_**Connery “gets the band back together” after a dozen years absence**_

As James Bond (Sean Connery) returns to field action with M16, SPECTRE steals two warheads and 007 traces them to wealthy SPECTRE agent Maximillian Largo (Klaus Maria Brandauer), but he has to deal with femme fatale Fatima (Barbara Carrera) to accomplish his mission as he globetrots from the London area to the Bahamas to the French Riviera to North Africa to an underground facility on the Ethiopian coast. Kim Basinger plays Largo’s girlfriend while Bernie Casey is a highlight as Agent Leiter.

Despite the return of Connery, "Never Say Never Again" (1983) is an ‘unofficial’ James Bond film in that it wasn’t produced by Eon. As such, the recognizable Bond theme is missing, as is the opening gun barrel sequence and the familiar M16 office cast. Other than these factors, it’s a 007 film through and through. While it made a respectable profit at the box office, it didn’t do as well as “Octopussy” with Roger Moore, released four months earlier.

It’s a competent enough James Bond film it just pales in comparison to the dynamic “Octopussy,” which is arguably the most adventuresome, action-packed 007 flick. While Connery was three years younger than Moore, he looked older.

Some of the highlights include a knock-down-drag-out scrap between Bond and a big lug at the clinic; a clash with a couple of sharks in the waters of the Bahamas; a wild motorcycle/car chase in Nice, France; an escape from an old fortress in North Africa; and an exciting shootout at an archeological site.

Super-sharp Barbara Carrera stands out on the feminine front while Basinger is winsome enough, but she never interested me. Prunella Gee is striking as Patricia, a professional at the English clinic. Saskia Cohen Tanugi plays an M16 agent, Nicole, while Lucy Hornak has a small role as a cute nurse.

The film runs 2 hours, 14 minutes, and was shot in England; Nassau, Bahamas; the French Riviera; Almería, Andalucía, Spain; Malta; and Silver Springs, Florida.

GRADE: B-