'14th' Bond movie (unofficial)
The Sean Connery movies in the Bond series always seemed to have the attitude that only Connery was the 'real' Bond. That's why after the greatest Bond movie of them all ("On her majesty's secret service" with George Lazenby as James Bond), the next movie - starring Connery, again - seemed to pretend that Lazenby never happened. And so it is with this movie...it's like Roger Moore never happened and nor will he. The narrative elements concluded by Moore (in, say, "For your eyes only") are ignored. For this reason the movie comes across to me as a one off Bond movie...I imagine that the novels always existed, but no movie had ever been made from them. "Never say die" seems like a "What if?" story. I.e. Presuming knowledge of the existence of the novels, the movie imagines what happens to Bond near the end of his professional career. Of course, in some ways this movie is a remake of Connery's earlier "Thunderball" movie. Not exactly sure of the legal background to this movie, but I'm guessing that all the elements that were mostly author's Ian Fleming's have been removed and they've worked and reworked the elements that belong to the screenwriter of "Thunderball". It works. All those dull elements of "Thunderball" are gone...the underwater travelogue which just goes on and on. And on. Gone. Phew.
Exotic locations: The Bahamas, Casino Royale in Monte Carlo
Plot: MI6 is underfunded and under-appreciated by the British Government. Bond is now limited to training the new recruits to the spying game...and playing war games instead of doing actual spy work. His direct superior, "M", has little time for the "00s" and lets him know it. When evil organisation "S. P. E. C. T. R. E" steals two nuclear warheads, Bond just may get back on to active duty as a "00" agent.
Franchise clichés:
Pre title sequence - No. This movie faced legal challenges as Roger Moore was the encumbent James Bond. Moore's Bond movie - Octopussy - was in direct competition with this Connery movie and was released shortly before it. For this reason you don't the signature 'gun barrel' scene. Instead you get a 'flyscreen' effect with "007" wallpapering the screen. You also don't get Monty Norman's famous Bond theme music.
Theme song - Still part of this movie. It's "Never say never again" and it's not bad. For the first time, I think, the singer doesn't credited at the start of the movie. You have to read the end credits for that...sung by Lani Hall and written by Heb Alpert. Sergio Mendez produced it. Song has a nice jazzy cocktail lounge vibe to it. Herb Alpert also plays the trumpet for this song...gives himself a solo to boot!
Q - Yes...BUT, it's a new guy..."Algernon". He has a touch of the Michael Caines to him. After the low point in the Bond and Q relationship in "Octopussy", it's quite a relief to see them chummy here. He has the line to Bond which I must have remembered from the promotional ad of "I hope we are going to have some gratuitous sex and violence". Bond misses the obvious rejoinder...something like "You must buy me dinner first!".
M - Yes...BUT, again, it's a new guy. This M is a bit of a pompous arse and I really didn't enjoy being in his company throughout this movie.
Moneypenny - Yes...but...you know the drill. Presumably there would have been legal problems if they tried to recruit the original actors who played these characters or if they had the same characters...explaining why M and Q are not only played by different actors in this movie, but are different people too.
Silly female character names - Nigel Small-Fawcett. Played by Rowan Atkinson for comedic relief. Sorry, that's the only name that stuck out...good to see men being the butt of these jokes for once though! Misogyny/Wine snobbery/End teaser - A "no" to all these usual elements, I think...nothing obvious, at least.
Watch for:
* homing sharks! * Kim Bassinger's character's reaction after a massage...nice and subtle.
* Bond smoking a cigar.
* Ah...I knew there was a Bond movie where I saw a spittle bridge between two characters that were kissing...it's THIS movie! * an old Connery/Bond getting the kind of attention from beautiful young women that just doesn't seem right! * a Casino Royale full of arcade video games! Really? And Largo's inscrutable self-made video game...honestly, he should win every time just by virtue of being able to make heads or tails of it! * one reason to treat this movie as a one off...just check out Felix Leiter! Did he spend too long in the solarium? * some nice jokes...M mentioning "free radicals" and Moneypenny's reaction to Bond's line on this. As well as a funny scene I remembered the punch line to all these years later...where Bond has to give a urine sample to a nurse. Good-o! * end credit "Thank "A. K."...presumably Arab brazilianaire Adnan Khashoggi.
* Micheline Connery getting a credit for the title "Never say never again". Just looked her up on Wikipedia...Sean's wife.
* Talia Shire Schwartzman getting an end credit too. Yes. "Adrian!".
* The first Bond movie not to have been filmed at famous Pinewood studios? * This movie has different producers to the official Bond movies and it's based on an original story by McClory, Whittingham and Fleming.
Note to self: - Domino mouths what to Bond after a shower and when M is on the phone? - ALCMs? - "Mais doucement" and "ciaou bello"...mean? - Schubert's "The trout" is played here, I think. Significance? Conclusion...
If you consider Sean Connery to the ONLY Bond, then this is a decent send off for him...not as silly as "Diamonds are forever". You just have to imagine that all those movies without Connery never existed. It's 'closure' to Connery's Bond.
The Sean Connery movies in the Bond series always seemed to have the attitude that only Connery was the 'real' Bond. That's why after the greatest Bond movie of them all ("On her majesty's secret service" with George Lazenby as James Bond), the next movie - starring Connery, again - seemed to pretend that Lazenby never happened. And so it is with this movie...it's like Roger Moore never happened and nor will he. The narrative elements concluded by Moore (in, say, "For your eyes only") are ignored. For this reason the movie comes across to me as a one off Bond movie...I imagine that the novels always existed, but no movie had ever been made from them. "Never say die" seems like a "What if?" story. I.e. Presuming knowledge of the existence of the novels, the movie imagines what happens to Bond near the end of his professional career. Of course, in some ways this movie is a remake of Connery's earlier "Thunderball" movie. Not exactly sure of the legal background to this movie, but I'm guessing that all the elements that were mostly author's Ian Fleming's have been removed and they've worked and reworked the elements that belong to the screenwriter of "Thunderball". It works. All those dull elements of "Thunderball" are gone...the underwater travelogue which just goes on and on. And on. Gone. Phew.
Exotic locations: The Bahamas, Casino Royale in Monte Carlo
Plot: MI6 is underfunded and under-appreciated by the British Government. Bond is now limited to training the new recruits to the spying game...and playing war games instead of doing actual spy work. His direct superior, "M", has little time for the "00s" and lets him know it. When evil organisation "S. P. E. C. T. R. E" steals two nuclear warheads, Bond just may get back on to active duty as a "00" agent.
Franchise clichés:
Pre title sequence - No. This movie faced legal challenges as Roger Moore was the encumbent James Bond. Moore's Bond movie - Octopussy - was in direct competition with this Connery movie and was released shortly before it. For this reason you don't the signature 'gun barrel' scene. Instead you get a 'flyscreen' effect with "007" wallpapering the screen. You also don't get Monty Norman's famous Bond theme music.
Theme song - Still part of this movie. It's "Never say never again" and it's not bad. For the first time, I think, the singer doesn't credited at the start of the movie. You have to read the end credits for that...sung by Lani Hall and written by Heb Alpert. Sergio Mendez produced it. Song has a nice jazzy cocktail lounge vibe to it. Herb Alpert also plays the trumpet for this song...gives himself a solo to boot!
Q - Yes...BUT, it's a new guy..."Algernon". He has a touch of the Michael Caines to him. After the low point in the Bond and Q relationship in "Octopussy", it's quite a relief to see them chummy here. He has the line to Bond which I must have remembered from the promotional ad of "I hope we are going to have some gratuitous sex and violence". Bond misses the obvious rejoinder...something like "You must buy me dinner first!".
M - Yes...BUT, again, it's a new guy. This M is a bit of a pompous arse and I really didn't enjoy being in his company throughout this movie.
Moneypenny - Yes...but...you know the drill. Presumably there would have been legal problems if they tried to recruit the original actors who played these characters or if they had the same characters...explaining why M and Q are not only played by different actors in this movie, but are different people too.
Silly female character names - Nigel Small-Fawcett. Played by Rowan Atkinson for comedic relief. Sorry, that's the only name that stuck out...good to see men being the butt of these jokes for once though! Misogyny/Wine snobbery/End teaser - A "no" to all these usual elements, I think...nothing obvious, at least.
Watch for:
* homing sharks! * Kim Bassinger's character's reaction after a massage...nice and subtle.
* Bond smoking a cigar.
* Ah...I knew there was a Bond movie where I saw a spittle bridge between two characters that were kissing...it's THIS movie! * an old Connery/Bond getting the kind of attention from beautiful young women that just doesn't seem right! * a Casino Royale full of arcade video games! Really? And Largo's inscrutable self-made video game...honestly, he should win every time just by virtue of being able to make heads or tails of it! * one reason to treat this movie as a one off...just check out Felix Leiter! Did he spend too long in the solarium? * some nice jokes...M mentioning "free radicals" and Moneypenny's reaction to Bond's line on this. As well as a funny scene I remembered the punch line to all these years later...where Bond has to give a urine sample to a nurse. Good-o! * end credit "Thank "A. K."...presumably Arab brazilianaire Adnan Khashoggi.
* Micheline Connery getting a credit for the title "Never say never again". Just looked her up on Wikipedia...Sean's wife.
* Talia Shire Schwartzman getting an end credit too. Yes. "Adrian!".
* The first Bond movie not to have been filmed at famous Pinewood studios? * This movie has different producers to the official Bond movies and it's based on an original story by McClory, Whittingham and Fleming.
Note to self: - Domino mouths what to Bond after a shower and when M is on the phone? - ALCMs? - "Mais doucement" and "ciaou bello"...mean? - Schubert's "The trout" is played here, I think. Significance? Conclusion...
If you consider Sean Connery to the ONLY Bond, then this is a decent send off for him...not as silly as "Diamonds are forever". You just have to imagine that all those movies without Connery never existed. It's 'closure' to Connery's Bond.