never say never again

The Kevin McClory/EON dispute over the filming rights to the Thunderball storyline was eventually settled after a long legal battle and resulted in a rather bizarre resurgence of Sean Connery’s James Bond character in 1983’s Never Say Never Again (1983). Overall, I’d say the movie in average or below-average quality James Bond movie, but it also didn’t help that (for legal reasons) was missing standard aspects aspects of a Bond movie – most notably the gun barrel sequence and the classic James Bond theme. Putting aside comparisons of other parts of the Thunderball story, it’s fun but a bit bland overall.

Anyways, in the scene featured above set in a rehab clinic, a nosy Bond is suspicious of some peculiar activity he witnesses through a window. Another patient, Jack Petachi (Gavan O’Hurlihy), is in the midst of an eye scan procedure with the help of Fatima Blush (Barbara Carrera), and it piques Bond’s interest. Bond’s cover is blown, and although he attempts to hide, he’s eventually seen by Blush (a SPECTRE agent) as she scans the area with night vision goggles. It’s a pretty cool shot at the end and Blush memorably enunciates Bond’s agent number. This encounter eventually leads to the uncovering of a plot of stolen identity (explaining Petachi’s procedure attempting to replicate an iris pattern) and nuclear weapon robbery.

It’s obvious (and referenced) throughout the movie that Connery is an aged James Bond, but I’d say not any more so than his counterpart Roger Moore in his final movie < ahref="/avtak/">A View To A Kill just two years later in 1985. NSNA is cool for what it is, but nothing to write home about.