The Matador - James Bond (retired)

We all know that Pierce Brosnan was the greatest James Bond ever.  Okay, maybe not.  But he was pretty good for the nineties and definitely made the role his own for the time period.  Some may say he exited before his time and due to the critical mauling 'Die Another Day' received due to its invisible car and awful CGI during the 'tsunami-surfing' scene, the franchise was rebooted and Brosnan went on his merry way.

The reason for the brief 'cinema history lesson' was because many look at 2005's 'The Matador' as some sort of weird 'sequel' to Brosnan's stint as 007.  Yes, everyone knows the character he now plays isn't really the unflappable superspy, but you can't help but ask the question, 'What if Bond had retired from MI6 and kind of gone off the rails?'

In 'The Matador' we meet Julian Noble (Brosnan), who is a hitman who's having a bit of a 'midlife crisis.' Normally, he travels the globe happily killing (and sleeping with) various people along the way.  However, for one reason or another, he seems to have 'lost his mojo' and his profession is becoming harder and harder.  Sadly, there isn't a 'retirement' home for contract killers and those who employ him, don't want to cut him much slack.  Then, on one such 'job' in Mexico, he meets down on his luck salesman Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear) and, believe it or not, the two strike up a weird and unlikely friendship.

Anyone who hated 'Die Another Day' will be glad that in a film that sounds like it could have plenty of 'action' will be pleased to hear that there aren't any outlandish computer-generated speedboat chases or another 'Bond-like.' What you have here is more of an 'odd couple/buddy comedy' film which is far more subtle than anything involving a dry Martini.

Neither of the two main characters ever really descends into mellow-drama or stereotypes when acting, giving both of their characters an air of realism and likability.  This is more of a black comedy with subtle, character-based humour than a 'laugh out loud' fun-fest.  It knows what it is and it's tightly-paced all the way through, plus it's not that long, so it never outstays its welcome.

You certainly don't have to be a 'Bond fan' to enjoy this.  All you need is an appreciation for an adult comedy involving a mild helping of murder and adult chit-chat and you'll find you're watching something that is a welcome break away from all the usual Hollywood epics with their huge budgets and action set pieces.

Oh, and if you're wondering why it's called 'The Matador,' there is a brief bull-fighting scene while the characters are in Mexico.  However, if you read the end credits carefully, you'll notice the film-makers stress that any scenes of 'animal cruelty' were computer generated and no bulls were harmed during the making of the film.  Good on them.

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one