Watch the trailer for Martin Campbell's The Foreigner

The first preview of THE FOREIGNER has been released. Based on the 1992 novel The Chinaman, written  by Stephen Leather, the film sees former 007 Pierce Brosnan directed by Martin Campbell for the first time in 22 years after GOLDENEYE.

In THE FOREIGNER, Quan (Jackie Chan) a humble Chinese businessman seeks revenge for the death of his daughter in an IRA bombing. To find the responsible party, he will come face to face with British government official Liam Hennessy (Pierce Brosnan), known to have ties to the IRA and -probably- with the terrorist behind the attack that ended with the life of Quan's daughter.

THE FOREIGNER releases on November 13 in US theatres.

Is Pierce Brosnan starring in Deadpool 2 opposite Hugh Jackman?

A photo posted by Ryan Reynolds showing him with Hugh Jackman and Pierce Brosnan has aroused suspicions that the GOLDENEYE star may have a part in DEADPOOL 2, probably Cable, the present day son of X-Men leader Cyclops. 

Nothing of this has been confirmed and the film is set to start shooting in June 2017. In case this is official, it would be the first time a Bond actor takes a part in the Marvel cinematic universe.

Brosnan's latest work, a miniseries titled THE SON, will premiere on AMC later this year. 

Thanks to Danny Luong for the alert.

Irish Dreamtime's Beau St. Clair dies at 63

We are sad to announce Beau St. Clair died last Saturday at the age of 63, victim of an ovarian cancer. She was Pierce Brosnan's co-producer for two decades, when the duo joined forces to found Irish Dreamtime in 1996, the producing company for movies like THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR (1999), THE MATADOR (2005) and, most recently, Roger Donaldson's THE NOVEMBER MAN (2014).



According to Variety, the GOLDENEYE actor had a meeting with St. Clair a few hours before she passed away in Malibu, California, home residence of the Brosnan family.

"Beau was the sister I never had, my dearest friend for 30 years", said Brosnan on a statement today. "(She) was a beautiful woman in every way. She had style, grace, humor, intellect, and a kind heart that I will forever miss."

We send Pierce our deepest condolences and our respects to the St. Clair family.

Martin Campbell to direct Pierce Brosnan and Jackie Chan in new movie

Twenty years after the release of GOLDENEYE, Pierce Brosnan's first appaerance as James Bond and Martin Campbell's debut as a 007 director, the duo is now back for an upcoming thriller set in London and dealing with IRA terrorists, co-starring popular martial arts expert and actor Jackie Chan.

The yet untitled movie will tell the story of Jackie Chan's character avenging the death of his wife, killed during an IRA bombing. Tracking the assasins, he'll be joined by Brosnan's character Liam Hennesy, a former IRA member who has now turned into a government official.

This wonderful news were announced by Martin Campbell's wife Sol Romero on Twitter and AintItCool.com gave some details on the project.

GOLDENEYE TURNS 20 TODAY!

Our beloved 17th James Bond film, GOLDENEYE, celebrates its 20th anniversary today. After six and a half year of silence, agent 007 returned to the big screen with a new face, but with the same charm and style than ever. 

Unfortunately, our budget is very low to make a big event and the release of SPECTRE plus our "real life" activities prevented us to dedicate the film more time, yet, we invite you all to write us on our social media networks (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) to reflect on your first time watching the film and the impact it had in your life as a Bond fan. Use the hashtag #Happy20thGoldenEye or #goldeneye20 and the most remarkable post will be uploaded on our site and social media.

Our deepest thank you messages go to the cast and crew of the film: Pierce Brosnan, Izabella Scorupco, Famke Janssen, Sean Bean, Alan Cumming, Robbie Coltrane and Judi Dench. At the same time, we remember those who sadly departed, like Gottfried John, Desmond Llewelyn, associate producer Tom Pevsner, continuity manager Iris Rose and screenwriter Michael France, who built up this wonderful story next to Jeffrey Caine and Bruce Feirstein. A very special thank you to Martin Campbell and his team, not only for bringing James Bond back, but for bringing him back with flying colours!

That said, let's raise our Martini glasses ("Shaken not stirred" or "Straight up, with a twist") to silence some screams and to toast for the milestone reached by the film that kept us alive, and a little alone, for these two decades.

The GoldenEye Dossier team.

Special GoldenEye tribute on MI6 Confidential Magazine #31

MI6 Confidential, the magazine for the famed 007 website MI6-HQ, will feature a number focusing on GOLDENEYE's twentieth anniversary, featuring exclusive interviews with director Martin Campbell, cinematograher Phil Méheux and stills photographer John Stoddart (read our interview here).

This issue will also feature the article "Luck and Fate," a retrospective look of our editor Nicolas Suszczyk on the success of GOLDENEYE and the triumphant insertion of James Bond into the 1990s.

Magazine contents:

• Bond Reloaded - An exclusive interview with director Martin Campbell
• Luck and Fate - The ingredients that launched Bond into the 1990s
• The Legacy of GoldenEye - How Ian Fleming found his Jamaican solace
• Golden Memories - The publicity and premiere for GoldenEye
• Big Bangs - Filming the action for Pierce Brosnan's debut
• The Man With The Golden Eye - Cinematographer Phil Meheux on setting the tone
• Thinking Big, Seeing Small - The model unit and their in-camera effects
• The Bond Connection - Behind the scenes of Guy Ritchie's The Man From U.N.C.L.E

The magazine is out now and can be ordered here for £7.00 +P&P

Martin Campbell in talks to direct the new Jackie Chan movie

Martin Campbell, who directed Pierce Brosnan's first outing as James Bond in GOLDENEYE and later Daniel Craig's first 007 film CASINO ROYALE, is in talks to direct the new movie starring martial arts expert Jackie Chan, based on Stephen Leather's novel THE FOREGINER.

The story deals with a mercenary who has worked for both the Vietcong and the Americans seeking for revenge after his daughters had been raped and killed. 

Production for this movie is set to start in October.

Trevelyan's Mainframe - FILE: Campbell, Martin / Twenty Years Removed

Well, I must admit, I am impressed. I’m not entirely sure how you managed to get behind the operation of this mainframe’s firewall, but here you are… You may have a future with this organization yet. A rarely accessible file you’ve stumbled on indeed, old boy. The following is what we have within this behind-the-scenes file for your subject, twenty years removed from his work on GOLDENEYE…

Before you undoubtedly get ahead of yourself, allow me to brief you on the very basics of Mr. Campbell’s file. Born in October of 1943 in Hastings (of the Hawkes Bay Region), New Zealand, Martin Campbell started his humble filming career around the early seventies. Becoming the director of the breakthrough English television series, EDGE OF DARKNESS would put Campbell on the radars of James Bond producers to be used as an ace up their sleeve at a later date. That date would be 1995, as Martin Campbell would officially succeed then-current series director John Glen to usher in the legendary vision that would become GOLDENEYE.

Following his creative vision in GOLDENEYE, Martin Campbell would go on to direct a handful of films. Perhaps, the most notable of the lot being his work with on Zorro franchise. His first Zorro film would hit theaters in July of 1998, entitled THE MASK OF ZORRO. Audiences would be introduced to the iconic image of Antonio Banderas donning the black mask and subsequently sharp sword. The film would double its budget money in profit and go one to be a critically acclaimed hit worldwide, much to the credit of Martin Campbell’s artistic blend of action and drama. 

Our file on Campbell dictates that it would be nearly ten years before an official Zorro sequel would grace audiences in 2005. THE LEGEND OF ZORRO would again star Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones and would again dazzle moviegoers and serious fans of the series alike, though film critics would jump ship this time around. Nonetheless, THE LEGEND OF ZORRO would a huge financial success with Campbell’s direction and greatly daring application of stunt work being praised. 

Much like eleven years earlier, during his first time in the chair for the James Bond franchise to present Pierce Brosnan’s as Double-O Seven, 2006 would see Martin Campbell return to oversee Daniel Craig’s transformation into Her Majesty’s loyal terrier. How very appropriate. With the franchise on the verge of a soft rebirth, there’d be no better man to take up the reigns and lead Bond into the next phase of existence. 

As the longest running Bond film of all time and the vastly-important debut of a new Bond, CASINO ROYALE would be quite a task to tackle. Martin Campbell would not only tackle this epic but supersede all creative expectations of arguably the biggest (and most important) James Bond film for this generation of fans. CASINO ROYALE would be nominated for countless awards, win countless accolades, be listed within the top ten films of 2006, and become the new favorite Bond movie of many devoted fans of the franchise. Not a job to shake a mere stick at, to say the very least. Especially for the oldest director to direct a Bond film, just beating out a fifty-nine year old Lewis Gilbert at the age of sixty-two! I commend Campbellfor that, as should you friend. 

Intel on Campbell then jumps to 2010, which saw the film adaptation of the wildly popular BBC television series of the same name, EDGE OF DARKNESS. As director of the 1985 television series and the 2010 movie, Martin Campbell had the best grasp on the subject material available and was able to put together the crime thriller on the big screen. Starring Mel Gibson in his first lead role in eight years, EDGE OF DARKNESS met generally mixed reviews but was able to gross over eighty million dollars worldwide. Martin Campbell’s creative efforts did not go unnoticed by fans.

Our file concludes that Martin Campbell’s biggest production to date was four years ago, for 2011’s GREEN LANTERN. Based on the DC Comics character of the same name, this American Superhero film was perhaps Martin’s greatest roll of the dice. Chosen as the replacement of the original director who stepped away from the project, much of the film’s success would be up to Campbell to materialize. Rounding out the stars of the film would be Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively. Mainly due to overproduction, over budgeting and a thinly-written screenplay, GREEN LANTERN failed to live up to many expectations financially and critically. Unfortunately, not even an aging Martin Campbell could lead the sinking ship to safety.

Side notes on the subject are rather scarce. It isn’t unlike our subject to appear for James Bond panels or comic conventions around the world today. Otherwise, Campbell seems to keep relatively to himself so late in his career. Awards include several nominations and, perhaps most admirably, a win of the British Academy Television Award for Best Director in 1986.

To correctly wrap up the rest of this file, you need further access, access which I will not allow, as you have been clever enough thus far. Consider what you’ve learned on Campbellthrough this file sufficient. Keep in mind that our subject is still very much capable of directing and that his return to the director’s chair is very much possible. We will keep our finger on the industry’s pulse in anticipation until then. You are to do just the same. 

That’s it on this subject, old boy. You’ve been briefed on the man behind the camera and the brain behind the vision. If you continue to press deeper behind this mainframe’s firewall, I cannot promise what you may, or may not find. Regardless, anything you do come across is, of course, strictly confidential. Remember that, as you peruse behind the curtain.

- End transmission, Trevelyan.

Martin Campbell behind Sol Romero's music video, Turn it Up

Mexican singer Sol Romero released the music video for her new song, titled "Turn it Up". Behind the scenes of the video was her husband, two time James Bond director Martin Campbell, who helmed GOLDENEYE in 1995 and then CASINO ROYALE in 2006, the debuts of Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig as agent 007.

"I wanted to give my best for my debut video and I found it on the family," Sol said about his partnership with Martin for the project. The couple had been together since 2006 and she has made cameos in many of his films, most notably CASINO ROYALE, EDGE OF DARKNESS and THE LEGEND OF ZORRO.

Sol has been a great suporter of our site since 2013, so we highly recommend to watch her video. Stay in touch with her trough her official site, solcampbellromero.com

ERRATA: Previously on this post we claimed Martin Campbell directed the music video, but Sol kindly clearified us the video was directed by Shana Betz and Martin was behind the scenes of the project.

Survivor: Trailer and poster revealed for Pierce Brosnan's new thriller

Twenty years after his first appaerance as James Bond in GOLDENEYE, Pierce Brosnan doesn't seem to settle for retirement at 61. Yesterday, the trailer and artwork for his new thriller SURVIVOR has been released.

Starring Milla Jovovich and directed by James McTeigue (V FOR VENDETTA), Brosnan will play the role of a hitman nicknamed "The Watchmaker", whose main target is a government officer played by the Ukranian actress.

The movie opens on May 29 in the US and on June 5 in the United Kingdom. Angela Basset and James D'Arcy (who played Ian Fleming in 2011's AGE OF HEROES) also star in the film.

Trevelyan's Mainframe - FILE: Wade, Jack / Twenty Years Removed

Ah, I see you’ve decided to shift your rather narrow focus to the CIA. How original. I do give you some merit on your choice, however, as infromation on our American opposites become harder and harder to collect these days. Your codes are again passable and you may access this file further. Here is what we have on your subject, twenty years removed from his GOLDENEYE appearance...

This mainframe has compiled the most important pieces of intelligence we have access to on the American Central Intelligence Agency’s own, Jack Wade. It seems as though the file suggests that this man Wade is a slippery little trout in a very large (yet disillusioned) river. After lending a plane to James Bond twenty years ago, Wade has kept his head rather firmly below major radars. I don’t really blame the man, as he is getting on in years… In fact, I suppose it wouldn’t do for me to not wish Mr. Joe Don Baker a merry birthday, as he just turned seventy-nine just a few short days ago. Now, sparing any further pleasantries, let’s proceed. Intel after GOLDENEYE starts with Baker and the CIA again globetrotting alongside Bond in 1997’s TOMORROW NEVER DIES operation. And to think, a media baron had the gull to believe he was any match for Her Majesty’s most loyal terrier. Luckily for Bond, Wade would once again come through in a clinch and help prevent a full-scale war between the British and Chinese. Good for Bond. Bad for Carver.

Directly after his cooperation with James Bond and the British Secret Service in 1997, our data shows that Jack Wade would find himself appearing in a Turner Network Television (TNT) network television motion picture release by the name of GEORGE WALLACE. Wade would become “Big” Jim Folsom and the picture would garner a few Emmy-winning performances, as well as a Golden Globe. Or so the data suggests. The following year, Joe Don Baker would again be involved in a television motion picture, this time assuming the role of P.J. Parker for Home Box Office Inc. (HBO)’s title, POODIE SPRINGS. This title, so it has been noted in the file here, was based on Raymond Chandler’s unfinished novel of the same name. Data picks back up in 2001, when Jack Wade would once again be in the presence of theatre goers across the United States. VEGAS, CITY OF DREAMS, a drama picture that would pit Wade as Dylan Garrett, wouldn’t attract too much main stream attention. Regardless, Baker would deliver a notable performance.

Compiled information shows that by the end of 2001, Baker would explore the world of comedy films over the course of the next seven years of his career, starting with JOE DIRT. Starring in a supporting role as Brandy’s father Don, a jerk-of-a-character yet funny in his ignorance, Wade would find solace in entertaining audiences mainly by making them laugh. The next entry reflects just that, as Mr. Joe Don Baker would be cast as Governor Jim Applewhite in 2005’s THE DUKES OF HAZZARD. The film went on to be a financial success and Baker would be commended for his portrayal. In 2008, Jack Wade’s only brief appearance on file is in the adventure comedy, Strange Wilderness. Notes on this film suggest that it was not highly favored by film critics.

This file also notes a one-episode appearance in an Arts & Entertainment Network (A&E) television series entitled, THE CLEANER, in 2009. Major Larry Duren (portrayed by Baker) was an aged veteran in dire need of a helping hand to kick his alcoholic past and dismal future. Finally, our last entry listed, an independent film entitled MUD. Playing a character named King, Jack Wade delivered his most recent (and another solid) performance to date. MUD would go on to be named one of the Top Ten Independent Films of 2013 by the National Board of Review. Worth mentioning is that the picture also won the Robert Altman Award at the Independent Spirit Awards in 2014.

Our side notes on the subject are rather… limited. Again, these Americans are quite resourceful. I digress. According to reliable sources, Joe Don Baker is a member of the Actors Studio and is a BAFTA-nominated actor with a career spanning four decades. I will admit, that is rather impressive… For an American. In 1980, Wade became the first actor to receive one million American dollars to star in a television series. Quite obviously, a terribly spoiled American! But, again, I digress.

In conclusion, it seems as though Jack Wade has done quite well for himself all the while maintaining a humble and human life away from the major spotlight as of late. He has countless performances under his belt, all commendable regardless of credit position (or sometimes lack thereof). He is dangerous and resourceful. Most importantly, one should really expect the unexpected if contact is to be made. After all, he always seems to have backup plans…

 

That will do it for this one, old boy. Jack Wade is still a slippery threat to the Janus Syndicate, so, hunt with caution. After all, half of everything is luck and the other half, is fate.

 

- End Transmission, Trevelyan. 

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day dear fans. What could possibly go wrong today, eh? 

Pierce Brosnan's Malibu home Caught Fire

According to Variety, Pierce Brosnan's home residence in Malibu, California, caught fire last Wednesday. The fire has started in the garage but it was quickly extinguished by the firefighters. Luckily the GOLDENEYE actor and his family are all safe, but the material damages are believed to reach around one million dollars.

The 62-year-old actor, whose latest film was THE NOVEMBER MAN, lives in this estate with his wife Keely Shaye. He bought the property in the mid-1980s when he was married to his first wife, Cassandra Harris.

Trevelyan's Mainframe - FILE: Bond, James / Twenty Years Removed

I might have guessed… This transmission shall start you off, then? So be it. Your codes are in order and you may proceed. This is what we have for our subject, twenty years removed from his GOLDENEYE appearance...

According to the data compiled on this mainframe, our James Bond has been quite the busy man since stomping around the Cuban jungle exactly twenty years ago. After the second GOLDENEYE satellite was destroyed (complements of Double-0 Seven himself), Mr. Pierce Brosnan has reached many more career heights, still meeting and surpassing the expectations of his fans to this day. Now then, let’s get into this, shall we? Of course, three more Bond escapades would unfold following GOLDENEYE including, TOMORROW NEVER DIES, THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, and DIE ANOTHER DAY. After a solid performance in all four Bond films, James Bond would be recast and the series would see a reboot, leaving Pierce Brosnan somewhere out in the cold by 2003. Due to Pierce’s climbing age, he would be removed from the role and James Bond would once again dawn a new identity without him. With a brief sour taste in his mouth, Brosnan would move on from James Bond, continuing to grow and grace the silver screen in fresh and new directions.

Now, what should precede the report on Brosnan’s Bond tenure? I suppose we should start where Pierce Brosnan would become Julian Noble, the main character of the motion picture THE MATADOR in 2005. This lead role would earn our Bond a handful of award nominations, spanning from the Golden Globe Awards to the Irish Film & Television Awards, among others. The film would garner a fan-base of its own and rightfully so, or so I’ve been told. Next, our files seem to suggest that his next large outing would arrive in 2008, with MAMMA MIA! hitting theatres in mid-July of that year. Adapted from a West-End/Broadway Musical of the same name, MAMMA MIA! showed fans a different side of Pierce Brosnan and his performing skill. With his familiar charm he did quite well, playing the possible-father role of Sam Carmichael. Though Pierce Brosnan was questioned (and slightly teased) for his acceptance of this musical role early on, he gave a memorable performance just the same. Again, so I have heard.

Data entries then pick back up with THE GHOST WRITER, dropping in February of 2010. As Adam Lang, Brosnan would again rack up the award nominations that year and give yet another gripping, on-screen performance. Now, call me fickle, but let’s skim ahead. Bits and pieces here and there… Ah, now we come to the most recent collection of our intelligence. Surely, no mainframe has been compiled even remotely as efficiently, but I digress! By 2014, Pierce would embark on crafting a character within an action film that would nearly mirror the days of the Double-0 Section of MI6. As retired agent Peter Devereaux, Piece Brosnan would channel his inner agent from years passed. THE NOVEMBER MAN would serve as a platform for Pierce Brosnan to give his most notable performance to date, since his first outing as James Bond. Boy, it just warmed my heart seeing good ‘ole ‘PB’ shooting, punching, and blowing stuff up (all the while looking damned cool doing it)! This section ends with a note of, “See that movie, GOLDENEYE fans”.

There seems to be a healthy bunch of side notes collected in this file that perhaps I should relay, as they pertain to the subject quite heavily. From 1997 to 2000, Pierce Brosnan worked with organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) for several join ecological causes. Also noted is the fact that Brosnan has been an ambassador for UNICEF Ireland since the launch of the "Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS" Campaign in 2001. Several links to Greenpeace are also listed. Skills honed since GOLDENEYE include painting, public service, and advisement all in the name of charity and the earth’s health. 

In short, your hunch is right. Our Bond has spied, shot, and even sung his way rather far from the world of Bond. Despite great adversities (poverty, losing his late wife and daughter to ovarian cancer, etc), it seems James Bond has become quite the role-model human being. Bond’s path has grown and changed quite rapidly in his twenty years away. Since GOLDENEYE, Pierce Brosnan has become a film producer, decorated actor, television star, entrepreneur, charitable donor, environmentalist, humanitarian, icon, and (most importantly) a devoted husband and father. However, no matter the lengths he has travelled in the passed twenty years, Peirce Brosnan will always be our James Bond, Agent 007. 

That’s about the long of it, old boy. No gratitude necessary. 

It was the least I could do for a “friend”…

- End transmission, Trevelyan.

Introducing Trevelyan's Mainframe

Ladies and gentleman, we are happy to announce a new section for our blog, titled Trevelyan's Mainframe. In this column, Alec will be reviewing a lot of topics regarding GOLDENEYE: aspects of the film, the game, and the careers of the actors twenty years ahead of the film that meant the return of James Bond to the cinema screens.

We hope you enjoy Trevelyan's Mainframe and particularly Alec's unique writing and personalized style, and of course his views on the world of GOLDENEYE. 

GOLDENEYE 20 - Pierce Brosnan as James Bond

As we all know, GOLDENEYE celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2015, so we'll start the celebrations dedicating the month of January to Pierce Brosnan's portrayal of James Bond with stills, clips, trivia quizzes and some of the most important quotes of the then new James Bond actor. Please visit our social media to check out these material on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, with the hashtag #goldeneye20.

Born in Navan, Ireland, on May 16, 1953, Pierce Brendan Brosnan soon felt captivated on the movies and cinema industry as long as he watched his first two movies on a theatre, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and GOLDFINGER, the third James Bond film starring Sean Connery, in 1964. According to him, these two films made him want to become an actor.

After getting small roles in TV series like THE PROFESSIONALS or films like THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY, he gained major popularity in MTM's series REMINGTON STEELE, where he portrayed an annonymus thief with a great passion for movies who ends up assuming the identity of a detective next to Stephanie Zimbalist's Laura Holt. 

This series prevented Brosnan to become Roger Moore's replacement in the role of James Bond for 1987's THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS. Introduced to producer Albert R Broccoli by his then wife actress Cassandra Harris (who played a Bond girl in FOR YOUR EYES ONLY), he signed a contract that had to be cancelled due to contractual obligations with MTM after REMINGTON STEELE's run was extended for another season.

In 1994, when Timothy Dalton left the role of James Bond, the producers went back to Brosnan considering, in part, his appeal to the female audience and fans around the world. He was announced as the fifth agent 007 in a press conference held at the Dorchester Hotel in London on June 8. 

His portrayal of James Bond in GOLDENEYE, at the age of 42, was caracterized by the adaptation of Ian Fleming's character into the mid-1990s without totally redefining him: "He's still a ladies man, yes", he cooly said during the many interviews he had. His portrayal brought a fresh air to a character almost forgotten by the audiences for six and a half years, delivering the exact dosage of elegance, humor and violence.

GOLDENEYE resulted in an historical success for EON Productions, being the most successful James Bond film since 1979's MOONRAKER. Brosnan played the character in other three James Bond films: TOMORROW NEVER DIES, THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH and the 40th anniversary adventure DIE ANOTHER DAY. He also provided his likeness and voice for the Electronic Arts videogames 007 NIGHTFIRE and EVERYTHING OR NOTHING.
After he left the role in 2004, Brosnan said: "It was a decade of his life that I will always hold dear to my heart and a time that will never be forgotten." He has now a successful cinematic career with starring films like THE MATADOR, LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED and most recently, Roger Donaldson's THE NOVEMBER MAN, whom he also produced. He also plays an important role in activism with his actual wife, Keely Shaye.

Photos by Keith Hamshere and Larry Ellis

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy new year James Bond and GOLDENEYE fans. We have a great year starting right now. Remember to join the 20th anniversary festivities on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with the #goldeneye20 hashtag.

The November Man - Review

2014 is coming to its end and this year brought us the return of Pierce Brosnan to a major action movie. Of course that during his post-Bond era he played roles like hitman Julian Noble in THE MATADOR (2004) or the ruthless Tom Ryan from BUTTERFLY ON A WHEEL (2007), but THE NOVEMBER MAN could really signify his return to a spy-thriller in the style of the James Bond movies.

But Peter Devereaux, the retired CIA agent Brosnan plays in this film, is no James Bond. Even when he wears some Brioni suits from time to time and dons some of the grace he showed onscreen through a series of films from GOLDENEYE to DIE ANOTHER DAY, the character is a far cry of James Bond: he has no repair in torturing someone or hurting innocents, his vocabulary is kind of vulgar... in the end, he plays a character in an universe taken from the Jason Bourne films or Daniel Craig's James Bond era - detail: the "girl" is played by QUANTUM OF SOLACE's Olga Kurylenko and the "villain" (if we can call him that way) is played by CASINO ROYALE's Lazar Ristovski (remember him? Kaminofsky, the Russian player on the table).

Peter Devereaux (Pierce Brosnan) escapes of a
death trap set by his former protegée, Mason (Luke Bracey)

The story deals with Devereaux called for one last "mission" during his retirement in Switzerland, where he owns a café over the lake. His colleague and friend Hanley (Bill Smitrovich) informs him that a number of people linked to a Russian candidate Arkady Federov (Ristovski) are being sistematically killed. Apparently Federov wants nobody to remind him or the world about his shadowy past. And the next one on the list is Natalia (Mediha Musliovic), posing as Federov's secretary.

Due to Devereaux's feelings to Natalia, a former lover and also the mother of his daughter Lucy, he accepts. He manages to rescue her from the Russian parliament but she's suddenly shot by David Mason (Luke Bracey), a young agent Peter has trained but is now working for the agency's interests and blindly follows orders from the top. Before dying, Natalia reveals Peter a name: Mira Filipova, a Crimean War refugee who has vital information on Federov's past.

Olga Kurylenko portrays Alice Fournier,
a social worker that gets along in the fight

Following the clues of Mira, Devereaux meets Alice Fournier (Kurylenko), a social worker and the only lead to the vanished Mira. As long as he goes on with his "assignament", Peter must protect Alice, escape from Federov's cold-blooded assasin Alexa (Amila Terzimehic) and from the CIA agents led by his former friend Mason, who are determined to terminate him.

The film got plenty of bad reviews. We can agree it's not a perfect film: the story could have been better developed -particularly the relationship between Devereaux and his protegée/rival Mason - and some scenes certainly don't fit in the story. However, the cinematography is a very positive point, as Marco Beltrami's powerful soundtrack.

Roger Donaldson, who previously directed Brosnan in 1997's DANTE'S PEAK, knows how to add suspense and interesting or unexpected twists that can make this movie very interesting and enjoyable.

In the end, those are good words to describe THE NOVEMBER MAN: interesting and enjoyable. Peter Devereaux is basically the kind of James Bond that Brosnan wanted to portray during his seven-year tenure, a grittier and ruthless guy than the action hero type he ended up playing. And once more he shows he can play this kind of roles.

Martin Campbell to Direct Hunter Killer

Two time James Bond director Martin Campbell will direct the submarine thriller HUNTER KILLER, a film based on the 2012 novel FIRING POINT, by George Wallace and Don Keith. The cast of the film remains unknown, but the GOLDENEYE and CASINO ROYALE director has signed to direct the movie,

HUNTER KILLER will have major locations in Whittier, a small port town in Alaska. The film will deal with a standoff between American and Soviet submarines, much in the style of THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, starring Sean Connery.

The latest major films directed by Campbell were GREEN LANTERN (2011), starring Ryan Reynolds, and EDGE OF DARKNESS (2010), based on the 1986 TV series he also directed.

Brosnan Hopes for Peace as he Promotes The November Man in Moscow

Promoting his latest film THE NOVEMBER MAN in Moscow, former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan hoped for peace between Russia and Ukraine, as he clearified the story of the film has no relationship with the conflict that broke up at the beginning of the year.

"We wrote this story three years ago. So it’s just the confluence of time that we have this movie coming out, and the issues of politics and what’s happening in the Ukraine, and this movie. It was not our intention", the 61-year-old actor said upon his arrival to Moscow. "It is deeply heartfelt moment in history for you all here and for people back in America well to see what’s going on, and I would hope for peace. I would hope that things would get resolved".

Pierce Brosnan stars in THE NOVEMBER MAN as Peter Devereaux, a retired CIA agent brought back in action to protect Alice Fournier, played by Ukranian actress Olga Kurylenko (from QUANTUM OF SOLACE) a key witness involved with a shadowy Russian politican. The film, which he also produces with his company Irish Dreamtime, is helmed by DANTE'S PEAK director Roger Donaldson.

Ria Novosti