James Bond: Every Sean Connery Movie Ranked Worst To Best

7. Never Say Never Again

There are many things that are incredible about this 1983 James Bond film. For one, it is technically not considered a Bond film as it was not produced by Eon who had their own Bond film released the same year: Octopussy starring Connery's successor Roger Moore. Another is that it was directed by Irvin Kershener who had just finished work on Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

"I hope we're going to have some gratuitous sex and violence" comments Q at the outset of the movie which might as well be the film's mantra. Connery may be no spring chicken with his greying hair and well worn face but every woman he encounters seems to fall in love with him instantly, even more so than in his previous films. Where it may have been believable when he was in his 30s, in Never Say Never Again he is old enough to have fathered most of the women he seduces.

The film feels like it exists purely for its self referential title alone, a nod to Connery's claim that he would never play Bond again after retiring 12 years earlier in Diamonds Are Forever. While Connery does feel past his peak, lured back to the franchise for a record $6 million, the script has some good gags and among its stellar cast it introduced the world to Rowan Atkinson and Kim Basinger. However, the main problem with this otherwise lukewarm Bond adventure is it cannot seem to decide if it wants to dip its toe in the water of parody or be taken as a serious continuation of the Bond films.