The Matador

2005, US, directed by Richard Shepard

Rating: ***

Although it's neither as slick nor as hip as it would like to think, The Matador is lifted well above average by Pierce Brosnan's delightfully rumpled performance as an assassin who's experiencing something of a mid-life crisis. The film's morality doesn't bear much examination - it's queasy at best, and downright tasteless in a montage sequence that outlines Brosnan's global exploits over a six-month period - but there's tremendous fun to be had with Brosnan's characterization of Julian Noble, whose verbal ineptness continually causes offense to those he attempts to befriend. His meeting with the milquetoast Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear) isn't especially convincing but once the two are thrown together, Noble's attempts to come across as a halfway decent human being generate much uncomfortable humour. While John Cusack's similar character in Grosse Pointe Blank was far too cute to be convincing, Brosnan summons up the essential seediness of his chosen profession, turning his Bond and Remington Steele personae on their heads, and showing a considerable grit in the process.