The Matador (2006)

Underappreciated actors show their range

This film can't be categorized and that's a good thing. The tone of the movie stands on the line between parady/satire and drama. Of course the subject of murder is serious and we shouldn't take it lightly. Brosnan plays a hit man who starts to feel remorse and longs for human connection. Kinnear plays a 'normal' businessman with real life worries and a life that Brosnan's character is drawn to. The question is, who will pulled into whose life. Much of the film covers both characters everday life events so we know a lot of who the are and what they do. In spite of the subject matter it isn't a flashy movie but much is done with subtlety. This movie deserved much more praise and exposure than what it got. Hopefully many have found it on dvd. July 22, 2008

Pierce Brosnan steals this show.

Brosnan plays a creepy yet wierdly amusing aging hitman. He runs into a struggling middle class businessman played by Greg Kinear in a Mexico City hotel bar and begins to wreak havoc in his life. All in all they make a pretty entertaining pairing and the film works as a light off-beat comedy.

Brosnan really is different from all the polished James Bondish characters he has portrayed. He comes across as slightly deranged, disheviled and just a bit sleazy,yet likeable.

Worth checking out. March 13, 2008

Oscar & Felix play dangerous games...

The best thing by far in this flick is Brosnan's performance. He's brilliant, Michael Caine in Tom Selleck's somewhat over-the-hill body. This could have been a Jack Lemmon + Walter Matthau outing & in fact resembles Buddy Buddy in some plot points. The plot gets icky & sentimental which is too bad but kind of predictable with cute & likable Kinnear as co-star. Like his tour-de-force performance in Tailor of Panama, Pierce Brosnan can give you the full measure of a very true & complex human being. I hope he finds more anti-hero parts like this. Maybe in a just world he will be awarded the Oscar he so fully deserves. March 4, 2008

A touching story of hope and friendship

A salesman and a hitman meet in a bar in Mexico City. What results is a touching tale of hope and friendship between two people who couldn't be more different. Well, sort of. Actually, "The Matador" is a really entertaining and hilarious film.

Pierce Brosnan, who seems to be favouring character roles now that he is getting too old to play heroes, plays Julian Noble, a burnt out hitman who happens to meet Greg Kinnear's struggling salesman while on a job in Mexico. As Noble, Brosnan is over the top and hilarious to watch. He's hyperactive, in your face and not in the least bit apologetic for it. Kinnear arguably has the harder role of the two, as his character is essentially just there to witness the actions of Noble, and yet he manages to make his character believable and more than just a spectator.

The plot of this film is nothing new, you could argue that it is just "The Odd Couple" with sex and violence. Yet, it is well done, and although not the most memorable of films, watching it did provide me with a good evening's entertainment. January 23, 2008

Hilarious!

I thought this movie was just hilarious the first time I saw it. Pierce Brosnan shines and shows that he is more than just 007. He was hilarious as the sleazy assassin going thru a midlife crisis.

I recommend this movie to just about any adult that likes good slighty naughty humor. November 25, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...