THE NOVEMBER MAN
Rated R, 1 hr. 48 min
Cast: Pierce Brosnan , Luke Bracey, Olga Kurylenko, Bill Smitrovich, Lazar Ristovski. Will Patton, Akie Kotabe, Patrick Kennedy, Caterina Scorsone, Eliza Taylor, Dragan Marinkovic.
Synopsis: Based off the novel “There Are No Spies” by Bill Granger, The November Man is a spy thriller genre film staring Pierce Brosnan. Peter Devereux (Brosnan) is the November Man, an ex-CIA agent known for notoriously killing all that come in his way. When an agent and close friend Natalia (Mediha Musliovic) is killed, Devereux must return for one last mission to protect Alice Fournier (Olga Kurylenko), the only ties to a mysterious woman that could act as a key witness to overthrow a powerful political figure. All the while, Devereux is pitted against his old mentee David Mason (Luke Bracey).
Ray: 2 ½ out of 5 stars
Marcus: 1 out of 5 stars
Ray: While The November Man is a movie in the spy genre, it lacks its own flavor and identity. As every scene passed by, it felt like a refresher course for every spy film that I have seen in the past two decades. Well-known agent forced out of retirement for one last mission? Check. Said agent must a person (usually a woman) that the bad guys are seeking because they have insider information? Check. Master versus protégé? Check. The list goes on, and my attention packed its bags, joined it and shared a cab.
I would like to think that I lived in a world where Piece Brosnan’s only espionage-themed alter ego was James Bond, a character of his own merit and individuality, not generic everyman (or agent). Unfortunately, in this particular film, Brosnan is the latter. It is arguable that anyone was able to play this part, but they chose him? Can someone say career revival?
In the end, November Man is one of those films that you forget exist until they pop up on your Netflix, to which you still do not watch. This film contain large doses of violence and blood. Those that are intimidated by this are urged to not to watch. To sum things up: it’s like James Bond, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, etc….but it’s not.
Marcus: I honestly believe that the only people who will like “The November Man” are people who’ve never seen a spy movie before. There’s almost nothing in this movie that’s original, enjoyable or interesting. The action scenes are bland, lifeless and routine (with one exception). The dialogue is often unintentionally funny. The twisty plot is convoluted and unengaging. The acting is decent across the board, but no one (not even Brosnan, who does some fine work here) manages to elevate the material, or at least make the movie any more tolerable to watch.
I don’t hate this movie, I just think it’s really, really, really, really dull. “The November Man” reminds me a lot of “Sin City 2”. They’re both supposed to be these bloody, ultraviolent, hard-R rated thrillers, but I found both of these movies to be pretty boring. The only reason why I like “Sin City 2” more than I like “The November Man” is that “Sin City 2” managed to be interesting for most of its runtime. After watching the first fifteen minutes of “The November Man”, I was ready to leave.
Marcus Flewellen and Ray Allen review films and cultural trends for Capstone New Now. Their views do not necessarily reflect the views of WVUA-FM.
