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The (non-Bond) films of PIERCE BROSNAN
I set up a similar thread about Dalton a while back that proved popular:
http://www.mi6community.com/index.php?p=/discussion/8627/the-films-of-timothy-dalton-non-bond/p1
But what do we think of Brosnan's other films? Before Bond Pierce was a pretty big household name but after Bond he became a bonafide box office A-list star in the 90s. His star has waned in recent years but what do we make of Brosnan's career outside of Bond?
http://www.mi6community.com/index.php?p=/discussion/8627/the-films-of-timothy-dalton-non-bond/p1
But what do we think of Brosnan's other films? Before Bond Pierce was a pretty big household name but after Bond he became a bonafide box office A-list star in the 90s. His star has waned in recent years but what do we make of Brosnan's career outside of Bond?
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I was reading the other day about a western he made with Liam Neeson. Can't remember what it was called but it sounded good, I'll watch that at some point.
And this isn't a knock on Brosnan. Comedians are some of the most unappreciated actors in the business. Like the saying goes, It's harder to make someone laugh than make them cry.
In terms of flms I liked him in Mars Attack! and Mrs.Doubtfire.
Neither did I. I saw it for sale last night in a shop.
The premise of the movie: an oddball comedy about a businessman and a hitman having to team up; could have been a very tired, tested and formulaic affair. However, Richard Shepard really created something very new, exciting and most of all fun with The Matador.
The film isn't quite the straight-faced Coen brothers brand of black comedy, and nor is it the out-and-out Will Ferrell type laugher, instead the film exists between the two and what we get is a rather interesting dark-comedic character study.
The movie is really about the friendship between these two men, who on the surface are very different but actually beneath are relatively similar. Both are lost, but while one is looking for a confidant the other is looking for an escape and a bit of excitement. Kinnear does hold his own but it's Brosnan who runs away with the film. His Julian Noble is a gift of character, and not for the obvious 'shedding the Bond image' reasons, but because Julian Noble really walks into the film fully-formed and is never apologetic for who is he and never at any point feels a need to justify himself.
I truly forget I was watching Pierce at times and only in occasional turns of phrase or looks to camera was I reminded 'shit, thats James Bond!' Brosnan transforms for the role, ditching his suave ladykiller persona and instead adopts the brass, sleazy persona of Julian (a perfect image to summarise this comes when Julian plays the bongos on a hooker's arse as she walks up some stairs). So lets forget all that talk of how Brosnan is deliberately stepping out of his Bond character, because at the end of the day the guy's an actor and it's his job to make you believe and invest in a host of different characters. And its this that Brosnan does so damn well with Noble.
The movie is fundamentally a character study, as we explore A hitman past his prime and slowly loosing his edge. Furthermore, the guy is having a massive existential crisis as well as having a nervous breakdowns and panic attacks everytime he's on a job. Not a good trait for a professional assassin. Brosnan plays the lightness of the role, he can handle the sleazy uncouth nature of the man (cracking a penis joke when Kinnear tells him about his dead son), but he can also brings a real pain to the guy, the moment he tells Danny that he is his only friend is genuinely affecting and Brosnan's final meltdown is rather harrowing stuff.
It's a great movie, its a rare thing to think once the end credits roll that you could have happily sat through more of this, but it's how I felt. I hope they can do something more with The Matador, if not a sequel maybe a TV series or something. Richard Shepard write a hell of script and Brosnan is show-stealing good in it.
Seraphim Falls. Watched it again a couple of months back. It's ok but nothing special (the reason for the conflict between the two felt too contrived). Some impressive cinematography though as well as some fairly brutal sequences - especially when Broz has to seal a wound.
Mr. Brosnan has done some great movies and some lesser but his name is generally enough for me to sit down and have a look, and more often than not his movies have entertained me. WHich is more than I can say for most James Bond actors.
I recently saw Ghost writer and he was a very menacing character through his gentleman like persona.
- The Fourth Protocol
- Mrs. Doubtfire
- Dante's Peak
- Thomas Crown
- The Tailor of Panama
- Laws of attraction
- The Matador
- Mamma Mia!
- The Ghost Writer
I have seen him in Mars Attacks, After the sunset, but I don't think it was good
He plays their old teacher. It's pretty much just a cameo which is why you won't have seen him in the adverts or anything but I thought he was quite good. It was a nice surprise seeing him and it was nice seeing him re-uinted with Rosamund Pike too.
Simon Pegg is obviously a Bond fan (I think I remember him speaking a bit during that "greatest moments" thing that was on Sky). I'd love to have Pegg and Frost in a Bond film in some way (I always said they should have them as Q and R, but that won't happen now). I think Edgar Wright would be a great choice for director once Mendes leaves too.
They would be entertaining but Pegg is already in Mission Impossible.
On a side note I was watching the Q scene from TWINE the other night and was thinking it would have been funny if Ben Wishaw was the "young fellow" and not John Cleese.
Is Broz's scene with Pike?
Agreed. I have Both Detonator and Detonator 2 Night Watch on DVD. I like the first one better as it feels more like a Bond film. Actually a lot of scenes are similar to the latter half of Octopussy and Christopher Lee is one of the Villains. Great underrated Brosnan film.
Brosnan's Skyfall! :))
Boy I watched that one, before GE, when I was looking for all things Brosnan and even then I thought it was awful. Directed by Christian Duguay, whom I suggested years ago as a director for a Bond movie. I won't anymore.
Butterfly on a Wheel
Married Life
Seraphim Falls
Night Watch
Robinson Crusoe
The Ghost Writer
The Fourth Protocol
Noble House (mini series)
After The Sunset
The Thomas Crown Afair
Forth Protocol, Night Watch and Noble House i haven't seen yet.
Mrs. Doubtfire, Dante's Peak, Mars Atacks, The Tailor of Panama,Laws of attraction, The Matador and Percy Jackson The Lightning Thief i have seen too.
Iam looking moost forward to Novemberman and The Thomas Crown Afair 2.
Moost funny fan art with Brosnan
Also very funny
BUT, I haven't seen that one with the Vampire guy, can't think of his name....
I don't remember them interacting at all (it was mainly Pegg and Martin Freeman talking to Brosnan iirc) but she was in the scene yeah.
Yes I remember, it was the sequel to Death Train, I think. Not nearly as good, or as well cast. There was a simplicity in the first movie that worked really well.
The film itself is also really good and somewhat surprising. It is essentially a chase picture with Neeson spending the whole runtime hunting Brosnan's character. There have been a lot of revisionist westerns recently but this film isn't really witty or glib about it's genre and is very much a pure western in that sense. There is something rather refreshing about this approach as the film has a whole 'man's-got-to-do-what-a-man's-got-to-do' vibe from yesteryear.
The best part of the film is the opening half-hour which is practically wordless. This part is where the film is at it's best as it operates and runs like a great thriller. When we are introduced to the leads we dont know who to root for. It seems that we are supposed to be on Pierce's side as we see the man endure great hardships against Neeson's tough Colonel. But it's ambiguous, Brosnan does some awful things and we're constantly reminded that there is a dark horrible reason why Neeson is hunting him. This shifting idea of who is the antagonist and who is the protagonist runs throughout the film and is very good.
The real problem with the film is that it becomes rather stoggy and slow-moving after this as you have to wait 1hr 30 to find out the reason why Neeson is hunting this guy and the reason isn't particularly inventive or new. This means the film starts to really feel it's 115 minutes and can be somewhat dry and predictable. It could do with loosing 15minutes and more emphasis should have been placed on the 'thriller' aspect of the plot. I enjoyed it nonetheless as the film is essentially a very visceral purely cinematic story with little dialogue relying solely on visuals. The survival story is also charming as we see Brosnan endure the elements with the freezing forests and the scorching deserts.
A few critics say the finale is a little ham-fisted and too allegorical in it's anti-war statement. I quite liked it and thought it was surprisingly impact and deep as both these men gain some kind of peace. One having been filled with rage and anger and the other with remorse and guilt. I also thought it was a nice note to end on considering the films themes of violence, repercussions of violence and revenge.
The acting is great across the board but Brosnan has the best role. If Bond showed he could be suave and charismatic and the 'The Matador' showed he was a great comic actor then 'Seraphim Falls' shows that he's a good actor period. He's very affecting and powerful in the film especially those silent opening 30mins.
A lot of critics seem to have been impressed by the film at the time but I couldn't help but feel the picture felt very typical of the late 90's adult thriller mould. I felt the film could have had a more satirical edge and considering the premise it was not as witty or sharp as it could have been. All in all it was a little too flat for my liking.
John Boorman's extremely journeyman-esque helming does not help. Despite the film wanting to play around with spy movie cliches there is a terrible sequence where we have to witness Osnard seduce an English diplomat in the most routine and cringeworthy segment put on film. I found there to be little creative or subversive about any of the film.
There is some fun to be had watching Brosnan send-up his Bond image but you can't help but feel they could have gown further. In many ways Brosnan played a similar character in 'The Matador' and in comparison Osnard feels lightweight. Also the casting of Brosnan (especially considering he was the reigning 007 at the time) feels too obvious and makes the whole film feel a little too self-aware especially when you consider the eye-roll inducing gag about 'Mr Connery' early on.
Geoffrey Rush is fine if a little too broad at some points whilst Jamie Lee Curtis is underserved and Brenden Gleeson is totally miscast. Something has to be said about the accents in this film, Rush and Brosnan are the biggest offenders (though Gleeson and Harold Pinter are as bad at times). Where is Pierce from in this film? At times he sounds American, other times he sounds like an upper-crust Englishman before dropping into cockney. It's very distracting.
There is a lot of talent involved in the film and not all of it is squandered. The scenes between Rush and Brosnan are often funny and Boorman has fun setting them in bizarre surroundings such as a gay bar and a brothel. Furthermore, despite his typical overacting Brosnan does some interesting work especially in a scene where he attempts to rape Lee Curtis's character.
The film should sizzle but for me the whole affair had very little fizz.