For those of you who were old enough to have seen this when it hit theaters, you might recall that Never Say Never ran along side another Roger Moore 007 film released near the same time. I will go more into that on a later review. As for Never Say Never, some critics ripped this unofficial bond title into shreds. Other critics welcomed the unofficial title as a twist on the franchise. As for myself, I agree with the latter critics. For those who don't know (hopefully IMDb won't consider this remark a spoiler), Never Say Never is a LOOSE remake of the much earlier Thunderball. I put the word 'loose' in all caps for a reason: While the plot and characters of Thunderball share some similarities with Thunderball, the overall timeline of the story takes place in between Moonraker and Your Eyes Only (I will further explain this in my review of Your Eyes Only). The reason Never Say Never is labeled an unofficial bond title is because it was produced by Warner Bros. studios with a different producer/director and not by United Artists/MGM. Still, don't let this statement gear you away from viewing this title. Never Say Never delivers greatly on the action and special effects of 007 and reminded many viewers why Sean Connery might possibly have been voted "best bond actor" as of recent. Is this to say Never Say Never is near perfect? Well, not really. Even at two hours and 30 minutes, there are some minor pacing issues that could have been trimmed a little. Regardless, the overall pacing is still acceptable especially when compared to Thunderball... have mercy!! Moving on; I have always liked the actress Kim Basinger and while she might not have been some peoples' choice for the bond girl in this film, she can act to some degree and is (or was) very good looking back in the early 80's when this was filmed. As for one of the two villains, those of you who thought Ernest Blofeld a.k.a Spectre #1 met his end on Diamonds Are Forever might be in for a shock. Overall, some James Bond purists will disregard Never Say Never simply because it is not an official Albert R. Brocolli production... and that is unfortunate because this film is definitely worthy of the 007 collection.
Review of Never Say Never Again
