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...

"Mark Taffin" (Pierce Brosnan) is a debt collector living and making his trade in a small town in Ireland. On one specific occasion he is called upon to collect a debt from one of the pubs and while in the process of collecting becomes acquainted with a beautiful woman working behind the bar named "Charlotte" (Alison Doody). Along with his brother, "Mo Taffin" (Patrick Bergen) and his good friend "Ed" (Gerard McSorley) she soon becomes a trusted and valued member of his inner circle. This becomes increasingly important when Mark is coerced into taking on a greedy corporation and some corrupt politicians who will stop at nothing to accomplish their goal of building a chemical plant in the town. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this film turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Admittedly, it had some scenes which could have used some improvement here and there but overall, it wasn't too bad. I especially liked the film location and having an attractive actress like the aforementioned Alison Doody certainly didn't hurt in any way. That being said, I rate this film as slightly above average.

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 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.

Just finished watching this film and I don't know why everyone seems to dislike it.

This movie came out in 1988, so give it a break. It doesn't advertise itself as a mind-blowing, avant-garde masterpiece. It's a simple action thriller set in Ireland and it certainly satisfies those credentials.

Aside from some typically 80's gratuitous sex/violence moments (of which I have seen far worse from the genre) the film flowed fairly well and kept me entertained throughout.

The characters were fairly believable if you have lived anywhere on the British Isles and the locations are well chosen.

If you want to watch a movie to just kick back and pass some time, then this one will do the trick.