9 Actors Who Made Better Versions Of Previous Films

7. Sean Connery - Thunderball & Never Say Never Again

Sean Connery took up the James Bond mantle for the fourth time in 1965 with Thunderball, an adaptation of Ian Fleming's novel of the same name.

It's neither a great Bond flick nor an especially bad one: there's a weird bit where 007 casually rapes a woman and the underwater action drags on too long, but Connery received plenty of praise for his reliable performance, and it's generally accepted to be a solid entry into the canon.

Connery reportedly wasn't particularly satisfied with the film, however, and 18 years later, he appeared in a re-adaptation of Fleming's novel, though because it wasn't produced by Eon Productions, it doesn't count as an official Bond movie.

Never Say Never Again was released in 1983, 12 years after Connery's last official appearance as Bond, and saw a 52-year-old Connery bringing a unique, aged grit to the role. Far from the embarrassment of Roger Moore's later Bond films, Connery doesn't try to mask his age, instead leaning directly into it.

It doesn't hurt that Klaus Maria Brandauer is a vastly superior Max Largo, and fresh off directing The Empire Strikes Back, Irvin Kershner's filmmaking chops trample all over Terence Young's work on Thunderball.

Though the unofficial remake may not be a "real" Bond movie, Connery's heart was actually in it this time, it's a technically superior movie in many areas, and it lacks Thunderball's oppressively lethargic pacing, tone and feel.