Stars Pierce Brosnan, Luke Bracey, Olga Kurylenko, Bill Smitrovich, Lazar Ristovski and Will Patton Directed by Roger Donaldson Pierce Brosnan’s return to the spy genre might catch one’s attention, but it’s not like he hasn’t been here before - the seasoned / retired agent called back to the game. The trick is in trying to create a new franchise around this character, Peter Devereaux, from the books by Bill Granger. After a prologue that takes place in 2008 that sets up Devereaux and his protege, Mason (Luke Bracey), the story jumps five years later where Devereaux is convinced to come out of retirement by Hanley (Bill Smitrovich), an former comrade-in-arms. A simple extraction goes so wrong and the game is on. The slightly convoluted plot and deliberate pacing betrays its literary origins, but the intrigue works well enough once the cat-and-mouse game starts. It might test the patience of viewers used to the more rapid fire edits and more simplistic plots of the current movies. This is one that requires your attention. Brosnan is on top form and carries the movie well. His Devereaux is as tough as they come where spies are concerned, going as far as to inflict a life threatening injury on a bystander to prove a point to his protege. Luke Bracey (last see - or not - as Cobra Commander in GI Joe: Retaliation) holds his own against the leading man, but remains a touch unsympathetic. It may have been the point though, and it does make it a little difficult to find a character to connect with throughout the show. Ex-Bond girl, Olga Kurylenko, joins the former Bond star and does well with her fairly complex and layered character, having matured quite well over the years. Director Roger Donaldson - who worked with Brosnan on Dante’s Peak - brings his typical workman style to the proceedings, keeping the action focused and tight while creating tension with aplomb to drive the story. There is a sense of professionalism in how the scenes are set up and it gives the movie a classy sheen. It’s only the story itself that could have done a with a little more streamlining. Despite that, the movie is a cut above the average spy thriller and delivers where it needs to without being too flashy (see The Bourne Ultimatum). As far as spy thrillers go, this is quite decent, good enough to warrant a sequel if Brosnan intends to forge ahead with this character. He does seem to be able to hold his own where the action beats are concerned and could potentially knock one or two more out. It’s not quite up there with either Bond or Bourne, but there is a need to keep things less than epic. Characters are played, secrets are layered and motivations are cloudy. In the long run, this could play better than one would expect as it wouldn’t render the viewer utterly breathless trying to keep up with any crazy action set-ups or attention deficient editing. Rating ***/5 Barnes and Noble / Amazon / Book Depository / ISBNS Net (for best deals) E-Bookshop / Lybrary / aLibris / Blackwell
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