When most people think of Pierce Brosnan, they most likely think of such signature roles like that of James Bond, the remake of the "Thomas Crown Affair", or "Remington Steele". But in 1988, between all of that, Pierce starred in a small, low budget film out of Ireland called "Taffin" and while nobody will hail it as Brosnan's finest hour, it is a curiously entertaining film (I've always wondered how Brosnan ended up in this one; after all he was ,by this time, fairly well known from "Steele". Perhaps he just needed something to do or needed the money but since there's not much info on this film, who knows?). In the story, Brosnan plays a rough and tough debt collector named Taffin in a small town where if you owe money, you'd better pay up! Our hero demonstrates this through some simple but well choreographed fight scenes, one involving four or fiver burly chefs in a restaurant. But Taffin is not your stereotypical tough guy; he reads literature and believes in the power of using your mind before your fists. Good thing too, because he's going to need it when some corrupt developers send their goons to town to keep folks from complaining about plans to destroy a favorite park. If I had to guess what makes the movie watchable, it would probably come down to Brosnan's cool under pressure performance which, more than anything, is the driving force of the film. It also helps that Alison Doody of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" fame adds some fun-and eye candy-to the mix as the love interest. Don't get me wrong; the film has it issues, such as certain areas where the editing and story don't seem to flow quite right and parts that are supposed to be serious but you just can't help but laugh your ass off (see the part where Taffin screams "Then maybe you shouldn't be living heeeeeeeeeeeeere!". Never fails to bring a smile to my face). But all things considered, "Taffin" is not the worse movie ever made and if you happen to catch it with some drunk friends or on a rainy day, you probably won't regret it.
Review of Taffin
