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‘November Man’ a Fun, By-the-Numbers Spy Thriller

The_November_Man_poster            It’s hard to watch Pierce Brosnan run around in “The November Man” without imagining him from his glory 007 days, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Brosnan steps into his spy shoes once again, only this time instead of being a Brit he is an ex-CIA agent who is called out of retirement for one last job (if it sounds cliché, that’s because it is). After the rescue mission goes wrong, Brosnan is on a path for revenge; a path that will pit him against his old protégé (Luke Bracey) and right in the middle of a government conspiracy (if that sounds cliché, it’s because it is. See the pattern yet?). Roger Donaldson directs.

“The November Man” really is an interesting film. It uses every spy thriller cliché in the book, from student vs teacher to an agent being told “don’t start a family” and then promptly starting a family. However, despite all these clichés, the film still manages to implement some interesting twists, and a lot of fun, engaging action, to make it worth your time.

First things first, despite being 61 years old, Pierce Brosnan shows that he still has some fight left in him, and he can still kick some serious butt. Even though his attempt at an American accent is awkward, and completely abandoned when he yells (which is more often than you may think), he never hams up his performance, like you may see an aging action star do in “The Expendables”.

The movie’s action is top of the notch, if not at times a bit ridiculous. There are plenty of CAR CHASES! EXPLOSIONS! SHOVELS TO THE HEAD! but there are also numerous well-staged shootouts in the film. Most every one of these shootouts is built up by several minutes of cat-and-mouse tension. You don’t know when the spark is going to hit the powder keg, but when it does it results in well-shot, exciting and downright easily enjoyable fun.

What keeps “November Man” from being a better-than-average spy thriller, aside from the genre clichés, is the plot. There a few fun twists, however by the end of the film, it felt like they were trying to fit in as many “gotcha!” moments as they could. Some of the twists are more plausible than others, while one will make you groan because of how unnecessary it is.

There is also a 20 minute segment where not a bullet is fired, because the film tries to make you care about the characters (or something like that). It gets almost so dry that you just want to grab Brosnan and shout “would you shoot someone already?!”

What you expect out of “The November Man” will determine how much fun you have with it. If you want a new, fresh spy thriller with a hot young gun stealing the show, you’ll be disappointed. If you want to see well-shot action and some fun spy dialogue, like I did, then you’ve come to the right place. And if you wanted an over-the-top action film with a stupid plot and even worse script, go watch “Die Hard 5”.

Critics Rating: 6/10

Hoffman Great, ‘Most Wanted Man’ Not

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A_Most_Wanted_Man_Poster            Sometimes a performance in a film is so good that it actually takes away from the film itself, and makes you realize how average the movie surrounding the performance is. It happened with Denzel Washington in “Flight” and it happens with Philip Seymour Hoffman in “A Most Wanted Man”.

Directed by Anton Corbijn and starring Hoffman in his last non-Hunger Games role, “A Most Wanted Man” is a thriller based off a John le Carré novel. When German intelligence receives word of a possible terrorist hiding in the city of Hamburg, Günter Bachmann (Hoffman) and his team must act quickly in order to stop a possible threat, as well as bring down a terrorist funding operation. Rachel McAdams, Willem Dafoe and Robin Wright all co-star.

In my 20 years on this earth, I have found there are two kinds of espionage thrillers:  ones that are non-stop, pulse pounders, and others that are slow-burning and dry. There really is no in between. Unfortunately, “A Most Wanted Man” falls into the latter category, despite yet another immensely dedicated performance from Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Hoffman plays a German in the film, accent and all, but he is never campy. Despite having seen him in over a dozen films, and having personally graduated from the same American high school he once attended, I never doubted Hoffman as a German. He smokes, drinks and growls his way through the film, portraying a man who sticks to his guns, even when every other person around him is doubting the flimsy evidence. When Hoffman is on screen you cannot take your eyes off of him, and when he is not there you instantly notice his lack of presence.

Unfortunately, the rest of the movie is not as engaging. The film wants to have you constantly guessing whether Hoffman’s target is actually a terrorist or simply just a misunderstood refugee, yet it only really feeds one side of the argument. You never really feel conflicted or question whether or not Hoffman’s team is making a mistake. You know exactly how to feel about the suspect and that takes away from some of the suspense.

The film also takes a while to get going to where it wants to get going to. Early on it makes it out to seem like the whole film will be a manhunt for a character, but then they quickly absolve that situation and then linger for about thirty minutes before finally realizing the big fish they really want to go after has been there the whole time.

There are worse espionage thrillers out there (just look at “Paranoia”, for example), but “A Most Wanted Man” is nothing special or memorable in its own right, either. The real enjoyment from the film comes from watching Hoffman on screen for one of the last times, and with every scene that passes we are reminded that we truly lost a legend. It is just a shame that everything surrounding Hoffman is nowhere near as interesting as his character. The narrative is just too bogged down and most characters outside Hoffman’s are just too underdeveloped.

There is a part in the film where Robin Wright’s CIA agent asks Hoffman, “What is it you want to achieve here?” I wanted to ask the film the same question.

Critics Rating: 5/10

‘Budapest Hotel’ Is Good, Not Grand

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The_Grand_Budapest_Hotel_PosterIt isn’t too often that you can walk into a movie and know exactly what it is you’re in store for, however you know exactly what you’re getting with a Wes Anderson flick: there will be quick cuts, colorful backdrops and quirky characters. And his newest film “The Grand Budapest Hotel” is nothing different.

The film stars Ralph Fiennes as a concierge who teams up with the hotel’s lobby boy to prove his innocence after he is framed for murder. Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe and Jeff Goldblum also star, with Anderson directing and writing the script.

What makes “Budapest” so much fun is how charming and unique all of its characters are. Ralph Fiennes does a marvelous job as the flamboyant concierge, winning over everyone that he crosses paths with and giving blunt and humorous responses to even the most obscure situations.

While all the members of the cast do a good job, perhaps the best comes from newcomer Tony Revolori, who plays the lobby boy and Fiennes’ right hand man. Revolori has great chemistry and banter with Fiennes, and has a special screen-presence about him.

The film features some great writing by Anderson, and when paired with Fiennes’ performance the film delivers several big laughs. However there are times where there will be something shocking or grim, and the film expects you to laugh at the incident, but all you do is sit there somewhat awkwardly, unsure if it would be socially acceptable to laugh or not. For example a man throws a cat out a window for comedic effect, but you aren’t sure how to react because the characters are giving off different vibes. This happened a couple times and it took me out of the movie for a minute.

The film’s other flaw is the plot isn’t always on a straight line. It starts off in a memory and then goes into two flashbacks more before actually beginning the main story, and then goes off on several tangents that feel unnecessary before finally reaching a climax. Many of these sidetracks were just excuses for Anderson to include his friends in the film, and while it was fun seeing various cameos, it made the film feel a bit longer than it actually is.

In the end, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” is a good movie, not a grand one. It features numerous fun performances, especially those of Fiennes and Revolori, as well as some clever dialogue and intriguing backdrops. If you’re a casual moviegoer then I say give the film a chance. Sure it has some awkward and abstract features, but when you get down to it, it is a unique and original film, and those are hard to come by nowadays.

Critics Rating: 7/10