We all know that that the apex of any actor’s career is playing James Bond. Well, that’s what us Bond fans like to think anyway, but after leaving the role did you know that Bond actors continue to act — even ones not named Sean Connery. Yes, it’s true as shocking as it may be.
With Pierce Brosnan returning to the spy game this weekend in November Man we thought it would be a good time to take a look at what he’s done since Bond. There’s actually quite a lot of good stuff. There’s also some bad stuff, and in the name of fairness and in order to more easily make jokes about bad movies we’re going to talk about both.
Laws of Attraction (Awful)
What do you do right out of starring in the highest grossing James Bond movie of all time? A seriously bad romantic comedy, that’s what. Most likely shot while still filming Bond Laws of Attraction is a mess and clearly just a paycheck for its two big name stars. The comedy is flat, the romance is stale and lawyers falling in love is so over done that it really needs to be put out of its misery. Watch Adam’s Rib instead.
The Matador (Underrated)
Probablyy the best thing that Brosnan has done since leaving the Bond character and criminally underrated. Perfectly playing off his ex-Bond role and up against the straight laced Greg Kinnear the film is both funny and personal showing a dramatic side that Brosnan often tried to bring through in his Bond. The trailer pushes the comedy, but there’s a fantastic plot in here and great roles. Also, that mustache.
Seraphim Falls (Good)
It’s unclear why Seraphim Falls isn’t more popular. For one it stars both Liam Neeson and Brosnan in a western. For two they’re both great in it. It may be because it is often painfully slow. A character study more than a shoot out the movie can plod if you aren’t expecting it. If you are it is a dramatic tale of revenge that focuses surprisingly on the philosophical side of things than the shooting people side. Brosnan is both intense and charismatic in the movie and it might be his most challenging role in this time period.
Mamma Mia! (Stop the Singing!)
You can debate whether or not ABBA is awesome. You can debate whether or not musicals are fun to watch. What you can’t debate is just how bad a singer Pierce Brosnan is in this film. I personally enjoy Mamma Mia!, but man they should have dubbed Brosnan. Reportedly he was put in the film because Meryl Streep wanted to work with him. Of all the roles she could have requested him put into this was it?
The Ghost (Dark and Good)
The Ghost (originally called The Ghost Writer) had a bit of an Oscar push behind it when it came out, which wasn’t surprising since Roman Polanski directed a Robert Harris screenplay. It was a dark turn for Brosnan as he played a former Prime Minister writing his memoirs through a ghost writer. The writer uncovers some not so savory things about Brosnan’s character and in traditional Polanski style things turn dark. It isn’t one of Polanki’s greatest films, but it’s still good and a side of Brosnan we don’t always get to see.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (Required)
All actors of a certain age are now required to show up in a tween film these days and this is Brosnan’s. It is neither good nor bad, but simply exists. Thank goodness he had the wherewithal to get out of the second one.
Remember Me (Depressing)
Surprisingly the worst thing about Remember Me was Robert Pattinson. In fact up against Brosnan the two played well off each other, and Brosnan is quite powerful in the part of his father. The problem is the film is basically two hours of depressing melodrama that doesn’t quite work. Then there’s the ending. For the sake of a twist things get really uncomfortable.
The World’s End (Cameo)
OK, so Brosnan really only had a cameo in The World’s End and he had plenty of other films come out that we could have highlighted, but none of them were part of the Cornetto trilogy and none of those roles were as fun as Guy Sheppard encouraging his drunken former students to become Androids. Also, it is important to highlight the cameos as having them is one of the perks of being a Bond. You basically get any cameo you want because of it. Bond is an awesome cameo to have.
