User reviews

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 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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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.

An ex-CIA operative is brought in on a very personal mission and finds himself pitted against his former pupil in a deadly game involving high level CIA officials and the Russian president-elect.

The November Man is directed by Roger Donaldson and stars Pierce Brosnan as its title character. Roger Donaldson also directed The Bank Job (2008) which is one of Jason Statham' best movie. Let me tell you how excited I was when I heard that Pierce Brosnan was returning as a spy; A little bit nostalgic. This film is full of classic spy cliché such as, for instance, people walking away slow motion explosions and it doesn't seem to get started until half way through. However towards the third act the movie really showed itself and I was like: "Why didn't they do that from the beginning?" Unfortunately, the fact is that it's so terribly cliché since the beginning that when you see where things are going and certain puzzle pieces start to make sense, you are already checked out of the movie. Yet, Pierce Brosnan is great; he could play this role eyes closed. Olga Kurylenko is good as well, you grow some sympathy for her character and the movie takes on a completely different meaning when you realised certain things about her. Plus, I have to point out that women are over objectify and her character is only introduced when it's convenient for the man to have a bargaining girl which isn't as cool as it sounds. Brosnan's protegee starring Luke Bracey is pretty cool as well and I think this guy's got a future. This movie reminds me of two other movies released this years: 3 Days to Kill and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.

Overall I think The November Man could have been a lot better thanks to a stronger writing and directing; it's good to see Pierce Brosnan back into the spy game.

Hrmmm ... I'm not sure what film the less enthusiastic reviewers here happened to watch. The November Man is an excellent movie for fans of this genre. The performances delivered by the cast are great, the script is generally good, and the film is incredibly well shot.

Some seem to have a problem with Pierce Brosnan because of his age. I'm not sure what that's all about -- his was a fantastic performance in this film. Additionally, the well-written script delivers a lot of action and plot turns to keep you engrossed in the movie from the time it starts until the closing credits begin to roll. Did we see the same film? I'm having a hard time finding fault with The November Man. If you enjoy thrillers, then this should be right up your alley. The November Man is strongly recommended viewing for adults who have a taste for this kind of stuff.

November Man is a pretty run of the mill movie, it has the often used plot element of someone who comes out of retirement for one last job/mission. The action sequences aren't bad and the acting is good but as for the movie as a whole it's all been done before yet it still manages to entertain.

I am reading so many negative reviews on this movie, but they are clearly caused by poor judgment and lack of attention.

The story builds up nicely. The characters aren't underdeveloped at all. However, that character development happens mostly in the last 20 minutes or so. This is a movie that is unfolding through several threads, coming together at the end, clarifying the characters.

I do not need to add any words about the plot. It may seem puzzling to those who are used to be fed the cliché clues, overstating what comes next, but I think it was a very good plot and well executed. True, there should have been some more depth in the acting to enjoy but that would contradict the cold professionalism which is inherent to CIA, hit men and war criminals.

I say, make sure your IQ is three digits worth and enjoy this movie which does evoke 007 much, but harsher.

When I first viewed the trailer for "The November Man", I thought it looked average and kind of like a straight to DVD movie. So my girlfriend and I were looking for a movie to watch and I suggested this and went in with low/average expectations. I must say, I was surprised by the movie and how entertaining and thrilling it was.

First things first, Pierce Brosnan proves he still has that charisma and flair which most people seen when he played James Bond, he brings that same level of personality to the role and is just pure bad ass and cool as "The November Man". I felt the actors all did a wonderful job from Luke Bracey as the cocky, young, and easy to hate protégé to the smoking hot Olga Kurylenko. The story may seem predictable and simple, but is still intriguing,thrilling and provides for some edge of the seat excitement. The action comes fast, bloody and unexpectedly. The scenes are shot with crisp and it will invigorate your adrenaline rush for all the action junkies out there. Like many of the reviews have pointed out, the story takes some twists and turns which may leave the viewer confused. It still provides an above average, edge of your seat, action thriller.

Overall, a decent popcorn flick that will surely entertain. It has a little bit of everything. Action, suspense, thrills, drama, humor and is surprisingly quite entertaining. It will surely make you gasp or jump at least once! Don't listen to Rotten Tomatoes, go watch and judge for yourself.

6.5/10

In Lausanne, Switzerland, the retired CIA agent Peter Devereaux (Pierce Brosnan) is visited by his former chief John Hanley (Bill Smitrovich) that convinces him to extract the agent Natalia Ulanova (Mediha Musliovic) from Russia. Natalia is the assistant of the Russian candidate for President Arkady Federov (Lazar Ristovski) and has collected evidences of war crimes committed by the candidate during the Chechen War and requested Peter to help her. However, during the operation, CIA chief Perry Weinstein (William Patton) believes that Natalie has been captured by the Russians and orders agent David Mason (Luke Bracey) to kill her. Natalie gives photos and the name Mira Filipova to Peter before dying and the agent informs Hanley. Peter kills the CIA agents, but when he sees Mason, he spares the agent that was trained by him. When Mason meets Weinstein, he learns that Peter and Natalie had a love affair in the past and the agent is assigned to kill him. Peter heads to Belgrade where he saves the social worker Alice Fournier (Olga Kurylenko) that might know where Mira is from Federov's assassin Alexa (Amila Terzimehic) and from Mason. Soon Peter learns dirty secrets about Arkady Federov and the CIA and has to flee with Alice to save their lives and expose the crimes to the world.

"The November Man" is a complex and great spy thriller with a story with many twists. I saw this film on DVD and immediately after finishing watching it, I saw it again to fully understand the story. The fast pace associated to the twists make the viewer lose details that can be better understood in a second time. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "November Man: Um Espião Nunca Morre" ("November Man"A Spy Never Dies")

... the year was 1974 and a hard-bitten journalist named Bill Granger decided to follow the trend and write yet another spy novel about a hard-bitten secret agent caught in a web of deceit. This was after all the peak of the cold war and spy themes dominated fiction, film, TV, even cartoons.

As it turned it, the November Man was well received and a number were written in the series before it finally fizzled. Critics of the day felt all were considerably above average. Granger had a knack for hard prose because of his background.

Flash forward about a quarter-century and you will find an ex-Bond lead with money in his pocket looking for projects he can continue working in, even if the process involves spending some of his own money to catch the plum roles. Which he accomplishes by buying the rights to one of the later books in the Granger Series and re-naming the project after the very first book in the series .. see? And so kind reader here we are in 2014 with a project written in the late 20th century, upgraded on a shoestring, mis-named, and spawned with the sole intention of giving its greying star a payday.

What can possibly go wrong? Just about everything. I will point out, for the record, and for skeptics, that it is possible to make something new and wonderful out of something old and dusty -- look at the Bourne Trilogy. (Which I have seen about six times, each).

But that is not what is happening here. Bereft of talent, we have a weak script that constantly stumbles over the material it is adapting, direction so lacklustre that even the action scenes appear to be in slow-motion, and a star who might just as well have phoned it in.

Brosnan never, not once, connects with his character. At best, you have an ageing Bondish character who appears to have landed in the wrong movie. And, if the central character cannot find motivation ... how can the audience?

Pierce Brosnan puts his James Bond persona to bed with this film. I've been off Brosnan in the last couple of years since Bond, though he's a brave actor and has tried various roles. This one puts him firmly back in the action mould. His character Devereaux could take Bond with one arm behind his back - well not perhaps not Daniel Craig but he'd give him a run for his money. It was as gritty a performance as I have ever seen from Brosnan and ranks alongside the current Bond and Bourne for tension and is not far behind for action. His character is cold and dangerous and utterly ruthless. The plot too is clever with twists and turns and betrayals. I was engrossed from start to finish. The action is fast and graphic. Go see it. Its a fun ride.

Pierce Brosnan portrays Peter Devereaux--former CIA agent who gets pulled into an intrigue regarding the corruption of a Russian political candidate. While active, they called him "The November Man", referring to the fact that after he finished a mission, nothing survived.

You have to pay attention during his film to understand the myriad of characters and their relationships. The action is almost nonstop. And the story develops quickly.

Unlike Bond, Devereaux is not a smooth operator. He does not pause to enjoy a fine cognac or the company of a beautiful woman. He is on mission every moment and willing to make the hard choices.

I like this film, because within the spycraft and action is a story about values and making choices. Devereaux is a weapon aimed at a target, but he finds he cannot avoid his own emotions or the judgments they force him to make.

The action is good, the music is good, the acting is very good and mostly understated.

November Man seemed as if it was going to be an awesome throwback to the Pierce Brosnan days of Bond, his Never Say Never Again almost. Unfortunately, it doesn't amount to anything but an incoherent mess of a film. The storyline is very typical, almost so typical that you keep wondering if you missed something or it is merely just that brainless and redundant? The answer is yes, The November Man is a film that takes what could have been a grand throwback to the espionage thrillers of yester-year and turns it into a brainless big budget fan film hybrid cross between John Woo and a 90s James Bond. The director, Roger Donaldson feels sluggish here. It feels as if he knew the film was bad and tried everything to get it to work but it, unfortunately never comes to flotation. The editing is sloppy, the action sequence get considerably ridiculous especially with its use of slow motion, which adds another corny and campy vibe to an already far-fetched story that takes itself way too seriously. Despite these faults, The November Man does showcase a very good performance from Pierce Brosnan. While the story does lack an intellectual plot to make this intriguing enough, Pierce Brosnan carries the film on his shoulders and moves full speed ahead even when the film doesn't seem to be going much of anywhere. As far as an action film is concerned, the shootouts are somewhat decent in certain scenes but become increasingly annoying as they all start to blend together and feel boring. The violence in this film is actually something that did take me by surprise considering how brutal some of the scenes are. However, while some of the violence is shocking at first, Roger Donaldson decides to capitalize on the gore by throwing slow motion blood, bullets and brains to the mix for the final shootout, absolutely killing any shot of redemption for the film at that point. It may look cool but it contributes nothing at all except something for gore hounds to marvel at, maybe. Overall, The November Man features vintage Pierce Brosnan echoing back to Live Wire and Goldeneye but the film suffers from a narrative stand point and tries to cover up its lacking story with graphic violence and loud music.

A glossy post Cold War thriller with interesting geopolitical asides shot in Serbia in wobbly steadicam in which there are lots of car chases and explosions and plenty of people die messily; few of them, sadly, at the hands of sexy rival assassin Amila Terzimehic.

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.

Great espionage film, perfect for a retired James Bond (Similar to Sean Connery's last "unofficial" Bond movie, Never say never again). Pierce Brosnan does not look aged at all as he brings the action to this film. I always defend the old guys in Expendables stating I hope to look half as good as they do at their age, but Pierce prove to be far more impressive as a believable old timer CIA agent, who still got what it takes to effectively play the spy game. The espionage story is not complex, but there are a lot of elements to it that make for interesting twist & turns. Plus the filmmakers did a good job of blending all the main characters stories together to make a movie you never get lost in. Except when it comes to the brilliant action sequences which you get lost in in the best way possible. Thank you Pierce, you don't need to prove to me your my favorite Bond, and yet you made a movie that does just that.

Well, there was a surprise - I read all the negative reviews on here and decided to watch it anyway - and I'm not sorry I did; I *would* be sorry if I had spent money and time in a cinema for it - but as an at home watch it managed to keep my attention well and be surprisingly, genuinely, tense in some parts - The story is indeed dated; but sufficient to allow the basic premise of the film to maintain a certain level of cold war sang-froid, whilst avoiding the truly old geography lead clichés.

It's watchable - and if you're a Brosnan fan, he delivers as usual. Just have your expectation filters set solidly to level 6 and you'll be good to go.

Based on a novel There Are No Spies by Bill Granger, this story is from a series of books under the 'The November Man' series.

Brosnan plays Peter Devereaux (aka The November Man), a retired CIA officer who is recruited by his ex-boss to extract an undercover operative working for the notorious presidential candidate and former army general Federov. As Federov has a lady assassin in play, it becomes vital for Devereaux to move quickly which he does.

To cut the story short, the operative has a name which can destroy Federov. She gets made by the Russians but is rescued by Devereaux but unfortunately doesn't make it. The CIA is now after the person behind the name and all leads points to a social worker played by Olga. Devereaux saves her and then sets on a mission to find the truth, which believe-it-or-not comes with various twists in the tale!

It was nice to watch Brosnan return to an action movie, although I couldn't but help think of Bryan Mills and the Taken movies; however he seems to be a little more ruthless than Mills. To remind you that Brosnan is a star from the 80s and 90s there is a love-making scene which was totally not required (and it didn't even feature Brosnan).

If you like spy stories or Brosnan then you should watch 'The November Man'.

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.

When you start watching a movie like this one you already exactly know what you are going to see. A lot of action, shootings, highly trained secret agents that are able to avoid being hit once by a bullet, other highly trained secret agents that get immediately shot by the hero of the story without them hitting anybody despite being highly trained, a lot of fight scenes were the hero can get hit severely without any major injuries while he only has to give one punch to disable somebody for good, car pursuits, double crossed agents, corrupt politicians etc... Everyone knows it and still everybody watches it. I did it also because sometimes I like that kind of movie, with a lot of action, and still knowing that everything is going to be very exaggerated. The story is okay with enough twists to keep you entertained. The actors are all good, even though I have difficulties to see Brosnan as a killer. To me he just has not the profile. Nevertheless it's an okay movie if you like that kind of genre.