The Matador (DVD)

It's a bit odd to believe that a movie like The Matador was such a small blip on the radar considering it was very well received by critics (75% at RottenTomatoes) and it stars Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear. Granted the Kinnear aspect is hardly a reason to see any film, but this one really taps into the acting ability of both Brosnan and Kinnear. Actually, I am willing to say this may be the best I have ever seen Kinnear... more on that in a minute.

The Matador is a quirky little film about Julian Noble, a lonely hit man played by Brosnan and a down-on-his-luck salesman, Danny Wright, played by Kinnear. By chance the two happen to meet while they are both on the "job" in Mexico and form a bond that only reveals itself in the final moments of the film.

The crux of the story centers on the idea that Julian has lost his stuff. For some reason when he is on the verge of pulling the trigger to make his kill, flashes of death and himself in the crosshairs dominate his mind and he just can't do it. These little slip-ups don't exactly go over too well with his "employers" and Julian has one last chance to make the big boss happy before he truly finds himself on the other end of the rifle.

Unfortunately for Danny he is Julian's only "friend" and is called upon to help him thru this little crisis and what ensues from that point forward is both comical and emotional all leading up to a very satisfying picture.

Now, as I was saying about the acting. Brosnan is perfectly fine as Julian. We have seen him be coy, we have seen him be comical and we have seen him as a killer, therefore there are no surprises in his performance... Except, perhaps, a scene where he walks through a hotel lobby in his skivvies and cowboy boots on his way to jumping into the pool, a bit of the comedy I refer to.

On the other side of the coin is Greg Kinnear. A man who has somehow found himself cast in comedic roles lately with Bad News Bears and Stuck On You. Only problem is that those aren't his kinds of comedy as an actor. Kinnear's strength is that he portrays and intellectual character, his comedy needs to be more witty and intelligent. That is what you get from him in The Matador, along with some real genuine dramatic acting. His wife in the pic, Hope Davis, also adds a nice bit of comedy/drama in a very important role. I mean what is better than when an assassin shows up on your doorstep in the middle of the night and asks your wife for a dance? What's better is when she gladly accepts.

On top of the film this disc comes equipped with some good deleted scenes, a feature commentary with director Richard Shepard and another with Shepard, Kinnear and Brosnan, the latter of the two being the best of the bunch. Then there are a couple of featurettes, the making-of one being the only one worth your time if that.

Of the special features the deleted scenes and the second commentary are really the only ones worth your time. The deleted scenes come with commentary from Shepard and there is one in particular that shows another side of Brosnan's character that was rightly cut, but still a good watch and then the feature commentary with all three is a good listen as they seemed to have a lot of fun making the picture.

On a whole I would say this is a worthwhile rental that could possibly turn into a buy. I do believe it is right on the edge of like vs. dislike so it is up to your better judgment to decide if it is worth a place on your shelf, I know it will stay on mine.