The November Man

It's not hard to see why Pierce Brosnan had, for a couple of years, tried to get this film made; despite being a perfectly capable dramatic actor, it is his time as James Bond that people remember most fondly about the 61-year-old Irish actor, so it is no wonder that Brosnan would want at some point to get back into the spy game. There is pedigree and potential here too - the character is the protagonist of novelist Bill Granger's 1980s Peter Devereaux series, and if this movie adapted from the seventh book of that series hits paydirt, there are always many other books on which a franchise could be built.

Thankfully for Brosnan, who also produces the movie through his Irish Dreamtime company, 'November Man' is a sturdy enough thriller that could be the start of several such mid-budget European-set sequels to come. Gone are the gadgets, the girls and the quips that were a centrepiece of Brosnan's 007 days though - Brosnan's Devereaux is the kind of gritty spy Daniel Craig fashioned the 007 character after Brosnan departed, a no-nonsense CIA man at the top of his game who retired after a mission gone wrong with his protégé, David Mason (Australian actor Luke Bracey).

Devereaux is pulled back into the field when his former handler from Langley, a hawk-eyed Hanley (Bill Smitrovich), asks for his help to pull an asset out of Moscow. The woman has critical information about the future head of the Soviet Union, Arkady Federov (Lazar Ristovski), which the CIA would like its hands on, but Devereaux accepts only because she is also his former colleague and lover. That simple mission goes unexpectedly awry when Devereaux finds himself pitted against Mason, whose orders were not only to 'take out' the woman but also Devereaux himself. What's more, Hanley is simultaneously taken into custody by his own CIA unit, after it turns out that he had recruited Devereaux behind their backs.

As scripted by Michael Finch and Karl Gajdusek, the film combines a couple of familiar tropes. Here we have a teacher and his best protégé turned enemies, so that we get to see just how much of the former's skills the latter has honed into his own. We also get a spy versus the Agency, with Devereaux seemingly gone rogue against the apparently corrupted CIA establishment. And finally, we get a witness everyone is after, who as Hollywood convention dictates, happens also to look like a supermodel - that would be Alice Fournier (played by former Bond girl Olga Kurylenko) - and is protected by none other than Devereaux himself.

So far, so good - for the first hour, Roger Donaldson directs a relatively taut and tense setup that keeps you hooked at trying to figure out just who is playing who. We know Devereaux is the good guy here, but just who is everyone else? Will Mason become a cold-hearted killing machine to take out his former trainer? Is Mason's boss the one pulling the strings? What does he have to do with an operation involving Federov and a building which fell in Chechnya that precipitated the war between the two countries? And just who is this Mira whom everyone is looking for, who apparently has Federov's dirty secrets from his past as a Russian general in the Chechen war?

But after a promising start, what was a tightly plotted affair starts to go off the rails. There are a lot of revelations here, and to be fair, a somewhat twisty knot of events to unravel the truth behind the smokescreens. Yet, the scripting gets weaker by the minute - in particular, a thoroughly extraneous scene where Devereaux confronts Mason in his own apartment and decides to teach the latter a thing or two about developing affections for the opposite sex by slashing the femoral artery of his next-door neighbour/ girlfriend for no other apparent reason - and the leaps of logic get more far-fetched as Donaldson tries his darnest to keep the proceedings moving at a brisk clip until the climax.

Never a less than competent helmer, Donaldson largely succeeds, inserting some efficiently thrilling car chases, shootouts and hand-to- hand combats in between the betrayals, admissions and ultimatums. It certainly helps that Brosnan is just as sure a hand at playing a spy, slipping effortlessly into the role with charisma and lending this screen incarnation of Devereaux a dignity and poise that very few silver-haired action stars can do. Brosnan's co-stars are however forgettable, though Kurylenko proves to be a sight to behold in her own right when she puts on a short sexy dress to seduce Federov in his own hotel room.

To be sure, 'November Man' never quite comes close to the heights of Bourne, which is in a league of its own. But for less demanding audiences looking for some late-summer action, this entirely B-grade Euro-set thriller will do the trick. It's got espionage, suspense, blood, some sex (clearly trimmed here for an NC16 rating though), and most of all, Brosnan; yes, the latter is singlehandedly the best thing the film has going for it. And in turn, Brosnan gets his wish - an opportunity back into the spy game, and a pretty good one at that too.

True, the plot is predictable to some degree and the movie is definitely not Bourne or Casino Royale (2006). This doesn't mean that is trash, though. There are lots o middle places between a master piece and an totally awful movie.

One of the main problems is that in a couple of moments the information is delivered in a sloppy way and this creates some momentary confusion on the viewer. But it doesn't last long. There are also some scenes that stretch too far the disbelief suspension that any movie of that kind invariably asks for. But if you can look past those flaws, you will be entertained by a movie that delivers. Brosnan does his thing, there are good action scenes, got some decent plot twists, acting is average...

Don't get put off by the haters. All in all, a decent spy flick. Just keep your expectations at a mainstream level and you won't be disappointed.

The last film I saw Brosnan in - Love Punch - was almost as bad as Mama Mia. What was he thinking? Apart from Daniel Craig, I like him as the best 007. So, having read some of the reviews on IMDb I had very low expectations.

However, this is a good film if you like Brosnan as the secret agent. I don't understand why some reviewers don't get the story. It's pretty simple to follow even though the end is half expected. He is gritty enough (just) with the couple of scenes of him drinking not quite making the cut. The action scenes were quite good and Olga Kurylenko added the eye candy.

So, I disagree with the haters. This is definitely worth a watch.

As a modern day thriller this better than most even if Olga Kurylenko has no fighting to do in this one. That is left to Pierce Brosnan as Peter Devereaux and Luke Bracey as his protege David Mason, and they're pretty good at it. Devereaux and Mason were colleagues when a mistake on a case led to a young child being killed. Years later and now retired Devereaux is brought back for a new mission but when his girlfriend is killed by his former allies it's time for revenge. But can he kill his former friend Mason, well the bad guys are far higher up the scale than Mason and with Devereaux now protecting a witness, Alice (Kurylenko), who has details of a Russian/CIA cover up in past atrocities, theymight have to trust each other.

Decent modern day spy thriller that doesn't outstay it's welcome.

'THE November MAN': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

Spy thriller starring Pierce Brosnan as an ex-CIA agent who must take on an old pupil, when his former employers kill the woman he loves and target him for assassination. The movie was directed by Roger Donaldson; who's directed such popular hits as 'COCTAIL', 'CADILLAC MAN', 'THE BOUNTY', 'SPECIES' and 'DANTE'S PEAK' (which also stars Brosnan). It was written by Michael Finch and Karl Gajdusek and based on the book 'There Are No Spies' (which is the seventh installment in 'The November Man' series) by Bill Granger. It costars Luke Bracey, Olga Kurylenko, Bill Smitrovich and Will Patton. I found it to be pretty entertaining and surprisingly dark, and violent, but still nothing too new or interesting to offer fans of the genre.

Brosnan plays Peter Devereaux; an ex-CIA agent who retired after a student of his, David Mason (Bracey), accidentally killed a kid (while the two were doing an assignment together in Montenegro). Since that time Peter has started a relationship with another CIA operative, named Natalia Ulanova (Mediha Musilovic). He comes out of retirement to aid her on a deep cover assignment in Russia, when she's murdered by Mason; under the orders of CIA chief Perry Weinstein (Patton). Peter then wants revenge on the CIA, for killing Natalia, and will stop at nothing to find out what vital information she uncovered and why she was killed for it.

The story is that of a pretty routine espionage thriller but it does take some pretty dark turns, here and there. Both Brosnan and Bracey's characters do some pretty questionable 'anti-heroic' things that, at times, leave the viewer questioning who they're supposed to root for. So in that way I really enjoyed the movie. Brosnan does slip back into the ultimate spy role with plenty of ease and Donaldson does a pretty effective job delivering the action. Kurylenko looks stunning as usual (and even uncannily resembles a young Catherine Zeta-Jones in some scenes). The film might not have much original to offer, fans of the genre, but it's still a lot of fun; I'd even say it's better than about half of the James Bond movies.

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