Taffin

Had seen this circulating on Netflix for a while, was only persuaded to watch it when I realised Alison Doody from The Last Crusade was in it. Even though she's old enough to be my mum she did look good back in the day!

Pierce Brosan stars in the titular role as a tough-as-nails Irish debt- collector. He's a fairly realistic depiction of the 'local tough guy' who sure as hell knows how to get the job done. He gets in a little over his head with some thugs but is able to use his brains as well as his brawn to overcome the odds.

Performances are good and well acted, Brosan and Doody especially. Although some of the accents are a little hit and miss. Even though those two are both Irish they don't actually sound it at times, whereas other times they do. Although maybe that's just me...

I really liked this film. It's basicaly the idea of transporting a fifties B-western into 80s Ireland and from my poinbt of view it works fine. Imagine the storyline of a Budd Butticher b-western: hero of shady provenance, yet an interesting character, ruthless but good at heart takes on gang who terrorises small town. Don't expect twisted story lines here, it's straight forward. The story is well told, the characters are all quite interesting and it's really well executed particularly when the townsfolk suddenly decide they've had enough of Taffin. It's also well made in terms of character development; Taffin is a slacker and finally has to find his own way. And of course there is the lovely Alison Doodey.

Oddly enough then I had actually never seen or heard of this 1988 action thriller titled "Taffin" from director Francis Megahy before now late in 2022 as I happened to stumble upon it by random chance. Of course I opted to watch the movie, since I hadn't already seen it and also because it starred Pierce Brosnan.

Writer David Ambrose actually put together a wholesome and entertaining storyline for this movie. It was a plot and script that quickly takes a hold of the audience and takes them on a well-written and entertaining ride. And despite of it being from 1988, it is a storyline that very much holds up today and proves every bit as relevant now as it did back then.

Now, the movie is starring Pierce Brosnan, and he definitely was nicely cast for the role as Taffin. And he was joined on the screen by the likes of Alison Doody and Ray McAnally.

I found "Taffin" to be a rather enjoyable movie from start to end, and it is definitely a movie that is well-worth watching. If you, just like me, haven't already seen this movie and get the chance to do so, you should.

My rating of "Taffin" lands on a six out of ten stars.

Tagging is one of those films that you sit down to watch with expectations that it will be way better than it actually turns out to be. It's got solid acting, along with a decent script but somehow those two things haven't quite transferred to the film. The first two acts are far too slow, although things do pick up in the last 15 minutes, this leads to the film being a little confusing - the bad guys aren't really bad, they are mildly annoying at best which compared to the final showdown makes staffing a very unbalanced film.

Is it worth watching? That depends. Remember when Brosnan had a small cameo as an IRA thug in The Long Good Friday? Well this is like they took that character and made a whole film about him - minus the terrorist connotations. Taffin isn't a particularly nice character he just happens to not be the bad guy on this side of the story.

I caught this on Prime so it was free and idled away half a rainy afternoon and nothing more. If you don't see it you won't miss anything.

I first saw this film in 1989 and I now have it on DVD. I know it can come across as a little silly, or low budget, but what the heck. To me its getting better with age. Also, living in Ireland, it looks like an audition for one of our top soaps. Many characters in this film now appear in Fair City, or at least have appeared in Fair City. Barry, the ex-principle in Fair City, has hair in this film. Also, Brosnan's clothes are cool here and could be easily worn in a movie made today and still be stylish!

Try to look out for the parts, where it seems Brosnan's voice has been dubbed by someone else...and just one scene of bad acting...'well maybe you should go then'.

If you get a chance, try to see it and don't take it too seriously...enjoy!