The Matador
Perhaps Pierce Brosnan knew his days as 007 were numbered when he made The Tailor of Panama—in which he plays a seedy, underhanded British spy interested in his own personal gain above everything else—a year before he ordered his last shaken vodka martini in Die Another Day. He definitely knew it when he took the role of Julian Noble, a deliciously crude, tasteless version of his most famous role, in The Matador. It's a hearty "F-you" to the Bond producers who unceremoniously dumped him when they decided to reboot a franchise that badly needed it. It's also a fairly clever premise, bringing together a straight-shooter at the end of his rope and a burned out shooter who can't shoot straight anymore. The darkly comic tone of the film is executed flawlessly by Brosnan and Greg Kinnear as they reflexively help each other's characters get back on track. Hope Davis contributes another discreetly exceptional performance as Kinnear's somewhat adrift wife.
- December 22, 2006
DVD Extras
An uninformative fluff piece on the making of the movie; two commentary tracks, one with the writer/director only and another joined by Brosnan and Kinnear; several deleted/extended scenes, some of which clear up a few plot points but obviously detracted from the main relationship, and others which simply included a bit more T&A during Julian's various extracurricular activities.