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November Man


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#91 SecretAgentFan

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Posted 15 August 2014 - 07:25 AM

Sad.  

 

Still, I´ll wait to judge myself.  Critics rarely like this genre (as Bond fans know...) and the people involved.  I guess the THR-review is the most balanced and therefore accurate.



#92 x007AceOfSpades

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Posted 16 August 2014 - 06:27 AM

Critics now look way past what a film should be, especially when it comes to espionage films. I was never expecting this film to be anything like the current Bond films, or something like Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. It looks like an espionage action/thriller starring Pierce Brosnan, and that's what I'm going to see.



#93 Turn

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Posted 31 August 2014 - 02:03 PM

No reviews on this yet? I'm surprised.

 

I actually went to the cinema last night, a rarity for me, with a friend who's been a huge Bros fan since the Remington Steele days and our spouses, to see this. And it was well worth it.

 

Bros was in top form, proving if Eon was still in the Cubby era he could've rivaled Moore's tenure and looked good in the process, as good if not better than Connery did at nearly a decade younger in NSNA.

 

The basic story of seasoned pro mentor and hot-headed young protégé isn't anything new. But the whole thing comes off fine, with numerous twists and turns, tons of gunplay and some rather ruthless violence. You do have to question whether the Brosnan character could really do all that at that age, but nobody seems to complain that Liam Neeson is having a late career renaissance as an action hero, so it works here too.

 

QoS leading lady Olga Kurylenko comes off well in several ways. Bond fans will be amazed at the similarities with this character and Camille. There are lots of coincidences and things that can detract. But go into November Man with the right spirit of a late summer actioner featuring an established action star and you'll have a fun couple of hours. 

 

I saw a review that said this was a scatterbrained rehash of From Russia With Love and it's nothing of the sort. That's a pretty lame way of mixing spy genre types of films. I didn't look at Brosnan's Peter Devereaux as a retired Bond nor as this as a Bond type of film. If that helps your enjoyment of it, do it, but I don't see where that would help. Let's just say being a spy, action genre or a Brosnan fan may enhance your enjoyment of November Man.



#94 SecretAgentFan

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Posted 31 August 2014 - 02:10 PM

No reviews on this yet? I'm surprised.

 

I actually went to the cinema last night, a rarity for me, with a friend who's been a huge Bros fan since the Remington Steele days and our spouses, to see this. And it was well worth it.

 

Bros was in top form, proving if Eon was still in the Cubby era he could've rivaled Moore's tenure and looked good in the process, as good if not better than Connery did at nearly a decade younger in NSNA.

 

The basic story of seasoned pro mentor and hot-headed young protégé isn't anything new. But the whole thing comes off fine, with numerous twists and turns, tons of gunplay and some rather ruthless violence. You do have to question whether the Brosnan character could really do all that at that age, but nobody seems to complain that Liam Neeson is having a late career renaissance as an action hero, so it works here too.

 

QoS leading lady Olga Kurylenko comes off well in several ways. Bond fans will be amazed at the similarities with this character and Camille. There are lots of coincidences and things that can detract. But go into November Man with the right spirit of a late summer actioner featuring an established action star and you'll have a fun couple of hours. 

 

I saw a review that said this was a scatterbrained rehash of From Russia With Love and it's nothing of the sort. That's a pretty lame way of mixing spy genre types of films. I didn't look at Brosnan's Peter Devereaux as a retired Bond nor as this as a Bond type of film. If that helps your enjoyment of it, do it, but I don't see where that would help. Let's just say being a spy, action genre or a Brosnan fan may enhance your enjoyment of November Man.

Nice to hear!  Thanks for your review!



#95 x007AceOfSpades

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Posted 31 August 2014 - 03:30 PM

It's nice to hear good things about this. I'll probably be checking this out soon, as this is really the last film of the Summer season I wanted to see.



#96 glidrose

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Posted 31 August 2014 - 08:22 PM

No reviews on this yet? I'm surprised.


If you mean critic reviews, yeah, lots of them. I posted several links on page 3 of this thread including MetaCritic and Rotten Tomatoes.

 

Here's IMDB user reviews.

 

Lots of disappointed people. Some really hated the film after having such high hopes.
 



#97 Walecs

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Posted 01 September 2014 - 10:24 AM

The basic story of seasoned pro mentor and hot-headed young protégé isn't anything new.

 

Keep in mind that the movie is based on a book which was released thirty years ago.



#98 Yellow Pinky

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Posted 01 September 2014 - 03:30 PM

 

The basic story of seasoned pro mentor and hot-headed young protégé isn't anything new.

 

Keep in mind that the movie is based on a book which was released thirty years ago.

 

Though, to be fair, it bears no real resemblance to the plot of that book (There Are No Spies), even if it does share some of the same character names.



#99 Pam Bouvier

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Posted 14 September 2014 - 03:00 AM

Don't give the reviewers too much power.

 

I read some reviews that really raked the movie over the coals for things like the "child rape" scene and  Devereaux's "lack of remorse" after severing the artery of his former protege's lover.

 

I almost didn't go to see the movie because of concerns about the rape scene.

 

I was pleasantly surprised as to  how tame those scenes were, compared with the way the reviewers portrayed them (IMO opinion, the rape was dealt with swiftly & as tastefully as possible; much as the rape in LTK was).

 

Though the movie doesn't have a lot to do with the novel (which is actually a great read) I found it enjoyable and fast paced. Caught what I thought were some subtle Bondian references  (such as Dev's remark referring to  the spy he had been training as a "blunt object") as well.

 

While I really wish they had stick closer to the source material, I get way that might not have been possible. Though, if they plan to do more, it would have been nice if they had started with the first book of the series and moved forward, but what's done is done.

 

Watching Brosnan do his thing is always time well spent, in my mind.  Supporting cast did a great job as well. 

 

Would like to see what they do with a sequel.



#100 the man with the BB gun

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Posted 14 September 2014 - 09:09 PM

i'd really like to go and see this . when is it out in the UK?



#101 billy007

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Posted 16 September 2014 - 12:10 AM

PB still has his mojo.

A bit bloodier than the average 007 movie(Bullet wounds more realistic)

I'm re-reading original NOVEMBER MAN novel- looking for a used copy of THERE ARE NO SPIES.



#102 Trevelyan 006

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Posted 17 September 2014 - 01:07 AM

I enjoyed the film for what it was. An action film. It has a nice mentor/student dynamic to it, mixed with the beautiful Olga Kurylenko, and some hard-hitting bloodshed. Viola! A pretty good film, not given a good chance. I'll be buying it on Blu-Ray...



#103 x007AceOfSpades

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Posted 23 September 2014 - 10:12 AM

Just saw it, and It was pretty much exactly what I was expecting. I enjoyed it. It's not groundbreaking, and it isn't on the same level as some of the latest Bond films, but I enjoyed it more than I enjoyed some of Brosnan's Bond films. It's best to go in with a clear, open mind. If you walk in expecting something to rival Bond, or expecting something that is thought provoking, you'll be disappointed. I'll have my review up later in the What Movie Have You Seen Today thread for everyone to get an insight on my thoughts on the film.

 

UPDATED

The November Man Review posted here



#104 the man with the BB gun

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Posted 09 November 2014 - 10:22 AM

   Deveraux . Peter Deveraux.



#105 ChickenStu

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Posted 09 November 2014 - 04:04 PM

I saw this movie earlier today and thought it was awful. There was absolutely nothing original about the story (when you could follow it that is), it was full of every spy movie cliche' under the sun. The acting was tired and some of the violence and sexual content was genuinely in very bad taste. Also, the action scenes were annoyingly hard to follow. Pierce Brosnan totally phoned this in. 

This is one of the worst movies I have seen in a long time. I hope there won't be a sequel and if there is I shall not be watching it.

 

Bad movie. 



#106 saint mark

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Posted 10 November 2014 - 02:59 PM

It was an enjoyable low budget spy thriller that stayed away from the big budget over the top Spy thrillers, it felt a more like a small movie, which I do enjoy. It was in the vein of Neesons "A walk among tombstones" which I enjoyed as well.

 

Miles away from the OTT stuff like MI & 007.



#107 x007AceOfSpades

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Posted 11 November 2014 - 01:13 AM

It was an enjoyable low budget spy thriller that stayed away from the big budget over the top Spy thrillers, it felt a more like a small movie, which I do enjoy. It was in the vein of Neesons "A walk among tombstones" which I enjoyed as well.

 

Miles away from the OTT stuff like MI & 007.

Agreed.



#108 sharpshooter

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Posted 20 December 2014 - 05:15 PM

So I was on a long haul flight and needed to kill some time. I flicked through the in-flight movies and saw they had Brosnan's November Man. While it's not the best movie, and it feels rather basic in its execution of the general narrative and themes, it wasn't too bad. Brosnan is obviously the main attraction and selling point here, and he did a fine job. Elements of Bond but also a harder edge in comparison to his 1995-2002 run. Particularly a scene where he holds a woman at gun/knifepoint. In short, if you have a chance to the see movie, I'd say give it a shot. But don't go in expecting too much.

Edited by sharpshooter, 20 December 2014 - 05:20 PM.


#109 Blofeld's Cat

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Posted 20 December 2014 - 11:00 PM

Have not seen the movie yet, but will buy the DVD, mostly because of the commentary track.

 

The movie poster did remind me of another lackluster spy flick he had done though.....

 

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#110 DavidJones

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Posted 21 December 2014 - 05:52 PM

I was very much looking forward to this film. Not because I expected it to be great, but because it was Brosnan playing the tough-spy he had always wanted to play Bond as. In the event, I found the plot to be confusing and the action is a bit OTT. The knife scene in the kitchen is a little perplexing, and seemed to be put in there to show off how bad-ass Brosnan's character was. It's an okay film, but I can see why the critics slaughtered it. If he's trying to find his equviolent of 'Taken', he has to find a script which shares that film simple, relatable premise.