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The November Man

  • Film
La conspiración de noviembre
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Time Out says

Pierce Brosnan made no secret of the fact that he was left ‘in shock’ when the James Bond producers dropped him from the role of a lifetime in 2004. He quickly bounced back, securing the rights to author Bill Granger’s ‘November Man’ series of spy thrillers with a plan to kickstart his new franchise in 2006. Well, he’s only eight years late.

Ironically, the character Brosnan plays here – retired-but-deadly CIA operative Peter Devereaux – is a lot closer to Daniel Craig’s surly, angst-ridden Bond than to Brosnan’s own laidback take on the character. But that’s where the similarities end. In contrast to the flashy, action-heavy fantasies of recent 007 adventures, ’November Man’ is dour, small-scale and determinedly real-world, with a Chechen War-inspired plotline playing on real conspiracy theories about the rise of Vladimir Putin.

Brosnan is the best thing here, as watchable as ever despite being lumbered with self-conscious killer-with-issues characterisation. But elsewhere the film falls flat: old-timer Roger Donaldson’s direction is workmanlike, and while the script does pile on neat twists, it ultimately boils down to a tired game of who’s-betraying-who. The spy who bored me.

Written by Tom Huddleston

Release Details

  • Release date:Friday 7 November 2014
  • Duration:108 mins

Cast and crew

  • Director:Roger Donaldson
  • Screenwriter:Michael Finch, Karl Gajdusek
  • Cast:
    • Pierce Brosnan
    • Luke Bracey
    • Olga Kurylenko
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