The November Man

The November Man casts Pierce Brosnan as Peter Devereaux, an ex-CIA operative who’s reluctantly drawn into a wide-reaching conspiracy that pits him against his former protégé (Luke Bracey’s Mason). There’s a lot more to the narrative than just that, however, and The November Man is, as a result, often rather difficult to comfortably follow. It’s a problem that doesn’t matter much in the movie’s early stages, as director Roger Donaldson does a superb job of infusing the proceedings with a number of thoroughly exciting action sequences – including an above-average car chase that transpires on the streets of a busy European city. There’s little doubt, too, that Brosnan’s typically charismatic performance goes a long way towards initially keeping things interesting, with the actor’s strong work here standing in sharp contrast to the bland and utterly forgettable efforts of his relatively green costar Bracey. Once The November Man progresses into its erratic and oddly meandering midsection, though, it does become more and more difficult to work up any real enthusiasm for or interest in the central character’s continuing (and increasingly perilous) exploits – with the less-than-engrossing vibe compounded by an unconvincing romance (to say the least) between Brosnan’s Peter and Olga Kurylenko’s Alice. The almost impossible-to-follow third act ultimately cements The November Man‘s place as a misguided thriller that squanders its promising opening stretch, which is a shame, certainly, given that this is as close as we’re ever going to get to seeing Brosnan step into the shoes of another British secret agent.

** out of ****