Never Say Never Again
1983  PG  ACTION  2h 14min
CAST— Sean Connery, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Max von Sydow, Barbara Carrera, Kim Basinger, Bernie Casey, Alec McCowen, Edward Fox, Rowan Atkinson
MUSIC— Michel Legrand  DIRECTOR— Irvin Kershner  BASED ON— Thunderball (novel), by Ian Fleming

     Slick (if somewhat unnecessary) rehash of major plot elements of the 1965 adventure film Thunderball. Sean Connery returns as MI6 agent 007, James Bond after signing off on the character after Diamonds are Forever (1971). This Bond is the same old chap (or should that be older chap?). Boss M has retired the 00s, relegating them to teaching duties and training exercises rather than actual missions. But now an old school crisis rears its ugly head; a major criminal organization has seized control of two nuclear warheads and is threatening the world with them. Bond follows a lead to the Bahamas and there gets mixed up with loose women, radio controlled sharks and one shocker of a video game. Surprisingly good compared to other (official) Bond films of the ‘80s. Utterly superfluous. Final note: due to binding legal stuff and so on and so forth this one is not part of the official 007 line-up. Bond fans should still take a look, though.
OUR RATING— ** ½
ORIGINAL— Thunderball (1965)