<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1Ouzfh_0vfkKlNm00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1Ouzfh_0vfkKlNm00" width="1140" height="570" ><figcaption>Image by Federico Napoli</figcaption></figure>Never Say Never Again may be the strangest film in the entire James Bond franchise due to some unusual licensing agreements that allowed Warner Bros. to make their own version of the Ian Fleming novel Thunderball, which had already been adapted into a film starring Sean Connery in 1965. While Connery had officially retired from the role of 007 after his role in Diamonds Are Forever, he was lured back to star in Never Say Never Again, which was ironically released the same year that the Roger Moore Bond film Octopussy was also set to debut. Never Say Never Again wasn’t much of a comeback for Connery, as there was little that director Irvin Kershner was able to do with the material that hadn’t already been done better in Thunderball. That being said, Connery once revealed on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson that an intense underwater scene made him “very, very nervous” about what exactly he had signed up for when he agreed to reprise his most iconic role.<h2>Filming Underwater Made Sean Connery Nervous </h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0M6sAN_0vfkKlNm00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0M6sAN_0vfkKlNm00" width="825" height="413" ><figcaption>Image via Warner Bros.</figcaption></figure>Never Say Never Again featured an extended sequence where Bond was scuba diving next to a live shark, which required Connery to go between 50 and 60 feet underwater. Filming the original set of Bond films had put Connery in all sorts of danger, but he admitted that it was hard for him to keep his anxiety under control when he began to think about running out of oxygen. Connery mentioned that the entire filming area “was covered in bubbles because I was panicking all the time," and that his reaction of sheer dismay was one that was captured in the final cut of the film. Given that Connery was in his early 50s when the film went into production, shooting intensive action scenes put a greater strain on his body.The realism that Connery brought to the underwater sequence certainly made the film more intense, but Never Say Never Again had a very troubled production that ran severely over budget, resulting in disputes between Kershner and producer Jack Schwartzman. Connery also broke his wrist while training with Steven Seagal on the film’s fight scenes, and would later refer to the production as a “bloody Mickey Mouse operation” due to the perceived professionalism behind-the-scenes. While Never Say Never Again was a moderate financial success and received stronger critical praise when compared to the heavily maligned Octopussy, it was not surprising in the slightest that it marked the final time that Connery would ever portray Bond.<h2>‘Never Say Never Again’ Is an Underrated Bond Film </h2>The comparisons to Thunderball certainly don’t help Never Say Never Again, especially since the parameters of the agreement with Eon Productions meant that the film could not make any references to any of the events in the previous Bond films that Connery had starred in. That being said, Never Say Never Again deserves credit for showing an older version of Bond who is not nearly as adventurous and well-versed in modern espionage as he was when he was younger. While Octopussy had tried to avoid the fact that Moore was clearly no longer at his peak, Never Say Never Again opted to specifically frame the story as Bond’s final adventure. Several characters refer to Connery’s advancing age, adding a sense of comic relief to what could have very easily been a dull rehash of previous events.Never Say Never Again also benefits from some inventive action sequences courtesy of Kershner; while he never would reach the heights of The Empire Strikes Back with any other film in his career, Kerhner still had a strong ability to create captivating set pieces that put his protagonists at their most vulnerable. It’s a bit disappointing that none of Connery’s previous co-stars got to reprise their roles, but Max von Sydow’s comically absurd portrayal of the SPECTRE boss Blofeld gave him a fairly entertaining antagonist to go after. There are certainly some sexist jokes and outdated racial stereotypes that have not aged well, but Never Say Never Again certainly does not deserve to be cast aside as the “black sheep” of the Bond franchise.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=02sP6J_0vfkKlNm00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=02sP6J_0vfkKlNm00" width="480" height="720" ></figure>Never Say Never Again is available to rent or buy on Prime Video in the U.S.</div></body>

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The One James Bond Scene Sean Connery Was \"Very, Very Nervous\" To Film

Never Say Never Again may be the strangest film in the entire James Bond franchise due to some unusual licensing agreements that allowed Warner Bros. to make their own version of the Ian Fleming novel Thunderball, which had already been adapted into a film starring Sean Connery in 1965. While Connery had officially retired from the role of 007 after his role in Diamonds Are Forever, he was lured back to star in Never Say Never Again, which was ironically released the same year that the Roger Moore Bond film Octopussy was also set to debut. Never Say Never Again wasn’t much of a comeback for Connery, as there was little that director Irvin Kershner was able to do with the material that hadn’t already been done better in Thunderball. That being said, Connery once revealed on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson that an intense underwater scene made him “very, very nervous” about what exactly he had signed up for when he agreed to reprise his most iconic role.