The Matador (2005)

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  December 5, 2011

  cosmo313

  Julian Noble is a jaded and lonely hitman going through a mid-life crisis. Danny Wright is a mild mannered salesman whose business is struggling. They meet one another in a chance encounter while on business trips in Mexico City and from there the two form an unlikely and awkward... read more friendship that begins to have a profound effect on them.
  
  If the image of a moustachioed Pierce Brosnan wearing cowboy boots and a speedo intrigues you, then this is a movie for you. Brosnan is delightful as Julian, and you can tell he's having fun making little jabs at his tenure as James Bond. As Danny, Greg Kinnear makes for a solid foil against Brosnan's Julian, and he's good, though overshadowed. Hope Davis is also rather funny as Danny's loving wife who reacts to Julian in a surprisingly funny way.
  
  The film is a dark comedy, with some elements of action and intrigue, and it mostly works, but even then, the tone is all over the place, and it seems difficult to sometiems tell what the film wants to be. It's still pretty agreeable and very entertaining though. The story isn't spectacular, but the performances and likeability of the characters make it work.
  
  If you want something fun and different, then check this out.

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  March 21, 2011

  bbcfloridabound

  A pretty good film about a hitman (Pierce Brosnan), who meets a pretty normal guy with a life full of bad luck (Greg Kinnear). They become friends and our hitman is losing his skills. He shows up at Danny's house to enlisted him in one last hit before he retires. Its an enjoyable... read more film a little comedy with Action Adventure. 3 1/2 stars.

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  January 21, 2011

  RossCollinsUK

  Perfect for brainless light entertainment after a hard day of work. Pierce Brosnan is always great in silly roles and they don't come much sillier than a hit man with a crisis of confidence.

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  November 5, 2010

  MrMarakai

  I'm not quite sure why I even watched this film as I'm adverse to torturing myself, watching Pierce Brosnan. However, his role is very different from anything he's done before so thought I'd give it a go.
  He plays Julian Noble, a freelance hitman who is past his best and going t... read morehrough a mid-life crisis. Needless to say, this is starting to affect his duties and making his powerful and dangerous employers very nervous. He can still bump someone off with great skill but realises he wants more from life. When he meets travelling salesman Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear), an ordinary guy striving to make a living, a friendship grows between them. A friendship, that Julian has never had before but also doesn't really know what to do with, considering there has been a lack of human contact throughout his life.
  This is a film that relies on the opposites of it's characters and for the most part it works. Brosnan falters on the odd occasion though and fails to deliver some very witty dialogue with the right tone, but on the whole, he puts in an enjoyable performance, from what is probably the finest role he's ever had. The scene where he strolls through the hotel lobby in his winklepicker boots and speedos is priceless and shows the commitment he has for shuffling off the role of '007'. This particular scene is a standout and there are a few like it but overall it's slightly uneven in tone, shifting from humour to pathos, not entirely convincingly and can't quite decide what it wants to be. Thanks to the two leads though, it's kept ticking over nicely enough to keep you entertained.

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  October 1, 2009

  SirPant

  I quite liked this film. I found Pierce Brosnan to be surprisingly good! I think he might just make it out of being type cast for the rest of his life now. It?s also a great script.
  'Mexico has the best margaritas...and cock!' He he

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  September 12, 2009

  allan913

  An absolute good time at the movies. Pierce Bronson gives his best perfromance yet, he's a riot of genious and hilarity. It's one of those roles that can redefine a career. Greg Kinnear is teriffic. Hope Davis is wonderful. A wild and endlessley fun buddy comedy. Bronson and Kinn... read moreear are the oddest and best odd couple to hit the screen in years. They have teriffic chemistry together. It has heart in it and balences witty comedy with equalley impressive drama. One of the years most enjoyable surprises. A pure shot of humor, heart, suspense and style in a really original thriller. It's the type of film that just puts you in your seat and brings on the fun. Solid entertainment and enjoyment from begining to end.

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  January 28, 2009

  ironclad1609

  Everyone who always though Pierce Brosnan had reached a dead end by playing James Bond will have to think again. Just when you least expect it he plays a moustached, drinking assassin, who walks around in speedos and boots and starts an unlikely friendship with a unlucky salesman... read more in this thriller comedy. The result delivers a lot of really great lines between the two as their relationship becomes surprisingly beneficial for both and both actors have the opportunity to shine, although this is admittedly Brosnan's show. How he switches between competent killer, creepy womanizer and whiny loser and yet makes the audience feel for the sadness behind his facade is pretty entertaining, sometimes even touching to watch. And a movie ending with The Killers' "All these things that I've done" can't be bad, per definition.

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  November 23, 2008

  LorenzoVonMatterhorn

  "A hitman and a salesman walk into a bar..."
  
  A chance meeting between two middle-aged men leads one into a life of crime in this offbeat comedy. Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear) is an American businessman whose life has been going through a sour patch after he and his wife, Ca... read morerolyn (Hope Davis), lost their young son. During a business trip to Mexico City, Danny strikes up a conversation in a hotel bar with fellow out-of-towner Julian Noble (Pierce Brosnan), and while Julian's loud and brassy manner initially puts Danny off, in time the two become friends, and Julian feels comfortable enough with Danny to tell him what he does for a living. It seems Julian is a hired killer working under the auspices of underworld kingpins Lovell (Dylan Baker) and Mr. Randy (Philip Baker Hall), and Julian tries to persuade Danny to help him with his latest assignment. Danny refuses, but a few months later a distraught Julian appears unannounced on Danny's doorstep. It seems Julian has blown his two most recent assignments due to a variety of psychosomatic illnesses, and now Lovell and Mr. Randy want him dead. Julian has also done something to put Danny in his debt, and the previously non-criminal businessman is forced to help his friend stage a hit, with Julian's presence in his home upsetting the precarious balance of Danny and Carolyn's marriage.
  
  Review
  This is by far one of the best roles Brosnan has ever done as he is both charming and despicable at the same time as Julian Noble. He has some of the best one-liners in the film, such as "I'd only be interested in your mother if she lost 20 pounds and 30 years" and "I look like a Bangkok hooker on a Sunday morning, after the navy's left town" to name a couple. Brosnan proves there is life after Bond and creates a wonderful character in Julian Noble, much like Johhny Depp did with Jack Sparrow. Gone are the Armani suits and suave style, in are cowboy boots and a cheesy 70s porn star mustache. Despite Julian's job "facilitator of fatality", the character is likable and funny. Kinnear does a good job as the quintessential 'nice guy who's down on his luck' and befriends Julian, despite his character flaws.
  
  One of the best independent film I've seen in a while. It will leave you thinking, did Julian kill Danny's competition? Did Danny kill Mr. Stick? Smart, funny , engaging, interesting, this film has it all.

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• 
  
  November 8, 2008

  DerekA101

  "I need a break. There's no retirement home for assassins is there? Archery at four. Riflery at five. "
  
  If I was forced to give each movie a one word review, the Matador would be: POINTLESS.
  
  This isn't a negative review, it's actually more of an impartial review. There ... read moreis nothing to be derived from this film as it exists solely to wallow in its own mediocrity.
  
  I'm a little angry with this movie because I thought it was profoundly amusing and witty. The dialog is quick, clever, and funny. The plot is rich and engrossing. But where this movie fails is in the ending. I was wondering how in the world the writers were going to end this film... maybe something deep and dark, or a big twist. Instead, it just abruptly ends. It's probably one of the most disappointing conclusions to a good film I've seen in a long time.
  
  Pierce Brosnan put in a stellar performance as hitman Jullian Noble. Greg Kinnear, however, was annoying and unintriguing as always.
  
  When the credits roll, I don't feel anything for this movie. It has a few good quotes, and it's a good buddy flick... but there's not much substance. Completely forgettable......
  
  "A Vietnamese girl I once knew had her legs so locked together I couldn't get a whiff of her spring roll. Two drinks, half a quaalude later, I was at an all you can eat buffet. Every lock can be broken."

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  August 19, 2008

  sononothing

  The matador is about a hitman (Pierce Brosnan) who has killed one too many corporate executives and is quickly burning out. While on assignment in Mexico he meets Greg Kinnear, who is trying to get an account from a company in Mexico City and the two attempt to help each other so... read morelve their respective problems.
  This film is a weird sort of buddy picture that revolves around the opposite worlds of Kinnear and Brosnan. They happen upon each other one night in a hotel bar and end up fascinated by eachother. Brosnan's Julian is amazed that this man is someone he likes to talk to even though he socially can't interact with him and Danny (Kinnear) is just amazed to be in the presence of a hitman.
  The real standout is Pierce, who carries the film with his vulgar, rough portrayal of the burned out hitman. This is a great 180 for the actor who seems to be trying to shed away the Bond image that has plagued him for 20 years (come on, we thought it would be him instead of Dalton). Brosnan proves that there is life after Bond even if you're not Sean Connery.

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• Pierce Brosnan as Julian Noble
• Greg Kinnear as Danny Wright
• Hope Davis as Carolyn "Bean" Wright
• Philip Baker Hall as Mr. Randy
• Adam Scott as Phil Garrison
• Dylan Baker as Lovell
• Roberto Sosa
• Antonio Zavala
• Carlos Moreno Jr.

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• Who was the "law abiding friend" in The Matador?  Answer »
• Name the director of; All About My Mother, Matador and Talk to Her  Answer »
• Which James Bond actor started a production company called Irish Dream Time. His movies include: The Matador, Dante's Peak, The Thomas Crown Affair and After the Sunset.  Answer »
• Which James Bond Actor plays in all the following movies/films? The Long Good Friday Nomads The Lawnmower Man The Matador Butterfly on a Wheel  Answer »

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