Unfortunately for Noble, at the time when he runs into Danny (Kinnear), a traveling salesman from Denver, he is starting to develop something of a conscience, a trait not overly desirable in his chosen profession. As the two "chalk and cheese" characters meet in an upmarket hotel bar in Mexico City, Noble takes to Danny and shows him a few tricks of the trade while they attend a bullfight together in the city.
The two part company when Danny refuses to help Noble carry out a hit, although they meet again in Danny's home town of Denver, which is when things start to get more interesting, especially when Noble is introduced to Danny's wife, Bean (Davis).
As a movie, The Matador seems to lack direction at times, as it meanders through to its final conclusion. There are some genuinely funny bits in here, but they are alas too few and far between, and although Brosnan's and Kinnear's acting skills are adequate, it is Hope Davis' few scenes near the end of the movie that threaten to steal the show. The twist at the end also fails to shock and surprise the audience adequately enough to turn what is an average film into a really good one.
All in all this would have been a fairly easy cheque for Pierce Brosnan to collect, and we can only hope that his next outing leads to bigger and better things especially if he is ever to shake off the James Bond tag, something that seems highly unlikely.
6/10
