I had seen every James Bond film other than “Never Say Never Again,” released in 1983. That omission probably wasn’t accidental. The film occupies a strange and controversial place in the Bond canon: an unofficial, non-Eon Productions entry that marked Sean Connery’s return to the role of 007 after a twelve-year absence. When Netflix recently licensed all 26 Bond films from Amazon in a somewhat surprising move, including this odd, non-Eon outlier, I finally took the opportunity to check it off the list.

Unfortunately, the experience was a letdown. “Never Say Never Again” is a complete mess, and it has aged terribly. Some scenes are so misguided that they feel like unintentional parody, with the Blofeld scenes and dialogue standing out as particularly cringe-worthy. To be fair, many of the Bond films leading up to “Never Say Never Again” haven’t aged especially well either. Their pacing often drags, and Bond’s “cool” factor we all love is frequently buried under long, dull stretches and strained attempts at humor. This film suffers from all of those problems, only here they’re compounded by a weak script and thoroughly schlocky production values.

The Backstory

How did this film ever get made? The premise isn’t bad – an aging Bond comes back from another adventure. But Eon Productions was also releasing a new Bond film in 1983, the also forgettable “Octopussy” starring Roger Moore. Needless to say it was quite strange to have competing Bond films released in the same year.

The story behind the film traces back to the early 1960s and a long-running legal battle over the rights to Ian Fleming’s novel Thunderball. In the late 1950s, Irish producer Kevin McClory collaborated with Fleming and screenwriter Jack Whittingham on a screenplay titled “James Bond of the Secret Service” (later “Warhead”), which introduced SPECTRE and villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, centering on stolen nuclear warheads. When the partnership soured, Fleming turned the script into the novel Thunderball (1961) without crediting McClory or Whittingham. McClory sued Fleming for breach of copyright, leading to a 1963 settlement that gave McClory film rights to the Thunderball story. Eon Productions (run by Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli and Harry Saltzman) then struck a deal with McClory to produce the 1965 “Thunderball” film, but McClory agreed not to remake it for 10 years after its release.

Fast forward to the late 1970s, as McClory tried to exercise his rights to Thunderball, SPECTRE, and Blofeld. He wanted to make his own film and Eon fought to block it. Eon even killed off Blofeld unceremoniously in “For Your Eyes Only.” In the early 1980s, producer Jack Schwartzman partnered with McClory to revive the project. They secured Sean Connery, who had quit the Bond franchise after “Diamonds Are Forever” (1971), vowing he’d “never again” play Bond. A lucrative deal reportedly worth $3–5 million plus script/casting approval and profit shares apparantly changed his mind. Connery’s return was partly motivated by financial needs after some box-office flops and lingering resentment toward Broccoli (whom he reportedly felt had shortchanged him on earlier profits).

Directed by Irvin Kershner (“The Empire Strikes Back”), the film was shot as a remake of the “Thunderball” plot, with Bond recovering stolen nukes from SPECTRE. They tried to add in modern updates and humor about Bond’s age (Connery was 52), but there would be no gun-barrel sequence in the opening or classic title song due to legal restrictions. Production was notoriously troubled: constant clashes between Kershner, Schwartzman, and Connery; budget overruns; and Connery later calling it a “bloody Mickey Mouse operation” full of “incompetence, ineptitude, and dissension.” There were constant script rewrites and it shows.

Bad From the Start

The film’s weak opening sets the tone immediately. The theme song is just terrible, and the rest of the score isn’t much better. Without the iconic gun-barrel sequence, the whole thing feels like a pale imitation rather than a legitimate Bond film.

As we said, the premise isn’t bad, and Connery handles his business well here. He’s very comfortable as an older Bond, and while some of the jokes about his age fall flat, he still offers up plenty of charisma and is believable as an older secret agent who can still score with the ladies.

Things truly go off the rails with the introduction of Blofeld. Max von Sydow, an actor capable of real menace and gravitas, is saddled with some of the worst dialogue imaginable. In his brief appearance addressing SPECTRE, he outlines the nuclear extortion plot through an absurd, leaden speech that serves as clumsy exposition rather than dramatic threat. He then doubles down with an even more ridiculous monologue delivered to British and American officials, spelling out the scheme in cartoonishly blunt terms:

“A terrible catastrophe now confronts you. However, it can be avoided by paying a tribute to our organization, amounting to twenty-five percent of your respective countries’ annual oil purchases. We have accomplished two of the functions that the name SPECTRE embodies: terror and extortion. If our demands are not met within seven days, we shall ruthlessly apply the third: revenge!”

Edward Fox doesn’t help matters with his buffoonish portrayal of M. It’s hard to say whether the blame lies with the script or the direction, as Fox is usually a fine actor. The supporting cast fares no better. Even a cameo by a young Rowan Atkinson as a bumbling British diplomat fails to generate more than a token chuckle.

Another low point arrives with the often mocked video-game duel between Bond and Maximilian Largo (Klaus Maria Brandauer). Someone clearly thought this was a clever way to appeal to the video-game generation. It wasn’t. The sequence drags on far too long, cycling through repetitive visuals, painfully slow tension-building via electric shocks, and exposition-heavy explanations of the rules. Once again, the dialogue is clumsy and overworked. In theory, the scene is meant to show Bond and Largo sizing each other up psychologically and physically; in practice, it plays like tedious filler that brings the film to a halt.

Bright Spots

Any film featuring Sean Connery as James Bond is bound to deliver at least a few genuinely enjoyable moments, and “Never Say Never Again” is no exception. Connery doesn’t disappoint; his ease in the role and natural screen presence give die-hard fans plenty to appreciate. Brandauer also clearly relishes his turn as Maximilian Largo, injecting the film with energy and providing Bond with a villain who, at least conceptually, feels worthy of the matchup.

There’s also no shortage of action, even if it’s unevenly paced. The shark sequence is a clever set piece, and the motorcycle chase stands out as one of the film’s more effectively staged moments. I also enjoyed Bond’s elimination of Fatima Blush (Barbara Carrera), particularly the use of one of Q’s gadgets — a reminder of the playful ingenuity that, at its best, defines classic Bond.

Bond Girls

Which brings is to the Bond girls. It’s hard to screw this part up, as there’s no shortage of beautiful actresses who would jump at the chance to be in a Bond film.

Barbara Carrera was an inspired choice to play Fatima Blush, bringing a strong physical presence and exotic beauty to the part. As a Nicaraguan-born former model who had graced the covers of over 300 magazines and worked with the prestigious Eileen Ford agency since her teens, she had the glamorous, striking looks that fit the Bond franchise’s tradition of alluring villainesses. Her statuesque figure, intense eyes, and commanding screen charisma made Fatima visually memorable and convincing as a dangerous femme fatale who could threaten Bond both physically and sexually.

Fatima herself is vain, psychotic, and completely unhinged, and Carrera commits fully to the excess. The performance is wildly over the top, but deliberately so—and she clearly revels in it, right up until the character meets her explosive end.

For the role of Domino Petachi, Kim Bassinger was personally selected for by Connery after his wife suggested her. Domino is the glamorous, sophisticated mistress/girlfriend of the villain Largo. She is also the sister of Captain Jack Petachi (Gavan O’Herlihy), a U.S. Air Force pilot brainwashed and used by SPECTRE to steal two nuclear warheads. After Bond infiltrates Largo’s world in the Bahamas and learns of the scheme, he seduces Domino (of course) and reveals the truth about her brother’s fate (including that Largo orchestrated his death). This betrayal turns Domino against Largo. She defects to Bond’s side, providing key information and ultimately participating in the climax of the film.

Basinger handles the role well, though it’s clear she would deliver far stronger work later in her career. She looks gorgeous, as expected, and that ultimately covers most of what the part demands.

Aftermath

“Never Say Never Again” performed respectably at the box office, earning roughly $160 million worldwide. By most measures, that made it a commercial success—though it was still outpaced by Octopussy, Roger Moore’s official Eon entry, in what was widely dubbed the 1983 “Battle of the Bonds.” The underlying rights disputes didn’t end there. Kevin McClory continued to pursue additional remakes for years and even partnered with Sony in the 1990s in an effort to relaunch the property. Those legal entanglements were finally resolved in 2013, when McClory’s estate reached a settlement with Eon, clearing the way for the official return of SPECTRE and Blofeld in the series—most notably in “Spectre” (2015).

As for the film itself, “Never Say Never Again” is probably required viewing only for hard-core Bond fans. For everyone else, it’s largely skippable. The film currently holds a 71% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, contrasted with a far less forgiving 37% audience score. One suspects that many of the critical reviews came from Bond-friendly writers revisiting the film years later, while the audience reaction more accurately reflects the disappointment of sitting through it.

Released to wide acclaim in 2006, “Casino Royale” was Daniel Craig’s debut as the legendary British agent James Bond. The plot portrayed Bond’s early years in service and the film was so successful that it grossed an estimated $599 million worldwide and Craig has continued in the role ever since.

Nonetheless, “Casino Royale” was not entirely without its faults. There were a number of illogical sequences or filming errors which did a disservice to an otherwise excellent production. Although it doesn’t take anything away from the film as a whole, the following errors will be of interest to any diehard 007 fan.

• Airport confusion: In the film, Bond thwarts a terrorist attack on Miami Airport. However, the sequence is actually filmed in the Czech Republic and in these scenes you can see numerous Czech Airlines planes. Unfortunately, Czech Airlines don’t fly to Miami at all! You can however find plenty of their planes at Prague Airport!

• Montenegro or Czech Republic? Similar lapses can be seen in the sequences which are supposed to be set in Montenegro, but are actually filmed in the Czech Republic. In one scene, at the back of a restaurant, a public telephone with the Czech Telecom insignia can be seen and when Bond has a drink in the square, there is a sign in Czech for “White Horse.”

• The Poker scene: One of the key scenes in the film takes sees Bond take on the terror financier Le Chiffre in a high-stakes poker game, with the intention of bankrupting his foe. It is not strange for common blackjack mistakes to be made in the name of cinematic expression and the same goes for poker too. However, it isn’t necessarily the technicalities of the poker game which seem flawed in Casino Royale. It is rather that the stakes, which eventually reach a mind-boggling $40million, which is unrealistic. Such a game would be the most expensive in poker history! In addition, although Bond and his enemy play Texas Hold’Em in the movie, the original book has them facing off in a Chemin De Fer game.

• Sand or no sand? Towards the end of the film, Bond is engaged in a characteristic embrace with glamorous girl Vesper on the sand of a secluded beach. While Bond has sand on his back for most of the scene, towards the end of it as the camera moves ever more distant, the sand has miraculously disappeared!

• Tyres in the Miami Airport chase. Here’s another disappointing oversight. During the dramatic chase scene at Miami Airport, the rear tyres of the gas truck are shot at and blown out. However, when Bond heroically skids the vehicle to a halt, the tyres appear inflated. Oh dear!

• A tortuous torture scene: Bond always ends up some kind of trouble and Casino Royale does not disappoint! At one point during the film, he is viciously tortured in a wicker chair. However, at the start of the scene, blood is running down his face in a clear line. The next moment, it has been smudged before once again returning to a clear line of streaming blood. This happens several times during the scene and now that it has been pointed out, you are bound to notice this oversight every time you watch the film!

The new James Bond film, “Skyfall,” has opened big in the UK and internationally:

Skyfall, the 23rd picture in the James Bond series, is already proving to be a smashing success. Following its $83 million opening weekend (adjusted way up from its $77.7 million estimate) in 25 international territories, the film has now officially crossed $100 million, a rep for Sony confirms to EW.

The film opens in the US next week.

Bullz-Eye.com is looking back at all the James Bond films for the 50th anniversary, starting at the beginning with “Dr. No” in 1962 and “From Russia with Love” from 1963. You can follow the site and check back as they work their way through all the films with very thorough and entertaining write-ups, along with Bond features as well. Also, here’s a handy list of all the James Bond movies.

He might have lacked some of their complexity, but in emotional and melodic terms he is very much on a par with the greatest film composers of all time, including Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, and Bernard Herrmann — and their music charted much less frequently. John Barry could write a complex, soaring pop hit that might make Burt Bacharach jealous. He wasn’t afraid to be over-the-top when the job called for and embraced a certain level of kitsch where appropriate. He didn’t over-value subtlety.

Mr. Barry died yesterday in New York from a heart attack at age 77, not super young but another twenty or thirty years of his presence on the planet would have been nice, too. Even today, when many young film viewers are only barely aware that some guy named Sean Connery once played James Bond, if I ask almost anyone to think of “spy music,” they’re probably going to think of either the actual music from the early James Bond films or music heavily influenced by it. That’s just scratching the surface.

Barry evoked beauty, longing and mystery for all kinds of films. His 111 composing credits included Oscar-winning scores for “Out of Africa,” “Born Free,” the colonial war classic “Zulu,” his groundbreaking combination of scoring and music supervision on “Midnight Cowboy,” the cult fantasy-romance, “Somewhere in Time,” a now very obscure 1972 live-action musical version of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and Richard Lester’s masterpiece, “The Knack and How to Get It.” Other scores include “Dances With Wolves,” “The Lion in Winter,” and the three movies that starred Michael Caine as anti-Bond workaday spook, Harry Palmer. Barry had the spy market cornered, and he was one very cool cat.

If you’ve never heard his fascinating and funny 2004 interview with NPR’s Terry Gross where he discusses “million dollar Mickey Mouse music,” now’s a good time. As you can always bet on, there’s much more at MUBI and be sure to check out this anecdote from Sir Michael about being present at the creation of a pop masterpiece. After the flip, just a few somewhat random clips of some of Barry’s best.