The director was Irvin Kershner, fresh off the massive success of Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. Kershner was a character-driven director, not an action set-piece conveyor belt. He brought a grimy, textured realism to the Bond world.
Look at the famous “Riding the Bomb” sequence in Dr. No? Never Say Never Again reverses it. Bond is forced to ride a nuclear warhead on a test drive through a missile silo, but it’s not heroic; it’s terrifying. The camerawork is shaky, the lighting is harsh, and Connery’s face is a mask of genuine panic.
However, Kershner clashed constantly with the producers. McClory wanted a pure remake; Connery wanted to deconstruct the myth; Kershner wanted a psychological thriller. The result is a fascinating Frankenstein. The tone lurches violently from cartoonish (Fatima Blush feeding a man to a shark via a waterslide) to grim (Bond strangling a man with a medical respirator).
One glaring absence is the iconic James Bond theme composed by Monty Norman and arranged by John Barry. Because EON Productions held the rights to the musical score of the official series, Never Say Never Again could not use the famous guitar riff.
Instead, composer Michel Legrand (famous for The Thomas Crown Affair and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) produced a lush, jazz-infused, romantic score. It is beautiful, sophisticated, and feels utterly wrong for James Bond. The main title song, sung by Lani Hall (wife of Herb Alpert), is a soft-rock ballad with no punch. The lack of the signature brass stabs makes the action sequences feel oddly quiet. For many fans, this is the film’s single greatest sin.
If you are a completionist Bond fan, Never Say Never Again is essential viewing—not because it is great, but because it is unique. It is the Star Trek fan film that got a theatrical budget. It is the cover version of a hit song where the singer changes half the notes.
Watch it for:
Skip it if you require the formula: Q’s lab, the Aston Martin, the gunbarrel, and the flared-nostril heroics of the official series.
For modern audiences raised on Daniel Craig’s brutal, emotional Bond, Never Say Never Again feels surprisingly prescient. Craig’s Bond in No Time to Die (2021) is also an aging warrior, weary of the game, facing irrelevance. Connery did it first, in a cheap wig, with a video-game-obsessed villain. Never Say Never Again -James Bond 007-
The film is a time capsule of ego, legal absurdity, and creative risk. It is not a great Bond film. It is arguably not even a good Bond film by the standards of Goldfinger or Casino Royale. But it is a fascinating Bond film.
Never Say Never Again exists because one man sued Ian Fleming, another writer stole a script, and a Scottish former milkman decided that “never” was just a suggestion. It is the film that shouldn’t exist, starring the man who said he wouldn’t return, fighting a villain from a book he didn’t originally write.
So, pour yourself a shot of bourbon (Connery preferred it to martinis anyway), and watch the outlaw Bond. Watch the moment the original king came back to remind the world what a dangerous, tired, and still damn-cool James Bond looks like. And remember: In the world of Her Majesty’s secret service, you truly should never say never again.
Key Takeaway: Never Say Never Again is more than a footnote. It is the ultimate “what if” of the 007 saga—a flawed, scrappy, and gloriously bitter middle finger to the establishment. For fans of legal drama, cinema history, and Sean Connery’s rugged charisma, it remains essential viewing.
Released in 1983, Never Say Never Again is a unique entry in the James Bond series, famously known as the "unofficial" 007 film because it was produced outside of Eon Productions
. Its existence was the result of a decades-long legal battle over the rights to the story Thunderball The Legal Origins: The Battle for Thunderball
The film's roots trace back to the early 1960s when Ian Fleming collaborated with producer Kevin McClory and writer Jack Whittingham on a Bond film script
. When the project stalled, Fleming turned the script into the novel Thunderball without crediting them The Lawsuit: The director was Irvin Kershner , fresh off
McClory sued Fleming for copyright breach and won the rights to the Thunderball story, characters like , and the organization The Agreement: A 1963 settlement allowed McClory to produce the 1965 film Thunderball
with Eon, under the condition that he would not make another adaptation for at least ten years The "Remake":
Once the restriction expired, McClory exercised his rights to produce a second adaptation of the same material, which became Never Say Never Again Sean Connery’s Return The film's biggest draw was the return of Sean Connery as James Bond, 12 years after his last outing in Diamonds Are Forever The Title:
The name was suggested by Connery’s wife, Micheline, as a playful jab at his previous vow that he would "never" play Bond again
The script leaned into Connery's age (52 at the time), portraying an aging 007 who is deemed "past his prime" by a new, bureaucratic
. Ironically, Connery was three years younger than the "official" Bond of the time, Roger Moore Key Differences from "Official" Bond Films
Due to legal restrictions, the film could not use the iconic Eon hallmarks No Gun Barrel: The film lacks the traditional gun barrel opening sequence No Theme Music:
The classic Monty Norman James Bond theme and John Barry's orchestral style are absent; instead, the score was composed by Michel Legrand Bond’s gadgets are provided by Q (Algernon) Skip it if you require the formula: Q’s
, played with a dry wit by Alec McCowen, who complains about budget cuts Critical & Commercial Reception
The film was released just months after the official Eon film , leading to a "Battle of the Bonds" at the box office
Released in 1983, Never Say Never Again remains one of the most fascinating entries in the James Bond series—not because it broke the mold, but because it exists as a "rogue" alternative to the official Eon Productions franchise. It marked the triumphant, final return of Sean Connery to the role of 007 after a 12-year hiatus, effectively competing against Roger Moore’s Octopussy in what the media dubbed the "Battle of the Bonds". The Context: A Legal Loophole Return
The film is essentially a remake of 1965’s Thunderball. Due to a long-standing legal battle over rights between writer Ian Fleming and producer Kevin McClory, McClory was permitted to produce his own adaptation of the story. This is why the film lacks the iconic gun-barrel opening, the "007 Theme," and other trademark Eon elements. The Review: What Works and What Doesn’t Never Say Never Again (1983) - IMDb
To understand the film, you must understand the war. In the 1960s, producer Kevin McClory won a legal battle over the story rights to Thunderball, co-created with Ian Fleming. The settlement gave McClory the right to remake the film after a certain number of years. By the early 1980s, Connery—who had famously grown to despise the role that imprisoned him in a tuxedo, complaining of the “bloody awful” schedules and intrusive fans—was lured back by a massive salary (reported at $3 million plus a percentage) and the irresistible irony of the title. His wife, Micheline Roquebrune, had famously told him after Diamonds Are Forever, “Never say never again.” The gauntlet was thrown.
What emerges is not a Bond film designed by committee at Pinewood Studios, but a pet project born of ego, money, and creative rebellion. Director Irvin Kershner, hot off The Empire Strikes Back, was brought in to lend gravitas. He succeeded beyond expectation, delivering a Bond film that feels less like a fantasy and more like a midlife crisis in a luxury resort.
Fans often note that "Never Say Never Again" feels distinct from the official series for several reasons:
