"A hitman and a salesman walk into a bar … " is the tagline for "The Matador" — and the whole movie is one long, hilarious punchline.
Hitman Julian Noble (Pierce Brosnan) and struggling businessman Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear) are both in Mexico City on business. They meet in the hotel bar and form an unlikely friendship.
As the movie progresses, Noble's skill as hitman is waning. The tables are turned and after initially helping Wright in Mexico City, he now needs assistance.
Brosnan was a good James Bond, but is an amazing comedian. At first, it seems as if Brosnan is just playing the same type of cool, womanizing, man-wielding-a-gun character. But then his character, Noble, gets belligerently drunk and deviates between offending Wright and banging on his door to beg for forgiveness.
Noble has a substance abuse problem, he's lonely and while he still does some womanizing, he seems to have no standards. He's sloppy and, as his boss reminds him repeatedly, he's replaceable. Not very Bond-like at all. Brosnan easily makes the character-type switch from "Die Another Day" to "The Matador".
Kinnear's acting is equally impressive. His character is meek and monogamous. Wright only wants to be successful, have a comfortable life and make his wife happy. Noble is everything he is not, and everything he admires.
After the two leave Mexico City, Wright grows a mustache to emulate Noble's and hangs the framed ticket from the bullfight they went to on his living room wall. Subtle humor is at its best with Wright's bashful worshipping of Noble. The polar opposites are a superb on-screen duo.
"The Matador" balances over-the-top humor with substance successfully. The sophisticated parallels drawn between a matador and an assassin give the movie more depth. The similarities are explained during the bull fight. Noble is showing Wright how he does his job at the same time the matador is demonstrating his skills, and the two scenes are juxtaposed together to bring the point home.
Both Noble and the matador are always in danger, both are participating in a skilled form of murder. More importantly, both perform their tasks for payment and to satisfy someone else's wishes.
Another asset of the movie is its diverse soundtrack, which makes use of various genres. Authentic ethnic tunes fill the silences while the two men spend time in Mexico City, but the film does not limit itself. In a throwback to 1980s action movies, we are treated with Asia's "Heat of the Moment" during the final professional killing. The movie comes to a close in a cemetery with a tune from The Killers.
The cinematography is creative and spares viewers a lot of violence involved with assassinations. The shots are artistic and cut to colors or the sky as each person is taken out. This tactic helps viewers to remember the film is primarily a comedy — not a thriller or action movie.
"The Matador" is guaranteed to make you laugh with its unlikely players trying to make gains in impossible situations. It's one of the smartest comedies of the year.
