Movies You Might Not Know: The Pierce Brosnan Edition

As many of you may know, I’ve been deeply immersed in the James Bond 50th anniversary Blu Ray set and blogging about each film individually.

At press time, I’m nearly through the Roger Moore era with the Timothy Daltons, Pierce Brosnans, and Daniel Craigs left to go. For my “Movies You Might Not Know” series, this felt like a good time to recommend a trio of Pierce Brosnan titles that aren’t nearly as well-known as his 007 pictures.

From 2001, Tailor of Panama, a highly entertaining thriller with comedic elements co-starring Geoffrey Rush and Jamie Lee Curtis. Brosnan plays an MI6 agent here, but his character is a whole lot different than Mr. Bond. Based on a John Le Carre novel and from John Boorman, director of such classics as 1967’s Point Blank and 1972’s Deliverance, this is a fun movie that got lost in a bit in the box office shuffle and comes highly recommended.

Next we have 2005’s The Matador, with Brosnan playing a master assassin who befriends a normal couple, played by Greg Kinnear and Hope Davis. This dark comedy is quite a good time and features Pierce showing off his considerable comedic chops.

Finally, we have Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer, with Brosnan playing an ex-British Prime Minister who hires Ewan McGregor’s character to write his political memoirs. This leads to all sorts of danger and intrigue. Released in 2010, Ghost Writer (not to be confused with the Nicolas Cage film Ghost Rider), did bigger business overseas than in the United States. It’s a very good picture with all kinds of twists and turns and a terrific ending.

So, there you have some nice suggestions for alternate non-007 Brosnan movies before I begin to dissect his work as film’s most famous superspy. Enjoy!