Many films are based on the premise of a man who is peacefully in retirement being coaxed out of his retirement for one last job, con or gig. In this way, "The November Man" isn't very original in its plot. What is original and quite thrilling, however, is its use of a plot that mirrors something that could happen in the volatile Eastern European political landscape of contemporary times.
The retired CIA agent in question is Peter Devereaux (Pierce Brosnan), who is living the good life in Switzerland. His former handler at the agency, Hanley (Bill Smitrovich), travels to Switzerland to ask Devereaux to help him extract a woman working for Arkady Federov (Lazar Ristovski), who has just been elected as the next President of Russia. He agrees, but the mission goes terribly wrong when Devereaux's former protégée, Mason (Luke Bracey), kills the woman first. Before she dies, she lets Devereux know that Alice (Olga Kurylenko) has information that could help them solve the mystery of why Federov's former cohorts are ending up dead all across Europe.
Mason also learns of this information, and for still-unknown reasons, he wants Alice dead before Devereaux can get to her. This sets off a cat-and-mouse chase across several countries, leading Devereaux to try to outfox the man he used to trust and teach. While trying to locate and save Alice from certain death, he must find out why Mason is doing what he is doing. He also has to contend with the CIA, which for equally unknown reasons, doesn't want Devereaux to put all the dots together and solve this international mystery. Between being thwarted by his former agency, trying to figure out who Mason is working for and locating Alice, he has his plate overly full. The tension of the movie results from the overwhelming issues facing Devereaux. Throughout the film, the audience wonders if he can get back to his old tip-top form and show the young Mason and the rest of the spy community a thing or two.
Brosnan once played another very famous spy, James Bond. Having retired from that role, it feels as though art is imitating life as he is essentially playing a character who is in a similar place in life. Due to Brosnan's past as Bond, it is a bit of a thrill to see him on the big screen once more, playing a suave, crafty and clever spy. While this time Devereaux is an ex-CIA agent instead of a British spy, that difference doesn't really matter. Brosnan left such an impression as Bond that anyone who misses him in that role is sure to love seeing him in "The November Man."
The film is based on a series of books referred to as the November Man series, but it is not based on the first book in the franchise. Instead, it is based on the seventh book, which has the potential to make the film difficult to understand for those who have not read any of Bill Granger's novels. The book in question is "There Are No Spies," which was originally published in 1987, nearly 30 years before the film was made. This has the potential to confuse those unfamiliar with the book series since the book timeline is clearly out of sync. Luckily, screenwriters Michael Finch and Karl Gajdusek explain the back story well enough for everything to make sense. Then, there is the influence of director Roger Donaldson, who is a seasoned veteran at this type of movie. He previously worked with Brosnan on "Dante's Peak," and their easy rapport clearly shows in the end result. Brosnan seems at ease and perfect for this role, and part of the credit for that has to go to Donaldson.
There are several older actors who are trying to transform their careers by reinventing themselves as action heroes. Liam Neeson is easily the most famous of these actors because he did it first, but "Taken" was also a sleeper hit that surprised many people. Kevin Costner is attempting the same thing, and Brosnan seems to be taking the same route with "The November Man." Since there is a wealth of material to develop from the book series, Brosnan may follow in Neeson's footsteps by turning himself into an unlikely elder action hero long after putting down James Bonds' martini glass. It remains to be seen if Brosnan is set to emerge again as a spy thriller hero, but "The November Man" is a fine start.
For the past 6 years, Zack Mandell has been a contributing writer for Gossip Center's general entertainment news department. In addition, he currently owns and manages the movie website, http://www.movieroomreviews.com.
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