Rating: 
Summary: What a bomb!
Review: I can see why there are (so many) used copies of this for sale. This movie is so bad we took it out of our player after 40 minutes and threw it in the trash can. The characters are poorly developed, and flash backs don't add, just divert the viewer's attention. And Curtis should stick to comedy and horror - she can't act in a dramatic role to save her life.
Rating: 
Summary: James Bond for Latin Americans or what ...
Review: I saw this DVD last night and really enjoyed it, in spite of the fact that Pierce Brosnan plays one of the main characters in the movie. You see as far as I'm concerned the only James Bond ever has to be Sean Connery, forget Moore and Brosnan ..... The movie is a neat little anti-Bond story in that Brosnan arrives in Panama, shortly after Noriega and before the canal was turned over. Brosnan, as a member of the Brit secret service need to make contact with a Brit ex-patriate to help him move around the city and get enough truth into his scam to rip off both the Brit and the US goverment for milions in bribes. The scam is to convince everyone that there is a 'silent opposition' that is left wing leaning and ready to overthrow the government of Panama and turn the canal over to the Chinese..... The movie is great, BUT, unless you have been in Panama city or enjoy the Latin environment this movie will probably bore you to death so don't buy it ... OK
Rating: 
Summary: Clever parody... view this as a satire
Review: This film is a clever misrepresentation of all that James Bond stands for. If you expect this to be a serious spy thriller, you will be disappointed. Instead think of this as an exploitation of all of James Bonds weaker traits, in an attempt to rip-off the American and British governments.
Rating:
Summary: Suprisingly alright
Review: Some people apparently detest this film. I'm not sure what they were hoping to get out of it, but I thought it was charming. Geoffery Rush is really remarkable as the wacky tailor. Brosnan plays the kind of role he always plays, but he knows how to do it. He fit in well, and his scene where he berates Rush is well-acted. The sense of decay, both of the country and in characters' amoral cynicism is well-presented. One reviewer likened it to Graham Greene's work, which is a good point. All in all, this is a charming and mellow movie with an interesting premise. It's not formulaic --which is a plus-- and the black humor and little jokes appeal to me. Some stretches of the imagination are necessary --it's almost better to know nothing about Panamanian politics-- but it's a movie worthy to be watched on a mellow night.
Rating:
Summary: A wickedly sly rich brew of a film
Review: I could see why the film wouldn't appeal to everyone since it is as the Director/ Producer John Boorman described a rather "rich brew". It is at once and in turn is a spy thriller, a black comedy, realistic, fantastical, languid, frenetic, a tragedy and a farce. It's a difficult mixture to balance. Evidently for some it didn't work, but for me it did in spades. Geoffrey Rush is very fine indeed as the Harry Pendel the Tailor who's a dreamer that likes to tailor the truth to make life more beautiful as well as easier. He's at once a good man and a weak man, a poet and a buffoon, and even as his lies are fueled by greed, fear and a need to feel important, they are also fueled by friendship and the overwhelming desire to spin a good yarn and to please (even those he doesn't like). The character is also the vortex for all those above mentioned competing strands. It's a marvelously textured performance. If Harry is the vortex then Brosnan's Osnard is the catalyst, and what a magnificent one he is. He is as advertised a complete and total cad! A machiavellian rotter without conscience or shame (and language to make a sailor blush). He's also a heat seeking missile for information, money and sex... and not necessarily in that order. One reviewer described him as a cobra. It's a perfect description. He's seemingly languid, and it's not just the effortless charm, the devil may care grins but the relaxed body posture, the loose and ill-fitting clothes, the way he flops himself onto couches, hammocks, beds etc. Yet he emanates danger: see how he's always watching, sizing up people for soft spots and weaknesses, always probing for something that will benefit him whether it be information, money or sex (and as I said not always in that order); see the flashes of contempt that wash over his face, his lack of human compassion, and the palpable nastiness when he's about to be thwarted. He is at once repellent and oh so attractive. Bad has never been so beautiful or so appealing. His pursuit and conquest of the embassy aide Francesca (the cooly delicious Catherine McCormack) is of the heat seeking missile variety, emphasis on the heat... it's determined and confident (watch his sublime incredulous reaction when he says "Is that a No?"... as if a no is out of the realm of possibility) while being seemingly effortless, seductive but raw... all sex no romance. She proclaims him the wickedest man she's ever met, and he rightly replies "isn't that the attraction". Osnard doesn't just confine his seductions to Fran, in his own way he's seducing Harry. The pinnacle of which is the uproarious gay dance club scene which really has to be seen to be believed or appreciated. It alone is worth the price of admission. Brosnan manages to be outrageously playful, mock-seductive, and menacing all in the blink of an eye. And Rush's flustered reactions just feed him. I can't even begin to do justice to the meeting with Harry in the brothel as Osnard pumps Harry for info, watches porn, and bounces on the bed after inserting coins for the magic fingers! (oh, small trivia, these scenes were shot in an actual brothel with actual prostitutes. A cousin of someone who worked on the film owned it.) They really work marvelously together. It's one of the great screen relationships in recent (and not so recent) memory. Those going in expecting the romantic or smooth moves of Bond or Thomas Crown will be severely dissapointed. But those open and eager to see Brosnan immersed in playing "the devil" (as Marta calls him) will be delighted. It's evident that Brosnan is having a grand time playing the role and he's a joy to watch in it. Some have described Brosnan's performance as a parody of Bond, but that's doing it an injustice. Osnard isn't just a riff on Bond, he's a unique and distinct creation that Brosnan fully inhabits without ever winking at the audience. He may use audience expectations of his usual good guy roles but that's only to make Osnard's edge sharper and more shocking and not to blunt it's edge. If it seems I've discussed character more than plot and that's because I think the two main characters are the film's strongest point. The others including Louisa (Jamie Lee Curtis), Francesca (McCormack), Marta (Lenor Varela), Mickie (Brenden Gleason) while interesting exist more to show the facets of the main characters, or as additional threads in a complex web, more than as fully realized stand alone characters. But all of their acting is top-notch as well. It's difficult to discuss the plot without revealing too many plots points, but the plot itself is a rather complex and twisty one where seemingly minor events and characters, farcical and dramatic begin to feed together until the film builds up quite a head of steam. The denouement worked for me even if it did leave quite a few threads dangling and was rather abrupt. There just seemed to be a transition scene missing near the end. Boorman re-shot the ending at a late date and that may be the problem, but I think he was right to do so because the original ending just didn't fit the characters as they played/evolved in the film. The revised ending is more appropriate to the playful dark cynicism of the film. Lastly, if it's an action or straight comedy film you're looking for this isn't it. If it's a richly textured character driven film with dark undertones, and dialogue redolent with a sharp biting wit that rarely is heard in film today, beautifully measured performances, quirky direction, with lush and interesting cinematography showing Panama from inside the actual Presidential Palace to it's brothels to it's canal, then it's a movie you just might enjoy as much as I did.
Rating:
Summary: Embarassing!
Review: Mind-numbing bore that hardly ever raises its energy level above that of a dull thud. A-list actors like Jamie Lee Curtis, Pierce Brosnan and Catherine McCormack give inexplicable performances in this supposedly political thriller about a crooked intelligence agent (Brosnan) assigned to Panama who uses the political vulnerability of the Panama Canal for his own personal gain. Geoffrey Rush is the innocent tailor whom he befriends and recruits for high-profile contacts, and Curtis is Rush's wife who basically does nothing much more than flash her breasts for two hours. Don't ask me what McCormack's role is all about because I never quite figured it out. Both the plot and Brosnan's character ride one monotoned wavelength for the entire film, and then it's over before you've even felt it begin. What the film tries to convince you are plot twists and turns are really just incidents that hardly conceal a nothing plot. Rush is the real victim here, as he is a very inconsistent actor who this time gives a great performance but in a really bad film.
Rating:
Summary: Terrible
Review: Based on a novel by John Le Carre of the same name, The Tailor of Panama is an absolute failure. The story is certainly promising: there is something nostalgic about lies, deceptions, crooks, cons, spies, and, of course, tailors. Geoffrey Rush gives a superb performance. But great acting simply cannot make up for a terrible script. Some of the early dialogue is nice and certain scenes are very well done. However, the movie lacks any substance. It makes vague allusions to problems in Panama without giving a single example. Nor does it really become dreamy and imaginative like The Kiss of the Spider Woman. I hope someone remakes a movie with the same general story, but with a different script. This is just terrible.
Rating: 
Summary: 2 stars for what I was able to stay awake through........
Review: Ok, this isnt fair. Roger Ebert and that other dude loved this so naturally I gave it a try. Jeez people, do NOT try to watch this if you are the least bit tired. I was lost after the first 10 minutes. I feel that I am a fairly intelligent person too so I just don't get it. All I have to say people is at least rent this sucker before you buy it. I was 2 steps from buying it and I would've been crushed if I had. So so so so hard to follow and keep up with!
Rating: 
Summary: THE TAILOR OF PANAMA
Review: This Film is more likely to appeal to curious Le Carre and James Bond afficienadoes rather than the casual Cinema goer. For a start Pierce Brosnan plays very much against type, anyone expecting James Bond is in for a shock (Brosnan swears and is very lewd)but for the actor and the Director(Boorman)this is a treat.However the film is totally true to Le Carre's book,if anything Brosnan is more acceptable than the character in the book.Geoffrey Rush is good as Harry Pendal,the tailor of the title,who is also an ex-con and Osnard's informant.The story hinges on Pendal's fabrication of Intelligence for Osnard,and equally Osnard's willingness to accept it-despite the lack of corroboration.Both characters are equally immoral.However the real scene stealer in this film is Brendan Gleeson whose character is the burnt-out former anti-Noriega rebel.I enjoyed the film,though I am a Le Carre and Brosnan/Bond fan,and also played the DVD version with Director's Commentary.If you are not a Le Carre/Bond fan I would suggest instead Brosnan in 'The Thomas Crown Affair' instead with Rene Russo and Dennis O'Leary.
Rating:
Summary: Complete letdown
Review: I expected a film of at least some dramatic content with Geoffrey Rush alongside Brosnan, but sadly no. This film is awful. The screenplay is atrocious, the directing weak and the character played by Brosnan utterly appalling. My advice, don't waste your cash.
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