The November Man

The November Man_360P

took my friend to see this thing. it was his choice. he hadn't been out of the nursing home for at least 6 months, so i had no choice to balk at this decision. from the beginning to the end, i was entirely pleasantly surprised. yes, another cia espionage thriller. yes, another bang bang thriller. yes, another action / foreign intrigue thriller. yes, handsome men and beautiful women running around thriller. yes, some mysteries solved along the way thriller. but throw the whole package into the blender and a delightful confection of a movie arises. nothing ridiculous or too far out, just a solid plot and just enough turns to keep you wound up. not one boring moment, except, if you can believe it, the mild love-making scene. that slowed things down for about a minute. even if you go to this film to see Pierce Brosnan get real mad at certain points, it is a fun trip. thoroughly enjoyable. like i mentioned, only one dull moment that lasted all of two moments. RECOMMENDED EVEN IF YOU THINK YOU'VE SEEN THIS STUFF BEFORE.

I don't know what has happened to reviewers on IMDb. Whether the general population is losing its IQ or something. You find bad reviews about even some of the best movies!!! I agree to another reviewer here (who like it!), it is the best spy movie after Bourne series. If you like spy movies/action/thriller movies, you will like this one. I would rate it better than fake recent bond movies, which seem like waste of time compared to this. Pierce Brosnan is even better than his bond movies and did the job pretty well. Ignore the bad reviews. Go ahead and enjoy this one of the better movies of 2014. To all the haters. If you don't like spy movies, please don't go see one...duh! And if you cant understand simple plots, you need to go and see a doctor.

Pierce Bronson obviously capitalizing on his celebrity and 007 roles in Ian Fleming's James Bond films. The first few minutes establish the vulgarity of Bronsons character. Clichés are abundant. Movie is predictable. If your a spy/action/assassin movie buff,pay attention, and you will see obvious elements, ideas, and situations from other films. The movie provides spy movie action, but without the substance and originality of other movies in this genre. For all the Pierce Bronson fans, you won't be disappointed. Bronsons style of acting comes across loud and clear. The movie provides guns, explosions and chase scenes along with mild intrigue, and a predictable plot. In my opinion, this film should have gone straight to DVD. Save your money, and wait for it to come to a DVD kiosk near you. You won't have to wait long.

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.

November Man is a hard edged mother of a ride that demands you pay attention. I went back and watched it a second time because it was just to intense to figure out every layer and twist. Between the velocity of pace and the multiple story lines, I guessing these writers must be gamers in their time off. Finally, this is the Brosnan we have been waiting to see. A hard man with only a drop of humanity left that is closer to a bass ass killer than a government agent. And definitely not a spy who would boat in on a mission, slowly gliding through hundreds of torch lights, to get information. Olga is another revelation. Admittedly, Quantum was not her finest hour, but, Alice, her character in this film, might be one of the best performances of her career. That brings me to Luke Bracey. Masculine, likable and a charming opponent for Pierce. Not a star yet, but someone to take note of. Another cool aspect of the film is that it is shot in Serbia which feels like the perfect place to shoot this kind of movie. All the actors were amazing including Lazar, the Russian president elect. This is a spy film that makes you feel like you are witnessing real events. Let's hope they continue to make more.

A good spy movie has to have a plot that is plausible. That is something this movie lacks. As a result, there is no differentiating the good guys from the bad, producing a story that is ludicrous and muddled. And when stagy acting is included in the mix, as is the case in this movie, the results are a tepid, predictable, cliché-ridden extravaganza. This movie has all the trappings of a major cinematic work - multiple settings, lots of noise, a major star, violence, profanity - typical for major productions today, yet they do not come close to making up for the movie's shortcomings: predictability, shallow characters, almost non-existent character development, all of which produces little, if any, dramatic impact. As for the premise of this story, that the US and Russia somehow conspired to provoke a war, that makes no sense whatsoever and stretches literary license to the limit, and if that premise does not make any sense, and it does not, then the entire story falls apart. Also, this movie continues the trend of demonizing Russians in ways that the Germans were demonized in the 1940s, except the Russians are neither Nazis nor enemies. So why demonize them? Pierce Brosnan gives a good performance as a spy with a conscience, but his presence cannot save this movie. Why portray the CIA and Russia as bad guys when there are already so many other parties throughout the world for whom such a label can be applied?

'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. Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://youtu.be/NiZxP8LDXto

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.

I thoroughly enjoyed this flick and was still impressively entertained by Mr. Brosnan, just like with 007. The story has multiple levels, keeps you guessing and second-guessing people's ambitions and allegiances. Acting is nice, not too shabby. Action is well paced and promotes the idea of 'intelligent agents' with weaknesses (that they actually figure how to avoid). As to the story itself - yes, it's a lot of this and that, which we've seen a lot, but suspend your belief for a second and you might just see how much heart was put into this movie - and they really don't make them like this anymore. So, if you're a fan of Pierce, loved his 007 acting and enjoy some political drama, this will not disappoint you.