Monday, September 1, 2014

The November Man Review - 2 Stars

Pierce Brosnan returns in the kind of role that made him famous — a former C I A super spy brought back into the field because nobody else can do what needs doing.  For those of us who like Brosnan, this is relatively good news except, this guy’s no James Bond.  After an opening scene of an op gone terribly wrong, Brosnan returns only to have yet another op go bad.  And this time it’s a woman he loves who loses her life.   Then things really get complicated, including a Russian politician, a beautiful East European social worker with a secret played by Olga Kurylenko who later dresses as a girl for hire just for the sake of visual interest.  “The November Man” has lots of shooting, plenty of explosions, and a crossed double cross storyline involving Brosnan and a former pupil.  But the movie has a problem.  We’ve seen this all before, so much so that we can practically predict the next scene.  Brosnan looks great but the movie requires more from the viewer than it gives back.  I pass.  Does it deliver what it promises?  No–just another ordinary predictable spy flick.  Is it entertaining?  No, slow and complicated.  Is it worth the price of admission?  No, I want these two hours back.