"Never Again"
[spoilers follow]
It's interesting to contrast Old Sean with Old Roger (and it's a bit odd to realise that Moore was actually a few years older than Connery). Never Say Never Again actually came out in the same year as Octopussy but Connery had not been in a Bond film for more than a decade so he was definitely somewhat aged.
But no worse for it really. He's the same old Connery. And it helps that the film doesn't pretend he's younger, and that he stil blazes with animal sex appeal in a way Moore actually never did and certainly didn't by 1985.
This plays very much as a comedy thriller, which helps, because it allows Connery to be relaxed and quippy, and it gives space for Barbara Carrera to put in a smashing turn as villain Fatima Blush.
In fact, the film pretty much dies on its arse once Carrera is gone. Thunderball -- which it's a remake of -- is one of the more draggy Bond films, and you feel like you've aged yourself by the end of this one. It's more fighty than stunty though, so there's no Brosnan-level overload. Just Connery, winking, shagging and mugging his way through it all.
So the problem is that Connery has enormous fun in this film but the fun's just a tad lacking for us. And really, we're left now pretty glad the producers only had the rights to one book, so there were no more outings for this version of Bond. It's not disgraceful. It's kind of an homage to himself. Wink wink, C-level Bond, totally within the formula and no harm done.
posted by Dr Zen @ 8:08 pm
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