Settle down, purists! There’s definitely a case to be made that this Thunderball rehash doesn’t deserve to be ranked at all, that it’s outside the canon of official Bond movies, made possible only due to an old legal settlement that gave control of one story line to a Fleming collaborator. But hey, that is Sean Connery back in the tux after 12 years, still exuding 007 charm while lending a hint of world-weariness befitting a seasoned secret agent reactivated to rescue his country in time of need. Toss in fresh Bond Girl Kim Basinger (23 years younger than Sean) and an excellent update of SPECTRE lieutenant Largo, and you realize that maybe it’s not an international crisis for two Bonds to exist at once. Never again, though.
Nobody Quotes it Better: “Good to see you, Mr. Bond. Things have been awfully dull ’round here. I hope we’re going to see some gratuitous sex and violence in this one.”
Top Secret: With Never and Octopussy released within months of each other, many speculated on which Bond would win at the box office. Both were hits, making nearly $200 million apiece.
Find out which other Bond flicks topped our list —and get even more killer 007 content — by downloading 50 Years of Bond.
