Taffin

'Taffin' wastes no time. The film quickly kicks into gear introducing the roguish and playful title character as he busts heads and shows he's a very "off the books" type of debt collector. He just as quickly becomes involved with Charlotte, the film's compulsory love interest, and with the main plot. The plot is a little conventional and predictable, as are its characters, and still at the core this is a fair bit of fun. At the same time, there are important, classic themes at hand about corruption, greed, corporate malfeasance, environmentalism - and how ordinary people can get involved to make a difference, in ways legal or otherwise. Even as greater violence begins to erupt, the feature never becomes so self-indulgent as to lose its cheeky edge. Pithy, sometimes ham-handed one-liners and cartoonish, mostly delightful characters define the feature. The music of Hans Zimmer and Stanley Myers alternately plays with jaunty Irish chords and instrumentation, and more dramatic notes evoking conspiracy and mystery. The narrative is very direct and straightforward, giving the cast just enough room for some minor exploration of their characters. That goes most of all for Pierce Brosnan as Mark Taffin, a portrayal echoing the experienced if amateurish wit of Brosnan as Remington Steele crossed with the forcefulness and charm of Brosnan's James Bond - though with all qualities considerably less refined. Alison Doody is unfortunately not given much to do as supporting character Charlotte, but it's still a joy to see her here, injecting more personality into Taffin's girlfriend than the writing allows her to explore. There's really not much to be said, for better or for worse. The film is sufficiently well made to cover for the fact that the plot is thin and familiar, and it's entertaining if not particularly fulfilling. 'Taffin' is reasonably worthwhile, particularly recommended if you're looking for a feature that doesn't require active attention or consideration.

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!

I am, frankly, puzzled by this film. On paper, it must have sounded fine, but if there is anything good about the film, it ended on paper. Even with several well-seasoned actors, and a rather nice location, the film fails in every possible way. The acting is wooden, the interior sets look as though they were borrowed from high school plays, the dialogue is somewhere between inane and pathetic. The film has no flow, no tempo, and barely a narrative. It also has no humor, no horror, no excitement, no suspense. I hope that's not a spoiler... The motivation of the main characters seems flimsy, at best, and though a film, it seems very much as though it were a play, because of the modest number of people who actually do anything or have any lines to say. All of the "bad guys" speak as though they had studied every gangster B-film ever made. I can't imagine that *anyone* ever gave this film anything but the lowest possible score but some people must have liked it. Hard to imagine.

It was interesting to see the title character played by Pierce Brosnan change as he goes from debt collector to social activist, fighting against pollution affecting a small town and really becoming involved as he discovers the truth about what's been going on. The first part of the film shows him showing up at the homes of various people in debt and showing that he can't be bullied. That means that he's not going to allow himself to be beaten by the corporations out to do their worst in a beautiful Irish Countryside community. One of the best scenes has him trying to reason with one of the residents who has been affected by the goings-on and greeted with constant gunfire by the cynical man. In the process, his relationship with Alison Doody ("Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade") is affected, and he must work hard to get her back when she goes to work as an exotic dancer. Brosnan had not yet hit stardom when he made this film, and that makes it understandable why this film is not more well-known. The film gets very violent and has some gratuitous nudity and sexual innuendo, especially with Doody's character who is nearly naked in her big dance scene as men involved in the slimy corporate dealing ogle her. It serves no real purpose other than to imply what pigs these types are, and while I felt sorry for Doody being subjected to such unnecessary nonsense, it didn't affect my feelings towards her performance which was better than I expected. The film is like many other films of the late '80s and early '90s that came and went without much notice, quickly forgotten outside of dusty home videos, but it certainly ended up being a better viewing experience than I thought. The good definitely outweighed the idiotic in this case.

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.

It's been 20 years since I first saw TAFFIN. I re-watched it recently and enjoyed it tremendously. The film features a solid story which revolves around an important social theme. Typically British and I guess that's what makes the it interesting even today - a good balance between the action and the story. Of course aesthetically it's very much a retro piece. There's no fast editing, sudden close-ups and CGI and that's why it has so much charm. It allows you to concentrate on the story and the characters. TAFFIN was one of Brosnan's first leading roles in a feature film. He's got a good presence and fares well along the late great Ray McAnally. Contrary to the literary source, Brosnan's Taffin is a bit of a Byronesque character but it only serves the story. The cast also features Alison Doody in her first substantial role. She is well cast as an obvious love interest for Taffin but also a strong woman who in the end turns out his only ally. A perfect film for a lazy Sunday afternoon. Preferrably for Pierce Brosnan fans but also if you're interested in stories set in Ireland.

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.

OK take my review with a grain of salt because I missed whatever happened before the "town" asked Taffin (Pierce, man thats a cool name I wish I named my Son that (Pierce that is), lol) to take on the bad guys who rammed a chemical plant onto a very nice Irish (?) town. As far as the part that I saw (which was basically the whole film because I knew where it was going), I really really enjoyed it. As a matter of fact if I could re-watch Taffin vs any of Pierce's Bond flicks, I'd take Taffin any day. I am always entertained more by English films (or in this case Irish), than I am by most American films, they just seem more unpredictable because I don't know what to expect. Taffin has Pierce looking really cool (and he still is semi young so more believable as a killer to me), plus the eye candy is not too shabby in this one with some nice topless views that you wont get in a Bond film. Is it full of plot holes? Yeah big time, but Pierce kicks some ass his way and does it in a funny way. Its an American 60's crime flick thats light on the moral dialog, its just the bad corporation and the little townsfolk hiring their gunslinger to protect them. Pierce does it in a very sly way and doesn't resort to the kill until he has to. I see a LOT of 1 votes on this film, they must hate English speaking foreign films (or they're psycho Lazenby Bond lovers out to besmirch all of Pierce's films, lol). Me, I liked the films Pierce did around this time, like Livewire and the Deceivers. I think I've liked most flicks Pierce has been in that I saw (one of those Bond flicks with a bad-guy taking over the internet or something was lame but any Bond flick is good or bad based on the bad guy not the Bond), and Taffin had me smiling, it was cool entertainment. Will I be buying the DVD, probably not (although I wonder what it's going for used on Amazon? hmmm, wow its only 75 cents thats cheap! I may get it now, the Arab channel I watched it on had the nudity but bleeped out the profanity, go figure, lol). Looking for a cool, mindless, Irish (!), action flick? Check out Taffin, I'm glad I did!

You have seen it before in The Specialist or in films like On Deadly Ground or The Fire Below. Tough guy goes against the evil corporate empire that is out for profit and the people be damned. Of course, Steven Seagal or Sly Stallone may be quicker to jump into it that was Pierce Brosnan. He was battling his own personal demons, and just wanted to live a quiet life in the village of his birth; well, as quiet a life that can be lived by a bill collector. You know, make a little money, drink a little whiskey, and once in a while a pretty girl comes along like Alison Doody (Dr. Elsa Schneider in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). But, this is Pierce Brosnan and he is infinitely more watchable that the others.

Trailer—Taffin