The reason why there were all those arcade machines in the high class casino was due to product placement. Warner Communications, which distributed NSNA at the time, also owned Atari, and funnily enough, the movie came out during the video game crash of North America (Warner would sell off Atari the following year).
If you look closely, all the arcade coin-op games in the casino scene are either "Centipede" or "Gravitar", as if those are the only two video-game machines at that time.
It almost works, kind of. Like it almost seems like this casino is embarrassed at having caved in to modern technology, by allowing a walled off room just for video games. And Bassinger’s character making a beeline for it almost suggests her rebellious side or just feeling a need to escape the stuffy high class. Not that anything else in the movie supports that reading or is enhanced by it.
You have certainly matured and improved over the years always an excellent content creator.....but young raw uncensored Calvin ALWAYS brings a smile to my face
Here's two fun facts about NSNA: • Taliafilm, Jack Schwartzman's production company is named after his wife Talia Shire (Adrian from the Rocky Films) and she's credited as a consult-ant to the producer. • James Horner, the late Oscar-winning film composer was considered for the score for the unofficial Bond film. Clear-ly, he would've been a better choice as composer.
@@splintergectornathan9045 Irvin Kershner stated that Horner was their choice, but he pulled out at the last minute! Kershner was frantic; he had dinner with his friend Barbra Streisand, who had just finished her film “Yentl.” She said Michel Legrand was now available. That’s how it came about. And of course, Connery gave his approval.
I concur with your retro review. For the want of Ian Fleming being a little more legally savvy we wouldn't have had to suffer Quantum for three movies.
Never Say Never Again 1983 *** 7 October 1983 *** 7 October 2023 *** 40 years! It's a very good James Bond film! And I absolutely love-love-love Sean Connery in this movie!
I love these reaction videos. Sweary and contemporary Calvin are such different characters. It's a little like Krapp's Last Tape making Calvin the Samuel Becket (Waiting For Godot - not Quantum Leap) of Bond RUclips. Keep'em coming!
Great video! Your recent videos are fantastic, Calvin, but I AM fond of potty-mouthed Younger Calvin. I'm too old to hope to be around to see Zimmer Frame Calvin appraise your current videos, but I'm sure they're going to be wonderful.
This must've been one of your videos I watched the most back in the day because, as I watched the video I found I was remembering all the jokes - not just the jokes themselves, but the cadence of their delivery too. I found it kinda surprising how much came swimming back as I watched. Wouldn't have thought it would've been the Never Say Never Again video of all of them, but, here we go, I guess calling Pamela Salem Moneypenny a librarian and telling winking Connery to f*ck off clung to my memory like brain barnacles.
Your criticism and writing in general has gotten so much better over the years. I'm glad you've stuck around doing this for so long. Only thing I'd bring back from this era is the cute hair.
It's thanks to the excitement created by Sean Connery in the role that we eventually got to see Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. If Cary Grant or David Niven had played Bond in Dr. No there might never have been a franchise at all. Respect is due!
Some history: A lot of Bond fans -- especially American Bond fans -- never, ever warmed to Roger Moore as James Bond. I've seen some American bond fans suggest Roger Moore wasn't a *real man* Raymond Benson, in a RUclips interview, said he stopped watching Bond movies after Roger Moore took over. "I didn't sign on for this," he said. So, when Connery came back with a non-Eon bond film, such Bond fans celebrated Connery's return while saying NSNA was better than many Eon films.
It's brilliant seeing a much older you reacting to your old bond movie reviews. It's fun to see you change over the years. Love your channel, love your content. Keep up the good work Calvin.
Old videos that would be great to revisit: Tomorrow Never Dies The World Is Not Enough Die Another Day (which was hilarious!) Quantum of Solace (some great jokes in that one!)
As a big fan of the Never Say Never Again video that's currently on this channel, this should be an interesting one. I will also ask that you never remove the oldest videos still active on the channel. Your current Connery Era videos are still a great watch!
I'll say it: People are way too hard on this film. It's fun, silly and quite enjoyable. It's just something a bit different, and not to be taken entirely seriously.
I agree. I personally love NSNA. It's one of the handful of Bond films that I rewatch over and over again along with the two Dalton films. Those three to me just have a uniqueness factor to them that make them my favorite stand alone Bond films. The others, I usually watch either randomly or when I do complete marathons, but NSNA, TLD, LTK and I'll even throw in The World Is Not Enough as ones that still feel fresh (like the day I saw them in theaters) and conjure up the same feelings as a cozy book does. I kept hoping against hope that Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan would make a non-official Bond films with the same rights holders who made NSNA. I just wasn't a fan of Craig's Bond films apart from CR and sure could have used an alternate Bond throughout those years. The Mission Impossible films felt more Bond-ish than the official Bond films during Craig's era IMO.
What I find intriguing about Never Say Never Again from a creative standpoint is that basically a perfect storm of ill-conceived ideas. Beyond the obvious ones like it being a lazy remake of one of most beloved Bond films; the fact they didn't release it a year when there's wasn't a competing Eon film is really mind blowing. I think having a different actor play Bond would have been more beneficial to the film because Connery didn't give a good performance here at all and might have brought more energy to the movie overall. Better casting in general would have definitely involved the films as well. Anyway, it's nice to see you take a look back at your old reviews.
I read old film magazines a lot, and it's amazing how everyone writing about it before they came out just assumed that Sean Connery was going to absolutely bury the fake not as good Roger Bond. I do like Octopussy, but I've always felt it was very lucky the rival was objectively crap, because there's probably no time the official series was more vulnerable to looking old and tired to general audiences than in the immediate aftermath of Raiders.
NSNA did get better reviews than Octopussy but I do think a lot of that was the pleasure of having the original Bond back and it [arguably] not being the trainwreck the very troubled production seemed to be predicting.
Another wonderful performance from young Calvin. God he's funny. I've not seen NSNA for a while, but I do prefer Thunderball. Connery was too old to come back. I know Roger Moore was too old for AVTAK, but even so, it did work in parts of it. I did see an old interview Connery did with Barry Norman when the film came out. He did say there were disagreements between director and producer, and he had to get in the middle of them to sort it out. He wasn't very impressed, but obviously, he still tried to give the film the best publicity he could. Here's to the next young Calvin review. Brilliant stuff.
I'd really find it interesting, if you'd react to your old ''Spectre in depth review'', as this is one of the Bond Movies you genuinely dislike. Maybe there are things in the movie, you appreciated in the past, that are now really bad in your eyes. (Greetings from Germany, I like your Channel!)
Nice review. The film ia terrible, but having said that, I still prefer NSNA over Thunderball. Yeah, I’m going to be run out of Bond community town now😂
I don't think it's better than Thunderball, but I would say that it makes some major improvements over Thunderball (especially in characterization) despite being weaker as a whole.
I was always a Moore and Brosnan fan, as I’ve got older I’ve started to appreciate Connery more, I never liked NSNA but I do think it’s watchable now, Fatima is fantastic, the largo actor is perfect for the role, the script is excellent, if it only had some John Barry music!
Hey Calvin I have been a long fan of yours since 2011 and I was just 11 years old then now I’m 22 and my how your channel has grown! Love it as always!
I had the same reaction as that British diplomat at the UN in the pre-credit sequence of Live and Let Die when teenage Calvin said that Connery was just "fine" in Dr No, FRWL and Golfdinger xD Interesting to notice that you were fully onboard with the Craig hype back then! But then again, that was before "well, that's not the kind of things that would look good on a foooorm" and "Die, Blofeld, die!"...
Not exactly one of my favorite Bond films but I think that I like it better than Thunderball. In particular, I really, really like Klaus Maria Brandauer as Largo. And yes, Barbara Carrera is a delight as Fatima Blush.
I THINK NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN IS SEAN CONNERY’S SWAN SONG FINAL GOODBYE TO A CHARACTER THAT HE MADE FAMOUS AND HAD A LOVE HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH WHO WAS ABLE TO GO OUT WITH THE MOST CONTROL OVER THE CHARACTER AS EVER! HIS FINAL WINK TO THE CAMERA IS PRICELESS!!!
1:12 to 2:15 trust me when i say man that loadsa kids who were born in the 70's that grew up with Roger Moore did say and maybe do still say that now about Connery, which is very interesting in how we've all experienced and grew up differently with Bond. maybe kids and teens today perhaps love Craig more than Connery, Brosnan and Moore because its who theyve all seen in the cinema and home entertainment. wouldnt be suprised
I really liked you reacting to your old review of Never Say, Never Again. Calvin, especially the review itself. which I thought was very funny. I have got to be honest though, but Never Say, Never Again is one of my favourite Sean Connery James Bond films. I even own it on blu ray. :)
I was a 13-year-old Bond fan when NSNA came about. I remember Connery going on TV chat shows to publicize it, but even at my tender age, I decided to wait until it came out on VHS before I watched it. I was right to do so, but it wasn't worth the wait. Watching Connery go through the motions, whilst balancing a brick-like toupee on his head was, and still is, embarrassing. I remember him telling British TV broadcaster Gloria Hunniford on her show, 'Sunday, Sunday', that this was to be the film that Thunderball should have been if the producers had only listened to him. Really, Mishter Bond? He also went into detail about why his hairpiece didn't depart his pate and float away in the underwater scenes. The soundtrack is awful, and the 'comedic' performance of Rowan Atkinson made me cringe in front of the telly. But by then, Roger Moore's Bond films were looking very tired too. I remember going with a mate to see A View To A Kill at the local cinema. The first thing we said when we the lights went up was, almost in unison, 'Doesn't he look old?'.
Calvin, A fun treatment of both NSNA and your younger self. It takes some backbone to revisit your earlier videos. As to the rant regarding Edward Fox playing a young M and Sean Connery playing an aging agent: Someday, you too will have a younger boss who thinks your obsolete. Here’s a simple truth: Blunt objects are never obsolete. As to NSNA, personally I enjoy it as another spy spoof like True Lies or RED. I suspect the entire film, cast and writers were all having a marvellous time creating a farce based on Thunderball. JR old warrior/new novelist
* Do you know if Barbara Broccoli was able to procure the rights to "Never Say Never Again"? I always thought it was too bad that they were never able to make some changes to it in order to turn it into an official Eon Productions installment in the James Bond film franchise. Someone put together a near perfect rendition of the changes I would've wanted to make to give it a much more "official" Bond film theme. If you wanna check it out, just type in "Never Say Never Again (1983) intro sung by Phyllis Hyman (James Bond 007)" posted by "Jonathan J". * It's actually pretty well done. I've always liked Phyllis Hyman's version *way* better, and then they could insert the James Bond theme here and there throughout the film in some capacity. Also, I've always thought of this as a completely separate mission from Thunderball. It sounds like "Maximillian Largo" is the son of "Emilio Largo"(from Thunderball), and became head of SPECTRE in Blofeld's absence after Bond dropped him into a smokestack(in "For Your Eyes Only"). The Blofeld Bond dropped into the smokestack, turned out to be one of the Blofeld look-alikes Blofeld had that revolutionary plastic surgery performed on to make the look-alike look "exactly" like Blofeld, or at least, that's the assumption. * Another assumption we would have to make, is if that wasn't the "real" Blofeld that was dropped into the smokestack, then the "real" Blofeld would still have to have escaped from prison somehow. No, don't even mention "Austin Powers: Goldmember" lol. It was assumed that Blofeld let Maximillian remain the head of SPECTRE, at least, for the time being. You might be wondering about the character of "Domino", and why they have the same name if it's not a remake. Well, I've noticed they actually have different names. The Domino in Thunderball, her name was actually "Dominique Derval". Her friends gave her the nickname "Domino". The Domino in "Never Say Never Again", her name was actually "Dominetta Petachi". * It was Maximillian Largo that gave her the nickname "Domino", in memory of "Dominique Derval". Apparently, Maximillian revered and emulated his father so much, that this became a story about a son who tries to see his father's master plan through to fruition all these years later. He apparently emulated his father so much, that he latched onto "Dominetta" simply because of her name, so that he could give her the same nickname that his father gave *his* mistress way back in the day. * Also, in "The Moneypenny Diaries: Final Fling" they give us the name of the "M" that appears in this film. Apparently his name is "Sir Jack Gavascon". Even "Q" has a different name in this one. His name is "Algernon", but you figure, no one can be on active duty 24/7, and *someone* has to be on active duty there when "Major Geoffrey Boothroyd" is off duty. Boothroyd was a Major in the "Corps of Royal Engineers" of the British Army.
Hilarious I was going to say Roger would never have endorsed frois gras and then you posted the clip of him calling it poison 😂 I enjoyed Never Say Never at the time but it's not one I have rewatched like the other Bond films. I tried watching the one with the EON trademarks edited in but even then it just doesn't look or feel like a proper Bond film "lazy production values" is right.
Young Calvin: I was never a big fan of Connery Bond Fans Back Then: Wait, that's illegal! also Young Calvin's roastings are so spicy, he could make ghost peppers taste like ice cubes XD
I have not seen your video yet. But I wanna say something! I love this movie, my mom and I laughed our asses off thanks to this movie. It's one of our bounding movie and it has a special place into my heart. (The "Piss Kill"... do I need to say more? XD)
Never Say Never Again was a super millionaire production. The locations: France, London, Bahamas, Monte Carlo, Spain, etc., were chosen with great care. The yacht "Nabila" by tycoon Adnan Kashoggi, was the largest in the world at those times and the rent cost $ 20,000.00 each day! The YAMAHA factory built the motorcycle especially for Sean. The Director Irvin Kershner was the most expensive and successful of the moment. Kim Basinger and Barbara Carrera, the most beautiful actress of the moment; one brunette and the other blonde. Klaus María Bandauer was awsome! In short, N.S.N.A had to be filmed! Thanks Sean, thanks Mc.Klory, thanks Irvin and Klaus María!
I still think NSNA is actually really underrated. I really appreciate it's uniqueness and I dare say it's more entertaining than Eon Productions original adaption of Thunderball which at times felt overlong and bloated. NSNA is full of incredibly witty dialog, fun action scenes and best of all, Sean Connery returns after a twelve year absence and even though he's greyer and considerably older, he still has that magic and charm he's had from his first few films. Connery looks like he's legitimately having fun here which is almost infectious and really helps the entertainment factor. This film was also actually smart enough to use Connery's age to it's advantage and write the story around an aging Bond being brought out of semi-retirement. Roger Moore was three years older than Connery and his advancing age was never acknowledged, women almost three decades younger than him just seemingly fell for him and he never clicked in the action scenes like Connery. Over-relying on stunt doubles (even for running scenes) and back projection which hurt his movies, especially 1985's A View To A Kill. Never Say Never Again's action scenes are more kinetic, Connery does what he's able to and there's no obvious stunt doubles and hokey back projection found here. Never Say Never Again is a unique Bond film which while isn't perfect, is definitely a breath of fresh air in the later Moore years, Connery is on top form as an older Bond and Klaus Maria Brandauer is an interesting villain. Kim Basinger as the Bond girl isn't amazing and the jazzy soundtrack doesn't work in some parts but it's just part of this film's unique appeal. It's just a shame Phyllis Hyman's beautiful theme was rejected in favour of Lani Hall's. Don't be put off by Bond fans rejecting this movie just because it's not an Eon Production, it's a great time as a lighthearted, spy romp.
About 10 years ago I bought a fan edit of this movie with a ION Touch. The Movie improved 10 fold . Amazing how a tighter edit proper music and the Gun Barrel at the beginning . It still was a weak offering but it was so much better.
Good to see you, Sir! Without question my favorite British, James Bond content creator and as mentioned, a tremendous wit…Even back in the Obama administration.:)) Be well, Mr. Dyson.
Calvin, I just rewatched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for the first time in donkeys, and I searched for your review of it, I'm sure I remember you making one. Is that, like this, on the cutting room floor?
I just re-watched "Never Say Never Again" recently, and I honestly have to admit, I kind of enjoyed it. I think that film has a lot of problems, but I really found myself kind of relaxing with it and feeling pleasantly nostalgic for two hours. I think the reason is because "No Time to Die" is such a dreary, un-fun, downer Bond movie for me. For all its many, many faults and shortcomings, at least Never Say Never Again understands what the audience wants and at least tries to deliver what fans want; whereas No Time to Die almost seems to sadistically give fans the opposite of what we want in a Bond film by subverting our expectations and deliberately displeasing us. Never Say Never Again fails, but at least TRIES to be entertaining, whereas No Time to Die seems to hate the fan-base and wants to punish us somehow.
Granted, Never Say Never Again was not the best. & for me the best thing in it was Fatima Blush as played by Barbara Carerra. My favorite scene with her was when she walked down the stairs after getting to OK from Largo to kill Bond. I also loved her trying to get Bond to say she was the best sex partner he ever had. I also enjoyed Klaus Maria Brandauer as Largo. He gives Largo the perfect tough of insanity that humanizes him in a way that wasn't there in Thunderball. This was a serious Bond, unlike 67's Casino Royale. However there were several subtle & not so subtle digs at the Eon series, some done in a comic way, like Q or Rowan Atkinson as Nigel Small-Fawcett,
4:01 Still wish they'd gone with Phyllis Hyman's rendition, though if they'd gone for a proper opening title sequence. Casino Royale (1967) did an opening title sequence. Could've still used Lani Hall's song for NSNA's end credits.
My opinion on Never Say Never Again has significantly changed to the worse. Connery is too old and it feels like he doesn't belong there, and perhaps that's what he felt too. But instead of incorporating his age to do something with the Bond character, they went for the typical Bond formula. And that's a shame because Connery was a great character actor who could have easily pulled that off.
I struggled to describe how I felt about the film but seeing it as a weird time displacement is apt! 😂. There’s a lot of miscasting and a lack of a proper Bond villain. Surely the budget should have allowed for a more wilder Spectre meeting hall?! 🤷🏼♂️
Calvin, please tell me the rumours about Daisy May Cooper aren’t anything to be taken seriously? I couldn’t think of a worse casting especially for a character as high profile as M.
Dunno why Brocoli and Wilson don’t just put this film into the main series library… obviously properly remaster it and make it fit into the EON mold with a smart 1980s inspired gun barrel opening, modern editing and a completely revamped score for the movie, 1980s style. They have the money, and by making it their own, they can still feel like they are putting dead McClory in his place by basically heavily changing his movie very radically and making it ‘better’ as a result.
15:19 That comment has always, without fail, got me laughing on the floor! It did 12 years ago, and it still does now! Obviously your rhetoric has improved over time, but I still find these remarks hilarious!
NSNA is a funny thing. As a Bond fan and a Connery fan, part of me wishes it was good so that we had another classic enjoyable Connery Bond movie. And yet at the same time, as a fan of Moore and having a huge amount of appreciation of Cubby's stewardship of EON at the time, I'm kinda glad it is rubbish because it just proves how great EON were.
Cubby's stewardship wasn't so great at the time. And EON gad access to all the usual Bond trimmings, actors ans were free to film new stories. McClory just had Sean Connery, a few bits left out of Thunderball and Barbara Careras.
The passion in the ''....Oh, fuck off!!!'' as the credits started rolling. *Chef's kiss*. :D
Man, "Connery is alright"? That certainly IS strong language, Young Calvin. Probably the crudest we've heard yet.
And Calvin still looks the same, he doesn't age! The real-life Bond.
This was by far the funniest reaction video in this series, brilliant
Thanks, Alex! Much appreciated 😁😁
The reason why there were all those arcade machines in the high class casino was due to product placement. Warner Communications, which distributed NSNA at the time, also owned Atari, and funnily enough, the movie came out during the video game crash of North America (Warner would sell off Atari the following year).
If you look closely, all the arcade coin-op games in the casino scene are either "Centipede" or "Gravitar", as if those are the only two video-game machines at that time.
It almost works, kind of. Like it almost seems like this casino is embarrassed at having caved in to modern technology, by allowing a walled off room just for video games. And Bassinger’s character making a beeline for it almost suggests her rebellious side or just feeling a need to escape the stuffy high class.
Not that anything else in the movie supports that reading or is enhanced by it.
These reaction videos really make me nostalgic for the days when the average RUclipsr setup was just a webcam and a bedroom wall.
Oh how far we've come...
I find it so weird how nostalgic I find some of these videos
The one saving grace of Never Say Never Again is that this Calvin Retro Review exists because of it lol. Great stuff as always mate!
For a 12 year-old myself Kim Basinger was something so breathtakingly beautiful in this film. I was thrilled to see her in Batman as Vicki Vale. 😍
I love her too!
You have certainly matured and improved over the years always an excellent content creator.....but young raw uncensored Calvin ALWAYS brings a smile to my face
Here's two fun facts about NSNA:
• Taliafilm, Jack Schwartzman's production company is named after his wife Talia Shire (Adrian from the Rocky Films) and she's credited as a consult-ant to the producer.
• James Horner, the late Oscar-winning film composer was considered for the score for the unofficial Bond film. Clear-ly, he would've been a better choice as composer.
Horner for sure would be better choice, Commando is a great example why, but thanks to Connery we got Legrand in result
@@splintergectornathan9045 Irvin Kershner stated that Horner was their choice, but he pulled out at the last minute! Kershner was frantic; he had dinner with his friend Barbra Streisand, who had just finished her film “Yentl.” She said Michel Legrand was now available. That’s how it came about. And of course, Connery gave his approval.
For the record, the obvious wiener map joke is hilarious
I concur with your retro review. For the want of Ian Fleming being a little more legally savvy we wouldn't have had to suffer Quantum for three movies.
It’s such a shame Barbara Carrera wasn’t in the proper franchise because she makes this film!
You can tell she made a big impact as we got May Day in the subsequent Bond film [and Xenia in Goldeneye].
Never Say Never Again 1983 *** 7 October 1983 *** 7 October 2023 *** 40 years! It's a very good James Bond film! And I absolutely love-love-love Sean Connery in this movie!
"Universally shit" 🤣🤣 Well, that will be part of my vernacular from now on . . .
I love these reaction videos. Sweary and contemporary Calvin are such different characters. It's a little like Krapp's Last Tape making Calvin the Samuel Becket (Waiting For Godot - not Quantum Leap) of Bond RUclips. Keep'em coming!
Great video! Your recent videos are fantastic, Calvin, but I AM fond of potty-mouthed Younger Calvin. I'm too old to hope to be around to see Zimmer Frame Calvin appraise your current videos, but I'm sure they're going to be wonderful.
This must've been one of your videos I watched the most back in the day because, as I watched the video I found I was remembering all the jokes - not just the jokes themselves, but the cadence of their delivery too. I found it kinda surprising how much came swimming back as I watched. Wouldn't have thought it would've been the Never Say Never Again video of all of them, but, here we go, I guess calling Pamela Salem Moneypenny a librarian and telling winking Connery to f*ck off clung to my memory like brain barnacles.
Your criticism and writing in general has gotten so much better over the years. I'm glad you've stuck around doing this for so long.
Only thing I'd bring back from this era is the cute hair.
"I am not nor have I ever been the biggest Connery fan."
SHOTS FIRED!
It's thanks to the excitement created by Sean Connery in the role that we eventually got to see Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. If Cary Grant or David Niven had played Bond in Dr. No there might never have been a franchise at all. Respect is due!
Some history: A lot of Bond fans -- especially American Bond fans -- never, ever warmed to Roger Moore as James Bond. I've seen some American bond fans suggest Roger Moore wasn't a *real man* Raymond Benson, in a RUclips interview, said he stopped watching Bond movies after Roger Moore took over. "I didn't sign on for this," he said. So, when Connery came back with a non-Eon bond film, such Bond fans celebrated Connery's return while saying NSNA was better than many Eon films.
In "James Bond Bedside Companion" by Raymond Benson, For Your Eyes Only seemed to have been the only Moore film he liked.
@@eth39232 If true, that would make sense, for FYEO is the sole Moore entry in which Sir Roger _does not portray _*_his_*_ iteration of Bond_ .
It's brilliant seeing a much older you reacting to your old bond movie reviews. It's fun to see you change over the years. Love your channel, love your content. Keep up the good work Calvin.
I find the earlier version of this project more interesting. 'Warhead' would have seen Bond fighting robot sharks in the sewers of New York.
Oh boy I can't wait. Let's see how this goes. 😁😁
"I'll Never make another Bond movie as long as I live!!". Here's 5 Million! "Okay, but it better not be a reboot. I don't want to set off a trend ".
Please react to your old review of ‘A View to a Kill.’ From what I can remember, there were some hysterical moments in that.
i don't mind bad language Calvin.
also, NSNA is as bad as DAD imo.
I love that scene with Bond massaging Domino because it could be straight out of a Carry-On movie. It's classic British seaside humour.
Old videos that would be great to revisit:
Tomorrow Never Dies
The World Is Not Enough
Die Another Day (which was hilarious!)
Quantum of Solace (some great jokes in that one!)
As a big fan of the Never Say Never Again video that's currently on this channel, this should be an interesting one.
I will also ask that you never remove the oldest videos still active on the channel. Your current Connery Era videos are still a great watch!
That From Russia With Love video game was kinda fun.
Never Say Never Again is Thunderball lite.
I'll say it: People are way too hard on this film. It's fun, silly and quite enjoyable. It's just something a bit different, and not to be taken entirely seriously.
I just now found out the guy who did the music for this movie did the music for Cops and Robbers starring Cliff Gorman.
I agree. I personally love NSNA. It's one of the handful of Bond films that I rewatch over and over again along with the two Dalton films. Those three to me just have a uniqueness factor to them that make them my favorite stand alone Bond films. The others, I usually watch either randomly or when I do complete marathons, but NSNA, TLD, LTK and I'll even throw in The World Is Not Enough as ones that still feel fresh (like the day I saw them in theaters) and conjure up the same feelings as a cozy book does. I kept hoping against hope that Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan would make a non-official Bond films with the same rights holders who made NSNA. I just wasn't a fan of Craig's Bond films apart from CR and sure could have used an alternate Bond throughout those years. The Mission Impossible films felt more Bond-ish than the official Bond films during Craig's era IMO.
What I find intriguing about Never Say Never Again from a creative standpoint is that basically a perfect storm of ill-conceived ideas. Beyond the obvious ones like it being a lazy remake of one of most beloved Bond films; the fact they didn't release it a year when there's wasn't a competing Eon film is really mind blowing. I think having a different actor play Bond would have been more beneficial to the film because Connery didn't give a good performance here at all and might have brought more energy to the movie overall. Better casting in general would have definitely involved the films as well.
Anyway, it's nice to see you take a look back at your old reviews.
I read old film magazines a lot, and it's amazing how everyone writing about it before they came out just assumed that Sean Connery was going to absolutely bury the fake not as good Roger Bond.
I do like Octopussy, but I've always felt it was very lucky the rival was objectively crap, because there's probably no time the official series was more vulnerable to looking old and tired to general audiences than in the immediate aftermath of Raiders.
NSNA did get better reviews than Octopussy but I do think a lot of that was the pleasure of having the original Bond back and it [arguably] not being the trainwreck the very troubled production seemed to be predicting.
What would you rather do: Watch Never Say Again or identify Locque using the identigraph?
I always look forward to sundays, can’t wait to watch this !
Another wonderful performance from young Calvin. God he's funny. I've not seen NSNA for a while, but I do prefer Thunderball. Connery was too old to come back. I know Roger Moore was too old for AVTAK, but even so, it did work in parts of it. I did see an old interview Connery did with Barry Norman when the film came out. He did say there were disagreements between director and producer, and he had to get in the middle of them to sort it out. He wasn't very impressed, but obviously, he still tried to give the film the best publicity he could. Here's to the next young Calvin review. Brilliant stuff.
I'd really find it interesting, if you'd react to your old ''Spectre in depth review'', as this is one of the Bond Movies you genuinely dislike. Maybe there are things in the movie, you appreciated in the past, that are now really bad in your eyes. (Greetings from Germany, I like your Channel!)
Thats a good idea.
Nice review. The film ia terrible, but having said that, I still prefer NSNA over Thunderball. Yeah, I’m going to be run out of Bond community town now😂
Well Kevin Mclory will always welcome you in his house man :)
@@DafyddBrooks 🤣
I don't think it's better than Thunderball, but I would say that it makes some major improvements over Thunderball (especially in characterization) despite being weaker as a whole.
I don't think either of them are any good. I prefer Thunderball, but Thunderball still isn't great.
I was always a Moore and Brosnan fan, as I’ve got older I’ve started to appreciate Connery more, I never liked NSNA but I do think it’s watchable now, Fatima is fantastic, the largo actor is perfect for the role, the script is excellent, if it only had some John Barry music!
Hey Calvin I have been a long fan of yours since 2011 and I was just 11 years old then now I’m 22 and my how your channel has grown! Love it as always!
I had the same reaction as that British diplomat at the UN in the pre-credit sequence of Live and Let Die when teenage Calvin said that Connery was just "fine" in Dr No, FRWL and Golfdinger xD Interesting to notice that you were fully onboard with the Craig hype back then! But then again, that was before "well, that's not the kind of things that would look good on a foooorm" and "Die, Blofeld, die!"...
I had the same reaction as a Venetian pigeon 🐦
13:40 nearly killed me.
Not exactly one of my favorite Bond films but I think that I like it better than Thunderball. In particular, I really, really like Klaus Maria Brandauer as Largo. And yes, Barbara Carrera is a delight as Fatima Blush.
I THINK NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN IS SEAN CONNERY’S SWAN SONG FINAL GOODBYE TO A CHARACTER THAT HE MADE FAMOUS AND HAD A LOVE HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH WHO WAS ABLE TO GO OUT WITH THE MOST CONTROL OVER THE CHARACTER AS EVER! HIS FINAL WINK TO THE CAMERA IS PRICELESS!!!
Claim to fame, the "Shrublands" in this Bond film was where the May Ball was held when I was at, what was, Luton University
1:12 to 2:15 trust me when i say man that loadsa kids who were born in the 70's that grew up with Roger Moore did say and maybe do still say that now about Connery, which is very interesting in how we've all experienced and grew up differently with Bond.
maybe kids and teens today perhaps love Craig more than Connery, Brosnan and Moore because its who theyve all seen in the cinema and home entertainment. wouldnt be suprised
I really liked you reacting to your old review of Never Say, Never Again. Calvin, especially the review itself. which I thought was very funny. I have got to be honest though, but Never Say, Never Again is one of my favourite Sean Connery James Bond films. I even own it on blu ray. :)
I was a 13-year-old Bond fan when NSNA came about. I remember Connery going on TV chat shows to publicize it, but even at my tender age, I decided to wait until it came out on VHS before I watched it. I was right to do so, but it wasn't worth the wait. Watching Connery go through the motions, whilst balancing a brick-like toupee on his head was, and still is, embarrassing. I remember him telling British TV broadcaster Gloria Hunniford on her show, 'Sunday, Sunday', that this was to be the film that Thunderball should have been if the producers had only listened to him. Really, Mishter Bond? He also went into detail about why his hairpiece didn't depart his pate and float away in the underwater scenes. The soundtrack is awful, and the 'comedic' performance of Rowan Atkinson made me cringe in front of the telly. But by then, Roger Moore's Bond films were looking very tired too. I remember going with a mate to see A View To A Kill at the local cinema. The first thing we said when we the lights went up was, almost in unison, 'Doesn't he look old?'.
Calvin,
A fun treatment of both NSNA and your younger self. It takes some backbone to revisit your earlier videos.
As to the rant regarding Edward Fox playing a young M and Sean Connery playing an aging agent: Someday, you too will have a younger boss who thinks your obsolete. Here’s a simple truth: Blunt objects are never obsolete.
As to NSNA, personally I enjoy it as another spy spoof like True Lies or RED. I suspect the entire film, cast and writers were all having a marvellous time creating a farce based on Thunderball.
JR
old warrior/new novelist
I actually liked this version of thunderball
Aw Yeah. My favorite spin-off series: Calvin Bond Reviewer Jr.
Universally 💩 😂 I’m so going to use that now everyday 🤣.
Go on admit it NSNA is your all time favourite 😂
"that'll be all the STDs working their magic there" 😂
* Do you know if Barbara Broccoli was able to procure the rights to "Never Say Never Again"? I always thought it was too bad that they were never able to make some changes to it in order to turn it into an official Eon Productions installment in the James Bond film franchise. Someone put together a near perfect rendition of the changes I would've wanted to make to give it a much more "official" Bond film theme. If you wanna check it out, just type in "Never Say Never Again (1983) intro sung by Phyllis Hyman (James Bond 007)" posted by "Jonathan J".
* It's actually pretty well done. I've always liked Phyllis Hyman's version *way* better, and then they could insert the James Bond theme here and there throughout the film in some capacity. Also, I've always thought of this as a completely separate mission from Thunderball. It sounds like "Maximillian Largo" is the son of "Emilio Largo"(from Thunderball), and became head of SPECTRE in Blofeld's absence after Bond dropped him into a smokestack(in "For Your Eyes Only"). The Blofeld Bond dropped into the smokestack, turned out to be one of the Blofeld look-alikes Blofeld had that revolutionary plastic surgery performed on to make the look-alike look "exactly" like Blofeld, or at least, that's the assumption.
* Another assumption we would have to make, is if that wasn't the "real" Blofeld that was dropped into the smokestack, then the "real" Blofeld would still have to have escaped from prison somehow. No, don't even mention "Austin Powers: Goldmember" lol. It was assumed that Blofeld let Maximillian remain the head of SPECTRE, at least, for the time being. You might be wondering about the character of "Domino", and why they have the same name if it's not a remake. Well, I've noticed they actually have different names. The Domino in Thunderball, her name was actually "Dominique Derval". Her friends gave her the nickname "Domino". The Domino in "Never Say Never Again", her name was actually "Dominetta Petachi".
* It was Maximillian Largo that gave her the nickname "Domino", in memory of "Dominique Derval". Apparently, Maximillian revered and emulated his father so much, that this became a story about a son who tries to see his father's master plan through to fruition all these years later. He apparently emulated his father so much, that he latched onto "Dominetta" simply because of her name, so that he could give her the same nickname that his father gave *his* mistress way back in the day.
* Also, in "The Moneypenny Diaries: Final Fling" they give us the name of the "M" that appears in this film. Apparently his name is "Sir Jack Gavascon". Even "Q" has a different name in this one. His name is "Algernon", but you figure, no one can be on active duty 24/7, and *someone* has to be on active duty there when "Major Geoffrey Boothroyd" is off duty. Boothroyd was a Major in the "Corps of Royal Engineers" of the British Army.
Love the way you say "oh fuck off" at the end
Hilarious I was going to say Roger would never have endorsed frois gras and then you posted the clip of him calling it poison 😂 I enjoyed Never Say Never at the time but it's not one I have rewatched like the other Bond films. I tried watching the one with the EON trademarks edited in but even then it just doesn't look or feel like a proper Bond film "lazy production values" is right.
Young Calvin: I was never a big fan of Connery
Bond Fans Back Then: Wait, that's illegal!
also Young Calvin's roastings are so spicy, he could make ghost peppers taste like ice cubes XD
This was always one of my favourite of your reviews, man do I hate this film.
Congratulations on having a much better haircut and getting your Goldfinger poster framed!
I have not seen your video yet. But I wanna say something!
I love this movie, my mom and I laughed our asses off thanks to this movie. It's one of our bounding movie and it has a special place into my heart. (The "Piss Kill"... do I need to say more? XD)
Never Say Never Again sucked 40 years ago and that movie still sucks today.
Never Say Never Again was a super millionaire production. The locations: France, London, Bahamas, Monte Carlo, Spain, etc., were chosen with great care. The yacht "Nabila" by tycoon Adnan Kashoggi, was the largest in the world at those times and the rent cost $ 20,000.00 each day!
The YAMAHA factory built the motorcycle especially for Sean. The Director Irvin Kershner was the most expensive and successful of the moment. Kim Basinger and Barbara Carrera, the most beautiful actress of the moment; one brunette and the other blonde.
Klaus María Bandauer was awsome!
In short, N.S.N.A had to be filmed! Thanks Sean, thanks Mc.Klory, thanks Irvin and Klaus María!
Wow blasting Connery right out of the gate, that's hilarious!, You rule Calvin.
Calvin, before and after puberty. 😅
I still think NSNA is actually really underrated. I really appreciate it's uniqueness and I dare say it's more entertaining than Eon Productions original adaption of Thunderball which at times felt overlong and bloated. NSNA is full of incredibly witty dialog, fun action scenes and best of all, Sean Connery returns after a twelve year absence and even though he's greyer and considerably older, he still has that magic and charm he's had from his first few films. Connery looks like he's legitimately having fun here which is almost infectious and really helps the entertainment factor. This film was also actually smart enough to use Connery's age to it's advantage and write the story around an aging Bond being brought out of semi-retirement. Roger Moore was three years older than Connery and his advancing age was never acknowledged, women almost three decades younger than him just seemingly fell for him and he never clicked in the action scenes like Connery. Over-relying on stunt doubles (even for running scenes) and back projection which hurt his movies, especially 1985's A View To A Kill. Never Say Never Again's action scenes are more kinetic, Connery does what he's able to and there's no obvious stunt doubles and hokey back projection found here. Never Say Never Again is a unique Bond film which while isn't perfect, is definitely a breath of fresh air in the later Moore years, Connery is on top form as an older Bond and Klaus Maria Brandauer is an interesting villain. Kim Basinger as the Bond girl isn't amazing and the jazzy soundtrack doesn't work in some parts but it's just part of this film's unique appeal. It's just a shame Phyllis Hyman's beautiful theme was rejected in favour of Lani Hall's. Don't be put off by Bond fans rejecting this movie just because it's not an Eon Production, it's a great time as a lighthearted, spy romp.
its way better than DAF!
@@subgum3403 Absolutely agree!
I’m so glad you’ve warmed to Connery, Calvin! I have made a playlist for these videos ❤️❤️
Missed opportunity to call the video "Never Say Never Again Again"
This movie is overlooked. I watch this instead of Thunderball.
You’re not wrong about Connery. It is a generational thing though.
Never Say Never Again was not an official James Bond movie. It was a remake of Thunderball with a very aged Connery.
About 10 years ago I bought a fan edit of this movie with a ION Touch. The Movie improved 10 fold . Amazing how a tighter edit proper music and the Gun Barrel at the beginning . It still was a weak offering but it was so much better.
Calvin! Hear me out… We all agree this is not a canon James Bond movie… However, I think we can all agree that this is the prequel to Johnny English
Good to see you, Sir! Without question my favorite British, James Bond content creator and as mentioned, a tremendous wit…Even back in the Obama administration.:)) Be well, Mr. Dyson.
Calvin, I just rewatched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for the first time in donkeys, and I searched for your review of it, I'm sure I remember you making one. Is that, like this, on the cutting room floor?
Never Say Never Again just looks cheap and low budget. Yes even compered to Dr No, its closer looking to a Jon Pertwee episode of Dr Who
Never Say McClory Again rescued this film.
I just re-watched "Never Say Never Again" recently, and I honestly have to admit, I kind of enjoyed it. I think that film has a lot of problems, but I really found myself kind of relaxing with it and feeling pleasantly nostalgic for two hours. I think the reason is because "No Time to Die" is such a dreary, un-fun, downer Bond movie for me. For all its many, many faults and shortcomings, at least Never Say Never Again understands what the audience wants and at least tries to deliver what fans want; whereas No Time to Die almost seems to sadistically give fans the opposite of what we want in a Bond film by subverting our expectations and deliberately displeasing us. Never Say Never Again fails, but at least TRIES to be entertaining, whereas No Time to Die seems to hate the fan-base and wants to punish us somehow.
This came out as the same time as Octupussy it was so confusing as a kid as there were two Bonds at once !!!!
And now we live in an era where there can be 3-4 Batmans at any one time.
Granted, Never Say Never Again was not the best. & for me the best thing in it was Fatima Blush as played by Barbara Carerra. My favorite scene with her was when she walked down the stairs after getting to OK from Largo to kill Bond. I also loved her trying to get Bond to say she was the best sex partner he ever had.
I also enjoyed Klaus Maria Brandauer as Largo. He gives Largo the perfect tough of insanity that humanizes him in a way that wasn't there in Thunderball.
This was a serious Bond, unlike 67's Casino Royale. However there were several subtle & not so subtle digs at the Eon series, some done in a comic way, like Q or Rowan Atkinson as Nigel Small-Fawcett,
I always think the musical score from this is straight out of a late 70s porn film.
4:01 Still wish they'd gone with Phyllis Hyman's rendition, though if they'd gone for a proper opening title sequence. Casino Royale (1967) did an opening title sequence. Could've still used Lani Hall's song for NSNA's end credits.
Never Watch Never Say Never Again...Again
My opinion on Never Say Never Again has significantly changed to the worse. Connery is too old and it feels like he doesn't belong there, and perhaps that's what he felt too. But instead of incorporating his age to do something with the Bond character, they went for the typical Bond formula. And that's a shame because Connery was a great character actor who could have easily pulled that off.
aww I'm always saddened seeing Roger Moore promoting Peta, the poor guy didn't know how horrible they really are.
Love this film
I struggled to describe how I felt about the film but seeing it as a weird time displacement is apt! 😂. There’s a lot of miscasting and a lack of a proper Bond villain. Surely the budget should have allowed for a more wilder Spectre meeting hall?! 🤷🏼♂️
Calvin, please tell me the rumours about Daisy May Cooper aren’t anything to be taken seriously? I couldn’t think of a worse casting especially for a character as high profile as M.
You have matured nicely!! I cringe on your behalf! Keep up the great content!!
Love Fatima Blush. That's about it.
Calvin in june there will be the 40th anniversary of Octopussy at the Nene Valley rail line. Will you join?
Dunno why Brocoli and Wilson don’t just put this film into the main series library… obviously properly remaster it and make it fit into the EON mold with a smart 1980s inspired gun barrel opening, modern editing and a completely revamped score for the movie, 1980s style. They have the money, and by making it their own, they can still feel like they are putting dead McClory in his place by basically heavily changing his movie very radically and making it ‘better’ as a result.
15:19
That comment has always, without fail, got me laughing on the floor! It did 12 years ago, and it still does now! Obviously your rhetoric has improved over time, but I still find these remarks hilarious!
NSNA is a funny thing. As a Bond fan and a Connery fan, part of me wishes it was good so that we had another classic enjoyable Connery Bond movie. And yet at the same time, as a fan of Moore and having a huge amount of appreciation of Cubby's stewardship of EON at the time, I'm kinda glad it is rubbish because it just proves how great EON were.
Cubby's stewardship wasn't so great at the time.
And EON gad access to all the usual Bond trimmings, actors ans were free to film new stories. McClory just had Sean Connery, a few bits left out of Thunderball and Barbara Careras.
RIP Pamela "the librarian" Salem :/
At last Never Say Never Again turns 40. Also R.I.P to Sean Connery.