Sean Connery reprises his role as James Bond after a twelve-year absence, and SPECTRE makes off with two nuclear warheads. 007 follows them to Maximillian Largo (Klaus Maria Brandauer), a wealthy SPECTRE operative, but first has to contend with the alluring Fatima (Barbara Carrera) to complete his mission, taking him from around London to the Bahamas, the French Riviera, North Africa, and an underground facility on Ethiopia’s coast. Kim Basinger portrays Largo's girlfriend, while Bernie Casey provides a memorable performance as Agent Leiter. "Never Say Never Again," released in 1983, is considered a non-official James Bond film because it wasn’t made by Eon Productions. As a result, the familiar theme music and opening gun barrel sequence are missing, along with the usual MI6 office staff. Aside from those differences, it functions as a standard 007 adventure. Though it earned money at the box office, its performance didn't match that of "Octopussy," which came out four months prior with Roger Moore. It’s an acceptable James Bond film, but it doesn’t measure up to the more lively “Octopussy,” which is likely the most action-filled 007 movie. Although Connery was three years younger than Moore, he appeared older. It also isn't as good as "Thunderball" (1965), the film it draws from. One has to wonder why they would attempt a remake of such an excellent Bond film; Connery already told this story eighteen years earlier and did so very well. The producers should have given him a completely different narrative for his last turn as 007. The movie includes several exciting scenes, like the brutal fight between Bond and a large man at the clinic, a confrontation with sharks in the Bahamas, an intense motorcycle/car chase in Nice, France, an escape from an old fortress in North Africa, and a thrilling shootout at an archeological dig site. Barbara Carrera is particularly striking among the female characters, while Basinger is pleasant enough, but I didn’t find her engaging. Prunella Gee makes an impression as Patricia, a professional at the English clinic. Saskia Cohen Tanugi plays MI6 agent Nicole, and Lucy Hornak has a small part as a charming nurse. The film's length is 2 hours and 14 minutes. Filming took place in England, Nassau (Bahamas), the French Riviera, Almería (Andalucía, Spain), Malta, and Silver Springs (Florida). GRADE: B-

Source on TMDB