November Man | 3.5 / 5
LOS ANGELES — Ex-James Bond Pierce Brosnan is back doing spy-fi, and despite a somewhat shaky start, November Man has enough action to leave you at the edge of your seat.
LOS ANGELES — Ex-James Bond Pierce Brosnan is back doing spy-fi, and despite a somewhat shaky start, November Man has enough action to leave you at the edge of your seat.
Ex-CIA agent Peter Devereaux (Brosnan) is forced to return to the fray after Arkady Federov (Lazar Ristovski), a Russian presidential candidate, starts murdering agents to cover up his crooked past. Unfortunately, Devereaux’s former protege and friend David Mason (Australian newcomer Luke Bracey) is now also on the hunt for him. With a rising body count, there’s definitely a high-level mole and no one can be trusted.
Granted, 61-year-old Brosnan looked like he had way too much make-up in the early scenes, but the plot does get more intriguing and the former 007 eventually puts on a convincing show. The frenetic car chases also get your adrenalin going and Bracey eventually lights up the screen with an understated but pointed turn.
Another Bond alum, Olga Kurlyenko, is quietly brilliant as social worker Alice Fournier, who’s caught in the middle of this high stakes cat-and-mouse game. It’s hard to shake off the image of Kurylenko as the assassin in Quantum Of Solace, though. In fact, at one point, she does get dressed up in something rather Bond-esque: A micro-mini dress, sky-high stiletto heels and the obligatory wig.
The test of a good thriller is when you stop thinking about the mechanics of plot and start to care about the characters. And that’s what happens in November Man. Sure, the plot is not without its convenient sleight-of-hand but the twists are sophisticated enough. The tense chemistry between Brosnan and Bracey is compelling and, together with the strong performances from the supporting cast, you are prepared to overlook the movie’s flaws. In fact, you’re left to wonder: Will there be a sequel?
(NC16, 108 mins)