Reviews

This is a ploddingly slow movie that has some nice action sequences thrown in, and some fun humor, but the funniest parts are the close ups of Pedro the matador during the last bull-fight. (Other reviews have addressed the main cast well-enough).

I doubt there has ever been a matador as miscast as this one. He neither looks nor acts like one - although in his defense, he appears to be trying really, really hard to look important. His expressions are priceless, with that shiny face, and the band-aid. Very funny. I wondered who it was, but as the cable channel didn't run any end-credits, I looked him up here in IMDb. Turns out it was Robert Evans.(?!) At least it's clear now why he turned to producing...

Anthony Hopkin's character, Mr. Stevens, is dutiful, loyal and extremely vigilant in his chosen profession, however he is repressed to such a degree that viewers must wonder just what happened to him. (And not just emotionally, but he also appears to be completely celibate.) Many speak about the burden of his job, but by the end of the movie he has far less to do (and much less staff to manage), plus must be sitting on over 40 years of savings. Why is he so stuck, and emotionally stunted? Was he born a little "off," or had he suffered a devastating loss?

The same goes for Emma Thompson's character, Miss Kenton. Why would she attach her heart to someone so devoid of love and warmth as Mr. Stevens? Some young women go through the "hot for aloof-guy" period, but they usually get over it. And at least the bad-boy aloof guys throw the girl a bone once in a while. Stevens never threw her so much as artificial nib-let. Why would Thompson's character long for this humorless, wooden-souled man for decades? It's not enough to say that they were hindered by their "position in life," as Stevens own father was a respected Butler, and thus living proof that one could be both an Butler *and* a husband/father.

I don't mind the occasional sad story filled with melancholy and regret, but I like to see fully-formed characters - even if they are not actually fully-functioning people. The movie had plenty of time to fill us in on a few specifics.

Still, the acting is great. Hopkins is at his understated best, and Emma Thompson, (from the bus scene in this movie to her reaction to her Christmas gift in Love Actually) continues to kill us with her depiction of a devastated heart.

My son was watching this on HBO, and asked me to join him. If not for the fun we had making fun of the movie, it would have been an unfortunate waste of time. You have Tara Reid as a Russian (?!) named Dina, and her unlikely partner Gordon magically dodging teams of KGB and other "bad guys", both during car chases and running down the street (sans bullet-proof vests) and yet remaining completely unscathed.

Further, although their pictures have appeared on national television, and they have done nothing to alter their appearance, no one seems to take any notice of them. You would think that some Russians would stare at Tara Reid and her platinum blond hair and big blue eyes, *anyway* - regardless of whether they knew she was wanted. But then again, just which Russians would notice them? In this film, the streets of Moscow are barely populated. And also, it seems that Russians won't buy a microwave without first seeing it "in action" - as all of the microwaves on the store shelves are plugged in, ready to heat.

In general, the movie is a mess. I couldn't spoil the ending if I tried, because there's no "there" there. If somebody can actually state how the plot is resolved, please tell us!