The November Man tells about an ex-CIA operative Peter Deveraux (Pierce Brosnan) who is forced into action after his ex-wife is murdered. Director Roger Donaldson's effort in this espionage thriller is quite laudable even though the subplots could have been more intelligent.
The film has too many characters and subplots that are not given proper conclusions – the romance between Deveraux's protégé Mason (Luke Bracey) and his next-door girlfriend, and his professional relationship with his mentor in the end don't wrap up as they should have been. Then, there are scenes that do not really make sense: when Mira (Olga Kurylenko) threatens to kill Federov in his hotel room. The film could have ended there without Deveraux having to break into the hotel suite shooting left and right, which is just the scriptwriters' way to let audience see Deveraux in action. Another scene which is just hilariously over the top is during the fight between Deveraux and Mason inside the hotel boiler room where we see Mason getting hit on the face with some sort of a pipe and whatnot but he keeps fighting back without showing any pain. The trailer is misleading too. It makes audience think the movie is about a confrontation between an ex-CIA master spy and his protégé, which is actually only a subplot.
Overall, despite its shortcoming, the film comes recommended for those who love espionage thrillers. 7.5 out of 10.
The film has too many characters and subplots that are not given proper conclusions – the romance between Deveraux's protégé Mason (Luke Bracey) and his next-door girlfriend, and his professional relationship with his mentor in the end don't wrap up as they should have been. Then, there are scenes that do not really make sense: when Mira (Olga Kurylenko) threatens to kill Federov in his hotel room. The film could have ended there without Deveraux having to break into the hotel suite shooting left and right, which is just the scriptwriters' way to let audience see Deveraux in action. Another scene which is just hilariously over the top is during the fight between Deveraux and Mason inside the hotel boiler room where we see Mason getting hit on the face with some sort of a pipe and whatnot but he keeps fighting back without showing any pain. The trailer is misleading too. It makes audience think the movie is about a confrontation between an ex-CIA master spy and his protégé, which is actually only a subplot.
Overall, despite its shortcoming, the film comes recommended for those who love espionage thrillers. 7.5 out of 10.