Synopsis
Sometimes, you’ve gotta watch something because you’re waiting for a new satellite dish to be installed, plus your better half wants to see a Bond movie. Then I pulled out Never Say Never Again. Call it an “unofficial” Bond movie I guess. And I’ve always watched this pretty much before when I’ve seen it on TV. But I watched it this weekend, and it just seemed really dated to me. Or maybe dated isn’t the word. But for someone who’s watched the Austin Powers movies numerous times, boy oh boy d…es this seem like a bad parody!
Just so I’ve got this right, the first (and best for a lot of people) Bond, Sean Connery (The Rock) had been flirting with the idea of returning as Bond for several years, and returned to make this film. The problem is that Roger Moore was playing Bond in Octopussy, which was coming out around the same time. After much legal wrangling, they were both released, yet both are the same picture, I think…
Bond saves the world from the murderous villains of SPECTRE, headed by Blofeld (Max von Sydow, Minority Report), and getting in numerous conflicts with Largo, played by Klaus Maria Brandauer (The Russia House), who I think is more than a little underrated in this film. I could be wrong, but I think he played the usual transparent charm of a Bond villain better than most, it deserves watching. He is involved with Domino (Kim Basinger, L.A. Confidential), the sister of an Air Force officer who is helping Largo and SPECTRE to obtain nuclear warheads for extortion purposes. Are the usual Bond girls here? Sure, along with Basinger, there’s also Barbara Carrera, who plays Fatima Blush, the henchman (or is it henchperson?) of Largo.
As for Connery, he reprises his role with the usual double entendres, charm and swagger, but he’s got some sort of monster on his head. No wait! That’s the hairpiece, sorry. Am I wrong in saying he should just embrace the whole bald thing? I mean, take a look at his bald roles, you’ve got Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, you’ve got The Name of the Rose, and I think you’ve got Family Business also. That’s not even mentioning his Oscar for The Untouchables either. Vanity is dumb Sean, embrace and stop hiding the skin on the top of your head, you’ll be much better for it, I promise.
Audio
Audio tracks are limited to English and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0, and are serviceable.
Video
A bit of a stunner when I say that you’ll watch this movie is 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. Its showing is pretty clean, though there are some artifacts that I noticed, which is to be expected.
Special Features
Aside from a booklet that details the making of this movie, the only extra on the disc is the film’s trailer.Closing Thoughts
Some good, clean, harmless fun, even the first part of the opening act pokes fun at Connery’s age (53 at the time of this release). The lack of extras may be a bit disappointing, but Bond enthusiasts will wholeheartedly pick this one up.
Special Features List
- Trailer
