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From: Caro.PA@PARC-MAXC.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.movies
Subject: Never Say Never Again (ever!)
Message-ID: <13419@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 7-Nov-83 15:22:40 EST
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.13419
Posted: Mon Nov  7 15:22:40 1983
Date-Received: Sun, 13-Nov-83 09:36:34 EST
Lines: 44

Saw "Never Say Never Again" last weekend.  I'm told that the plot for
this 007 encore is identical to that of Thunderball, but since I'm not
familiar with that particular story I shouldn't say "Yay" or "Nay" to
it.

Sean Connery, paunchy and suffering from denture wearers hiss STILL
manages to carry off the classic 007 macho image that we all know and
love.  In fact, I think that he has improved with age in some ways.
This older 007 is more whimsical and less serious than previous Sean
Connery 007's.  I won't bother comparing him to that other fellow,
whats-his-name.

For some reason (legal?) there is no traditional James Bond music, and
no familiar actors for M, Q, and Moneypenny.  The new "M" refers to his
"predessesor" in one scene, so I guess the other guy retired or got
offed.  But Max Von Sidewinder is back to play Spectre's head honcho,
only now we see his face!!!

The plot is fairly straight-forward.  Good ol' Spectre manages to swipe
two nukes from the USAF.  Number 1, His Supreme Evilness and Cat Lover,
threatens to blow up the two bombs unless all of the NATO countries
cough up 25% of their oil budgets.  Nasty, nasty!

But that's not the best part.  The best part of the movie is the
conflict between 007 and two of Spectre's agents, a gorgeous female
assasin named Fatima Lusche (or Balusche, or something like that), and a
mean son-of-a-Nazi named Largo who rides around in this HUGE yacht.
We're talking mega-bucks here.

For the first time, we see some character development (actually,
anti-development, as you will see...) of the BAD GUYS!  I don't want to
give anything away, but for once we get a glimpse of just WHY these
otherwise brilliant and beautiful people turn to evil.  Good stuff!

The movie is long (approx. 3 hours), but it didn't have a boring moment.
It had plenty of gratuitous sex and violence (in fact, old Q actually
says to 007, "I say, good to have you back!  What this place has been
lacking is some gratuitous sex and violence!" -- or something like
that.)  Lots of beasts too, including killer sharks and vultures.

On the Commodore's Scale of Merit (six bells being all's well), I'd give
thisun a 4.

Commodore Perry