The Matador

The Matador is the tale of an aging hit man. It stars Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, and Hope Davis. Before its February 2006 release in theatres, the film earned the support of critics at major film festivals.

Plot

Julian Noble doesn't have any friends. He doesn't have a home. His career as a "facilitator of fatalities" is winding down. After a chance encounter with a normal American businessman in a bar at a Mexico City hotel, Julian makes his first friend. They exchange stories and Julian eventually reveals his profession while attending a bull fight. The two friends part ways with no intention of meeting again, until six months later Julian shows up on the porch of his distant friend. He asks for help with a final hit so that he may retire for good.

Style

The Matador allowed Brosnan to show his full acting potential. The cinematography and camera work was superb and added many interesting shots and views to the film. Combined with decent acting by Kinnear and Davis and a great story, this movie should have been perfect. Instead, it was slow...very slow. Scenes dragged on and made it hard to finish. I enjoyed some of the humor and the use of The Killer's "All These Things That I've Done" to end the movie, but The Matador still seemed like a watered-down version of The Whole Nine Yards.

Score

3 out of 5