Never Say Never Again: Collector's Edition

After completing Diamonds Are Forever, Sean Connery famously said that he would never again portray Agent 007, but in 1983 the actor was lured back for this unofficial remake of Thunderball. With the Bond franchise showing its age (Octopussy, Roger Moore's penultimate Bond film, was also released that year), fans were happy to see Connery—a little grayer, a little bulkier, but still a brogue agent—back in action in his signature role. As Q tells James, “Things have been awfully dull around here. I hope we're going to see some gratuitous sex and violence.” While director Irvin Kershner's Never Say Never Again benefits greatly from two memorable villains—Klaus Maria Brandauer as cool and crazy Maximillian Largo, and Barbara Carrera as his deadly henchwoman Fatima Blush—the film is saddled with a bland Bond girl (Kim Basinger) and Michel Legrand's wretched music score. And it was surely a sign of the times that Bond didn't match wits with his adversary over a gaming table, but while playing a video game. Bowing on Blu-ray with a decent transfer, this “collector's edition” features extras including an audio commentary with Kershner (who has a tendency to simply describe the action seen onscreen) and Bond historian Jay Rubin (who offers canonical points of interest about the film), and a trio of production featurettes (on the big gamble the producers took in bucking the Bond powers that be, Connery's return as Bond, and the Bond girls). Recommended, overall, for those collecting the Bond titles on Blu-ray. (D. Liebenson)