The Matador
2005 Directed by Richard Shepard
Synopsis
A hitman and a salesman walk into a bar...
The life of Danny Wright, a salesman forever on the road, veers into dangerous and surreal territory when he wanders into a Mexican bar and meets a mysterious stranger, Julian, who's very likely a hit man. Their meeting sets off a chain of events that will change their lives forever, as Wright is suddenly thrust into a far-from-mundane existence that he takes to surprisingly well … once he gets acclimated to it.
Cast
Studios
Popular reviews
More-
No había visto esta comedia-negra-con-asesino-a-sueldo desde 2006, y el reencuentro ha sido feliz. Con un título como The Matador uno puede esperar dos cosas: sangre y arena. En realidad no hay prácticamente nada de ninguna de las dos cosas. En su lugar The Matador ofrece buenos diálogos, personajes caristmáticos (el asesino en horas bajas, el hombre que lo tiene todo pero no es consciente de ello...), excelentes interpretaciones tanto de Brosnan como de Kinnear, alguna que otra situación cómica, y una historia que no necesita de grandes efectismos para ser satisfactoria. Una joyita a descubrir.
-
This rewatch took nearly three weeks to get through, but I think that was more my ridiculous schedule's fault than the movie's. As for the film itself, it's entertaining, though nowhere near the oh-my-god-so-unique-and-stylish-and-touching masterpiece status I held it at when I was a teenager.
It's weird how time changes the way we perceive or recall things in movies; for example, I remembered the final scene of The Matador and its use of The Killers' "All These Things That I've Done" (forever one of my favorite songs) being far more epic and moving than it actually was. In my mind, the emotional context was more complex, the way it was filmed was kind of grandiose, and the final shot/cut-to-title-card was…
-
There are often days where I just need something simple, punchy and funny to watch. The other night I found myself discovering Come and See; one of the most profound, relentless and terrifying depictions of war I've seen. Today, with all the thoughts of it still running through my mind, I needed something to take my mind away from it. The Matador, from 2005, was just the film I had in my mind when I browsed through my DVD collection.
Starring Pierce Brosnan, of James Bond fame, as an assassin, we follow him on his multiple trips throughout out the world. We see him drunk, rude and making asinine remarks. Brosnan, playing Julian, encounters Danny. Danny is a man on…
-
A nice little hitman comedy. Brosnan completely owns it like the cool motherfucker he is. Nice surprise.
-
" "Everybody's got to pee" theory of assassination" - Julian Noble
I picked up this DVD due to the tagline " A hitman and a salesman walk into a bar...". That certainly peaked my interest and it didn't disappoint.
Pierre Brosnan in an rather unusual role as a burnt out hitman (a facilitator in fatalities as he puts its in his own words) due to a 22 year long career of killing people without ever had any other 'normal' social contact with people.
His meeting with the salesman in a Mexican bar with the salesman spirals into an unusual relationship between the two in this dark comedy.
Those who appreciate a black comedy and watch Pierre Brosnan as a psychopathic nephew of James Bond should give this a go
-
I’ll always remember the first time I watched this unusual and highly entertaining comedy, crime, drama. It was the night of December 23rd 2007. I had finished all my Christmas shopping and everything that had to be done was done; I was just waiting for Christmas to arrive. So I decided to relax by renting the DVD of The Matador; back when I was still renting DVDs on a regular basis. Watching the film on that particular night was one of those perfect home cinema experiences. It’s hard to describe but it all just worked so well, I think it was just an ideal film to watch under those circumstances.
So now to the film itself; first we meet Julian…
Recent reviews
More-
A great breezy film with a great turn by Pierce Bros-Ex-Bond as a burned out assassin who finds a friend in Greg Kinnear. The really great thing about the film is that despite having an assassin for a main character is that it doesn't go down the Tarantino route.
-
Smart and sassy.
-
No había visto esta comedia-negra-con-asesino-a-sueldo desde 2006, y el reencuentro ha sido feliz. Con un título como The Matador uno puede esperar dos cosas: sangre y arena. En realidad no hay prácticamente nada de ninguna de las dos cosas. En su lugar The Matador ofrece buenos diálogos, personajes caristmáticos (el asesino en horas bajas, el hombre que lo tiene todo pero no es consciente de ello...), excelentes interpretaciones tanto de Brosnan como de Kinnear, alguna que otra situación cómica, y una historia que no necesita de grandes efectismos para ser satisfactoria. Una joyita a descubrir.
-
A fun, quirky film that does play around with some morally gray areas, but all in all is a good watch. Probably not recommended for the casual film-goer, but for the rest of us it is worth a rent during some free time. And with the likes of Greg Kinnear and Pierce Brosnan, it can't be TOO bad.
-
This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
-
Compact and doesn't try to do too much, Brosnan gives a masterful performance, just a bit off type. The jokes tend to be clever but understated and black, though there's a great moustache reveal that I chuckled at.
-
Ein Meisterwerk ist “Mord und Margaritas” nicht. Vielmehr bewegt sich der Film im gesunden Mittelmaß. Die Story ist unterhaltsam, die Schauspieler gut und die gezeigten Bilder ansehnlich. Leider wirkt Richard Shepards Film für meinen Geschmack über weite Strecken etwas zu konstruiert. Wer wie ich eine Vielzahl von Filmen im Jahr schaut, wird sich nur wenig von den Wendungen des Films überraschen lassen und auch für den Gelegenheitsfilmgucker könnten die Wendungen etwas zu weit hergeholt erscheinen.
Trotzdem macht es Spaß sich “Mord und Margaritas” anzuschauen. Die Dialoge des Films sind zum Beispiel sehr gut gelungen und es macht Freude dabei zuzusehen, wie Julian Noble seinen neuen Freund Danny Wright in die Geheimnisse des Auftragsmords einführt. Besonders eine Sequenz in einer mexikanischen Stierkampfarena sorgt hier für einige Schmunzler.
-
" "Everybody's got to pee" theory of assassination" - Julian Noble
I picked up this DVD due to the tagline " A hitman and a salesman walk into a bar...". That certainly peaked my interest and it didn't disappoint.
Pierre Brosnan in an rather unusual role as a burnt out hitman (a facilitator in fatalities as he puts its in his own words) due to a 22 year long career of killing people without ever had any other 'normal' social contact with people.
His meeting with the salesman in a Mexican bar with the salesman spirals into an unusual relationship between the two in this dark comedy.
Those who appreciate a black comedy and watch Pierre Brosnan as a psychopathic nephew of James Bond should give this a go
-
This rewatch took nearly three weeks to get through, but I think that was more my ridiculous schedule's fault than the movie's. As for the film itself, it's entertaining, though nowhere near the oh-my-god-so-unique-and-stylish-and-touching masterpiece status I held it at when I was a teenager.
It's weird how time changes the way we perceive or recall things in movies; for example, I remembered the final scene of The Matador and its use of The Killers' "All These Things That I've Done" (forever one of my favorite songs) being far more epic and moving than it actually was. In my mind, the emotional context was more complex, the way it was filmed was kind of grandiose, and the final shot/cut-to-title-card was…