Never Say Never Again

After the "Double-0" program is suspended, James (Sean Connery) is recalled from a health spa when two nuclear missiles are hijacked by charismatic oil tycoon Maximilian Largo (Klaus Maria Brandauer), whose unwitting mistress (Kim Basinger) is sister to the pawn used to retrieve the weapons of mass destruction. Connery's final appearance as Bond, after a 12 year hiatus, is a welcomed return and the film, an unofficial, non-Eon Studios production remake of Thunderball is a nice change of pace from the formulaic series if it is a little overlong and just as tacky. Brandauer is a great, colorful and humanized villain, Barbara Carrera a sizzling femme fatale, and Basinger ideal as a Bond girl. *** out of ****