The Matador

Well, I had to put this down somewhere and this might as well be the place. I had a chance to watch "The Matador" on the weekend. I ended up seeing a movie that was pretty much what I expected - except... for the ending.

It was a great role for Pierce Brosnan. He displays more depth to a character than he's done in any other movie so far. Brosnan is an aging hitman (Julian) who's been in the business for more than 20 years and happens to have a chance drink with a straight laced "Average Joe" - Danny - played by Greg Kinnear. Little does Danny realize how much this drink will change his life. Comedy ensues as the quirks and foibles of Julian's character are revealed. He is a hard living, alcohol consuming, sex obsessed facilitator of death. While Danny is your hard luck, hard working joe just trying to make a life worth living for him and his wife. Once these two meet, their lives are changed forever.

I really enjoyed this movie and found myself laughing through most of it. Unfortunately, I thought the ending fell a little flat. They build you up for a twist, and just when you think you have it figured out, it hits the screen without much pizzaz. Definitely a weak moment after a good deal of emotional up's and down's. It was a safe way to end this movie and it left me feeling rather dissapointed. I'd say the rest of the movie makes up for this hum drum finish, so I'd give 7 stars out of 10.