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November Man - Movie Review

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2 stars

Pierce Brosnan probably still feels like he was let-go from the Bond franchise too soon. I seem to recall him turning to the trade papers to mount his campaign of dismay before he settled into calmer waters and gave us the mightily underrated gem, The Matador. Well, he finally gets to play the spy part again. Unfortunately, he’s not doing it in the smartest of screenplays.

His turn as retired CIA agent and relative go-to hero of the day (when he is coaxed out of retirement) Bill Devereaux in director Roger Donaldson’s The November Man is passionately pulpy but utterly void of the charm necessary to make a dumb fun movie like this work. Violent and mostly meat-headed without an ounce of wit, the film feels two decades too late.

It’s not all a loss, mind you. There are several moments of serious action what with all the human trafficking, Russian thugs, curious assassins, and hostage standoffs taking place. Mere child’s play for a spindly bad-ass agent like Devereaux. We could buy it all if we’d just get better characterization. Smashing heads is what either side of this battle does best.

The suspicious-heavy script – a double-crossing narrative where (you guessed it) nothing is as it seems – is just biding its time until the credits roll because of its predictable nature. Much like last year’s poorly-mounted Jack Ryan prequel, The November Man has many a disposable character. It is far too serious in its real world (and absurd) exploits and proves to be another misstep for the former 007.

Right when Brosnan, Donaldson (this isn’t their first picture together), and the screenplay seem to gel, characters as predictable as Devereaux’s protégé David Mason (Luke Bracey) and Alice Fournier (Olga Kurylenko) continue to remind us that we’ve seen this picture before. Blame the super serious-minded screenwriters Michael Finch and Karl Gajdusek who don’t embrace the cheese they are writing and throw in sadistic grit just to pass the time in this updated adaptation of a series of novels by Bill Granger.

While there is enough corner action to sop up the gushing mess of wonky espionage and crushed skulls, you begin to understand why Brosnan couldn’t remain Bond for much longer and why Daniel Craig is so much better than, well, pretty much everybody else who has ever stepped into the iconic role. There’s just too little command from this grizzled veteran in this popcorn game of spy verses spy which he should own. Essentially, the role of Devereaux becomes assassinated by his own writers.

Brosnan might have his fans but even they are going to give him the cold shoulder after they survive the utterly familiar temps of The November Man.

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November Man - Movie Review

MPAA Rating: R for strong violence including a sexual assault, language, sexuality/nudity and brief drug use.
Runtime:
108 mins
Director
: Roger Donaldson
Writer: Michael Finch, Karl Gajdusek
Cast:
Pierce Brosnan, Luke Bracey, Olga Kurylenko
Genre
: Action | Crime | Thriller
Tagline:
A spy is never out of the game.
Memorable Movie Quote: "She has information on the agency that they'll kill to keep secret."
Distributor:
Relativity Media
Official Site: http://thenovemberman.com/
Release Date:
August 29, 2014
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
No details available.
Synopsis: Code named The November Man, Peter Devereaux (Pierce Brosnan) is an extremely dangerous and highly trained ex-CIA agent who is lured out of quiet retirement on a very personal mission. He must protect valuable witness, Alice Fournier, (Olga Kurylenko) who could expose the truth behind a decades-old conspiracy. He soon discovers this assignment makes him a target of his former friend and CIA protégé David Mason (Luke Bracey). With growing suspicions of a mole in the agency, there is no one Devereaux can trust, no rules and no holds barred. With a screenplay by Michael Finch & Karl Gajdusek based on Bill Granger's novel "There are No Spies" from the bestselling November Man book series, The November Man is the ultimate cat-and-mouse game set in the world of international espionage.

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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

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