An underrated unofficial entry into an iconic franchise that masterfully dodged legal red tape returns to active duty on streaming

Even though reboots, remakes, and reimaginings are all the rage these days, the mere existence of something like Never Say Never Again is hugely unlikely to ever happen again, simply because the various legal departments involved in Hollywood’s biggest franchises would never allow it.

A fascinating outlier among the long and illustrious history of James Bond, Sean Connery returned to the role for the first time in 12 years since retiring the tux in Diamonds are Forever. However, Eon Productions wasn’t involved, and the movie was basically a thinly-veiled remake of Thunderball, which had released 18 years previously and funnily enough starred Connery in the lead.

Executive producer Kevin McClory facilitated the bootleg 007 adventure by retaining the film rights to Ian Fleming’s source novel in the wake of a protracted legal battle, something Eon has been very careful to ensure has never happened since. Ironically, Connery was younger than current incumbent Roger Moore at the time – who’d headlined his own movie earlier that same year when Octopussy hit theaters – but Never Say Never Again still makes a point of noting Bond’s age at virtually every turn.

For obvious reasons, there’s no opening gun barrel sequence, no use of the iconic James Bond theme tune, and no pre-titles action extravaganza; even if one was shot but ultimately never used. An altogether curious addition – whether you accept it as canon or not – Never Say Never Again has been placed back into the spotlight after becoming one of the Top 10 biggest hits on iTunes in the United Kingdom per FlixPatrol, 40 years on from cementing itself as the red-headed stepchild of the legendary spy saga.