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Movies / On DVD / The Matador
The Matador

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The Matador (2005)

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Reviews Counted:146

Fresh:110

Rotten:36

Average Rating:6.7/10

Consensus: This humorously amoral, oddball comic thriller features strong performances by Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear as a flamboyant, aging hit-man and an out of work suburban businessman, respectively.

Rated: 15

Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:03-03-2006

Synopsis: Pierce Brosnan is outstanding as an international hit man falling apart at the seams in Richard Shepard's dark comedy THE MATADOR. Brosnan, riffing on his success playing the very well groomed and... Pierce Brosnan is outstanding as an international hit man falling apart at the seams in Richard Shepard's dark comedy THE MATADOR. Brosnan, riffing on his success playing the very well groomed and genteel James Bond and Remington Steele, stars as Julian Noble, a no-longer-noble hit man who spends his free time getting drunk and chasing impossibly young skirts. In Mexico he meets Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear), an average Joe trying to land an important business deal. Jealous of Danny's simple life, Julian becomes friends with the Denver suburbanite, who married his high school sweetheart, Bean (the very good Hope Davis), but lost his young son in a terrible accident. One day at a bullfight, Julian tells Danny what he does for a living, but Danny doesn't believe him--until Julian shows him an example of his expertise. But when Julian asks Danny to help him with his next assignment, Danny is dead-set against it, and ready to end their brief friendship. Little does he know that he has not seen the last of the rather unique hit man. Writer-director Shepard, whose previous work includes the indie films OXYGEN, MERCY, and THE LINGUINI INCIDENT, shows a deft hand for offbeat comedy in THE MATADOR, a very funny movie with a razor-sharp edge to it. Brosnan and Kinnear make a great duo, the latter the straight man to the former's reckless abandon. Shepard keeps the laughs coming with huge titles announcing the different locations as well as with a brilliant soundtrack featuring songs by Tom Jones and Asia in addition to the Jam, the Killers, and the Cramps--whose "Garbageman" anchors a hysterical scene involving Julian, a can of beer, a pair of Speedos, a hotel lobby, and a shark. [More]

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Hope Davis, Dylan Baker

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Hope Davis, Dylan Baker, Philip Baker Hall

Director: Richard Shepard, Bob Yari

Director: Richard Shepard
Screenwriter: Richard Shepard
Producer: Pierce Brosnan, Sean Furst, Mark Gordon, Brad Jenkel, Beau St. Clair
Director: Bob Yari
Composer: Rolfe Kent
Studio: Weinstein Company

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Reviews for The Matador

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41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
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Imagine if John Wayne had played a rodeo cowboy. Or Clint Eastwood played a mall security guard. That's pretty much what happens to Pierce Brosnan in The Matador.

Full Review Source: Richmond.com | comment Comment
01/31/06
Mike Ward
Mike Ward
Richmond.com

A breezy entertainment -- perhaps too much so.

Full Review Source: Mark Reviews Movies | comment Comment
01/28/06
Mark Dujsik
Mark Dujsik
Mark Reviews Movies

its best trait [is] the unique ability to walk the fine line, as Spinal Tap's David St. Hubbins would say, between stupid and clever.

Full Review Source: Scene-Stealers.com | comment Comment
01/28/06
Eric Melin
Eric Melin
Scene-Stealers.com

This warmly-inviting black comedy plays like a David Mamet remake of Pulp Fiction.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
01/27/06
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews

... Redefines the possibilities of the buddy movie.

Full Review Source: Star-Democrat (Easton, MD) | comment Comment
01/27/06
Greg Maki
Greg Maki
Star-Democrat (Easton, MD)

... a dark comedy that is missing the laughs to be funny and the darkness to be, well, dark.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
01/27/06
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

Kinnear and Brosnan pull it off perfectly.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
01/27/06
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

... one of the smarter films out right now.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/27/06
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

... a wicked comedy with just the mildest amount of pathos to season the blend.

Full Review Source: Charlotte Observer | comment Comment
01/27/06
Lawrence Toppman
Lawrence Toppman
Charlotte Observer

An entertaining caper anchored by great acting and a couple terrific plot twists.

Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
01/27/06
Forrest Hartman
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal

Pierce Brosnan's 'facilitator of fatalities' is a great character, but the story that houses him is as ersatz as the recording of 'In the Wee Small Hours' the assassin plays on the businessman's turntable (that's not Sinatra singing).

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
01/27/06
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

After the lights have gone up and the movie's mild jokes and predictable reversals have evaporated, you might still be haunted by the grinning rictus of Pierce Brosnan's dubiously groomed, ghastly attired hit man Julian Noble.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
01/27/06
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

You can almost feel Brosnan's glee as he allows himself to let it all hang out, both figuratively and (almost) literally.

Full Review Source: Kalamazoo Gazette | comment Comment
01/27/06
James Sanford
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette

[It] comes across... as a somewhat incoherent story told by a stranger in a hotel lobby bar.

Full Review Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette | comment Comment
01/27/06
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Though violent and funny, and often both at the same time, the film by writer-director Richard Shepard is also a subtle and slightly skewed inversion of Brosnan's suave image.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
01/26/06
Duane Dudek
Duane Dudek
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

You've never met anybody quite like the The Matador, even though you may think you have Pierce Brosnan pegged.

Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment Comment
01/26/06
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

After you see this delightful black comedy about a hit man gone to seed, you'll never again pigeonhole Brosnan as a tuxedo-clad sophisticate with nerves of steel.

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
01/26/06
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Whenever you think you know where the story is headed, Shepard unleashes another hard twist. Much of his excellence comes not in his storytelling but in the way he sets up situations that ooze with comic conflict.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
01/26/06
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

... an unpleasant and unfunny comedy ...

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
01/26/06
Steve Schneider
Steve Schneider
Orlando Weekly

A refreshingly tetchy indie wrapped in mainstream clothing.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
01/24/06
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
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Latest News for The Matador

November 23, 2007: Total Recall: Thank Goodness For Hit Men
This week, Timothy Olyphant stars in Hitman, the tale of a skilled contract killer who finds himself in the midst of deadly political intrigue. Here at RT, we thought it would... More...

September 10, 2007: RT Goes Behind The Lines With The Hunting Party's Richard Shepard
Richard Shepard recently sat down with Rotten Tomatoes to discuss gallows humor, international conspiracy, why wartime cameramen think they're invincible, and (because why not?)... More...

July 30, 2007: Frank Miller Faults Weinsteins for Sin City 2 Delay
While sitting on a Comic Con panel, Frank Miller was asked about the hold-up on Sin City 2. (Numerous times, probably.) And it looks like the celebrated author / artist /... More...

January 26, 2007: Another "Crown" for Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan took a detour into indie productions after hanging up his Bond tux and martini -- most recently in "The Matador" and "Seraphim Falls" -- but... More...

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