious Barbara Carrera as the villainess, a role that allows her to frolic around in various stages of undress. Not to be outdone the movie also features an early performance by Kim Basinger as the "Bond girl" and her character seems to display more depth than either Maud Adams or Kristina Wayborn were able to convey in the rival EON movie of that year. After the movie was obtained by MGM-UA (the company that produces the EON production) there was talk among fans as to the possibility of the gun barrel sequence being added to make it part of the "canon", I for one do not think that this unique James Bond 007 movie should be tampered with in that manner and was equally happy to see it emerge on DVD. I heartily recommend this movie
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8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Finally my Bond collection is complete!, 28 April 2001
By A Customer
I know many people are disappointed with this film, but I have to say I kinda like it. I watch Bond flicks frequently, and I've returned to this one over and over again. In fact, the more I watch it the more I like it. It's entertaining, Sean (excuse me, SIR Sean) is in his prime, and the settings are very beautiful. Overall a wise purchase I would say. Hey, there's a hilarious scene where Sean poses as a masseur in order to extract information from Kim Basinger! I laughed and laughed...
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