The November Man Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

The November Man Blu-ray Movie Review

Devereaux. Peter Devereaux.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 23, 2014

Sean Connery famously sought to divorce himself from the role which had brought him international superstardom, iconic secret agent James Bond, thinking that his many films in the franchise had ended up hopelessly typecasting him. Connery had a somewhat rocky road in attempting to smash through preconceptions as to who he was and what he was capable of as an actor, and perhaps did himself no favors when he returned to the Bond role in the less than spectacular Never Say Never Again. Aside from that one possible misstep, though, Connery never really appeared in a traditional spy yarn again, though he flirted with law and order from time to time (and dealt with espionage tangentially as a supporting player in The Avengers). It’s perhaps a little ironic, then, that Pierce Brosnan, a man who was famously initially passed over as Bond due to his television commitments as Remington Steele, but who finally won the role and essayed it in four successful Bond efforts, should decide to return to the fold, as it were, despite the fact that he’s had a fairly easy time finding completely disparate genres in which to ply his trade. The November Man wants to be a gritty neorealist take on the spy genre, kind of like a modern day Len Deighton or John Le Carré outing, something diametrically opposed to the glamorous and often whimsical Bond ethos, though the film also doesn't shy away from the kind of high tech gizmos and slam bang action sequences that typify any given Bond film. Brosnan evinces a clenched jaw, take no prisoners attitude through the film, but one has to wonder whether that attitude is at least in part a reaction to the film itself.

The November Man starts out well enough with a nicely staged and edited sequences that sees veteran agent Peter Devereaux (Pierce Brosnan) and his acolyte David Mason (Luke Bracey) trying to prevent the assassination of an ambassador. Despite the dangers inherent in being in a crowded town plaza, it appears that Devereaux’s immaculately planned mission may meet with success, at least that is until a rogue gunman shows up and Mason takes things into his own hands, killing a civilian (and a child civilian at that) in the process. Segue to a few years later, when Devereaux has evidently put the trauma behind him by retiring from the Agency, setting up a little (and impossibly scenic) cafe in Lausanne.

One day Devereaux’s former handler Hanley (Bill Smitrovich) shows up, dangling some photos in front of Devereaux which are obviously of a woman Devereaux holds dear, and telling Devereaux that this woman, one Natalia (Mediha Musliovic), needs to be extricated from Russia as soon as possible, and that she has said only Devereaux can do it. It’s no huge surprise when it turns out Natalia is Devereaux’s wife, which is the first little salient plot point that bears remembering as the film moves on and begins to strain credulity and, at times, even its own inherent logic.

The scene then shifts to one of those incredibly sleek, high tech command centers that must be a major reason for the United States’ budget deficit, where Hanley is managing the extrication of Natalia. Only lo and behold, there seems to be a whole second operation unfolding, which Hanley is also in charge of. This ends in tragedy for Natalia, though at least she gets a parting kiss from Devereaux before her rather gruesome demise. Devereaux goes into killer mode and begins taking out the people who have just caused him so much misery, at which point he stumbles across—Mason (in a piece of directorial incompetence or editing misfire, the audience is already well aware that Mason is involved). Weirdly, the two just stare at each other even though both are armed.

In the meantime, Devereaux has found out that the reason Natalia needed to be extricated is that she held valuable information about a man who is supposedly set to become Russia’s new president (don’t tell Vladimir Putin). Natalia gives Devereaux her phone as well as the name Mira Filipova as a clue to the mystery. While Mason is getting his butt handed to him for not having terminated Devereaux with extreme prejudice, Hanley is evidently “vanished” by a black ops team, and Devereaux proceeds to try to track down Filipova, ultimately coming into contact with a young woman named Alice Fournier (Olga Kurylenko), who once knew and helped Filipova.

Up to this point despite its increasing absurdities, The November Man has been relatively well paced and decently exciting, even if several plot points are only glossed over in passing. But as the film reaches its second act, things become increasingly more precarious. The whole interrelationship between Devereaux and Mason is supposed to be a weird kind of father-son or mentor-student link, but it’s oddly adversarial, making Devereaux’s later comment that Mason was the closest thing he’s ever had to a friend sound rather odd.

But the screenplay may simply being able to juggle too many subplots for anything to ultimately make a lot of sense. There’s a lot of supposed skullduggery going on in the CIA, with a mysterious rogue agent having evidently colluded with the Russian politico to start a Chechan war. Then there’s the weirdly acrobatic assassin sent by the Russian politico who is out to murder anyone with certain knowledge about the politico’s past (this aspect does offer one nicely surprising kill). Then there’s the whole drama surrounding Mira Filipova, a mystery which is solved in none too convincing (or surprising) a manner.

While The November Man is admittedly never boring, and contains a couple of spectacular action sequences, the human side of things is often laughable, with people’s motivations turning on a dime and alliances shifting with the veritable breeze. The film ultimately follows a by the numbers route to a surprisingly lackluster finale. Brosnan is fine as the aging agent, though even he can’t salvage scenes like a late development where Devereaux’s daughter is held hostage (a move which is telegraphed about an hour before it occurs). Bracey is fine in the athletics department, but seems to struggle with Mason’s inescapably sullen attitude.

The nicely done location photography is at least diverting as the film becomes increasingly more ludicrous. And, oh—that whole “married to Natalia” thing mentioned up above? It becomes a major plot point late in the film when in fact it helps lead the CIA to Devereaux’s daughter. Only it comes as a surprise to the CIA, despite the fact that Hanley obviously new about it in one of the film’s first scenes. That’s the kind of intelligence failure that requires a congressional hearing.

The November Man Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The November Man is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Digitally shot with the Arri Alexa Plus, The November Man benefits from its extremely scenic locales (largely in Belgrade), offering an extremely vivid and varied palette that pops really well, especially in the excellent outdoor sequences where depth of field is also impressively far reaching. Close-ups reveal excellent fine detail (see screenshot 2). Some scenes play out in a kind of ugly blue-green fluorescent light, and other scenes exploit teal backgrounds, but detail is not materially affected. There are no issues with image instability or compression artifacts.

The November Man Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The November Man's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is a fun, immersive affair that offers a wealth of LFE and consistent surround activity. The film has its set pieces, of course, including the manic opening sequence and, later, the scene where Devereaux is struggling mightily to get Natalia away from several sets of bad guys, and those moments bristle with sonic energy and well placed effects. But even dialogue scenes have abundant spaciousness and directionality. Marco Beltrami's score is a little generic at times, but it is nicely spread through the surrounds and provides some propulsive cues at times. Fidelity is top notch, dynamic range is extremely wide, and there are no issues of any kind to cause concern.

The November Man Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Making of The November Man (1080p; 10:50) has some good behind the scenes footage but is a pretty rote EPK.


• Brosnan is Back (1080p; 6:40) has various cast crew extolling Pierce's virtues.


• Bringing Belgrade to the Big Screen (1080p; 5:55) has some lovely views of the picturesque city.


• Commentary by Roger Donaldson, Pierce Brosnan and Bo St. Clair. This is fairly conversational, without a ton of "can't miss" information. Instead, this is amiably anecdotal, as the participants remember some of the lovely locations and rigors of the shoot.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:09)

The November Man Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If The November Man were more riveting, cynical viewers might not wonder why Luke Bracey looks so much like Shia LaBeouf in this film, or why supporting performer Will Patton is made up to be a dead ringer for Governor Rick Perry. But parlor games like that can at least help to divert from the fact that when all is said and done, a lot of The November Man doesn't make a whale of a lot of sense. The film is nonetheless brisk and relentless, offering some well staged action sequences and providing some lovely scenery along the way. For those wanting an okay time killer that doesn't have any grand ambitions, The November Man will probably fill the bill quite nicely. Technical merits are very strong on this release, for those who are considering a purchase.