'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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