The Evolution Of Antonio Banderas

A screen history of Spanish machismo...

By Matt MaytumAug 25th 2011
2

Matador (1986)

Banderas plugged away on several Spanish Civil War flicks over the next few years, before reuniting with Almodóvar for Matador. The actor stepped up to the lead role here, as bullfighter Ángel.

Determined to prove his masculinity to a friend, he bungles an attempt to force himself upon a woman, and accidentally takes the rap for several murders when confessing the attempted rape to the cops.

Spanish Machismo? On the surface yes (he's training to be a bullfighter), but underneath it's a different story.

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    • Hadouken76

      Aug 25th 2011, 10:42

      AT the risk of recieving a sound mauling, I actually liked the 13th Warrior. I mean it was a lot more fun to watch than the over-rated, sleep-inducing Valhalla 'FFS SOMETHING HAPPEN' Rising.

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    • ChrisWootton

      Aug 25th 2011, 13:31

      I'm with you Hadouken.. I thought it was pretty good, loved the attack in the caves. It's only the ending which lets it down slightly. Is Valhalla rising that boring? I was interested in seeing it but something is holding me back

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    • MorganRoss

      Aug 25th 2011, 16:00

      CW: Valhalla Rising was a film constantly building up to something that never happens, it always looks as though Mads Mikkelsen's bad a*s (he is pretty cool in it) is going to kick off at any moment but he only does it once and that's shown in the red band trailer; it's a complete dissapointment! Anyway, back on point; I too liked 13th Warrior. It's a guilty pleasure movie, as with most Banderas movies, and as it was based on Crichton's book had solid source material; the ending was a bit c**p though. I think Antonio Banderas has had a really good career, he's managed to vary it with bad assery, drama and comedy. I think he's managed to do what Leo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt have done; proving that, although he's a pretty boy, he can act!

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    • ChrisWootton

      Aug 25th 2011, 16:48

      Thanks dude.. I had a feeling that Valhalla was going to be like that.. pity, I doubt I'll bother with it now unless it's on Film4 or something.. appreciate the feedback

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    • Hadouken76

      Aug 25th 2011, 18:47

      Yeah ChrisWotton, like MorganRoss said Valhalla Rising looks mighty in the trailer but its 2 hours of glum looking nords whispering to themselves... in short, makes Terrence Malick look like Micheal Bay..

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    • ChrisWootton

      Aug 26th 2011, 9:19

      Ha, excellent , definitely won't bother it now. Cheers guys

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    • MisterAmj

      Aug 26th 2011, 18:08

      I'll probably get panned for saying this, but I absolutely loved Once Upon a Time in Mexico. A real guilty pleasure and although it was ridiculously preposterous and had a paper thin plot, all three leads (Depp, Banderas and Hayek) are just so watchable you just don't mind. Watched a bit of the 13th Warrior and didn't see enough to say whether it was good or bad, but might actually give it a go based on the comments above.

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    • Porkchopexpress

      Aug 27th 2011, 15:24

      I'm jumping on the '13th Warrior' bandwagon, it's a total guilty pleasure, I mean come on who doesn't like Vikings? It's such a mix up of wacky accents, there are Irish Vikings, Scottish Vikings,, even a cheeky chappy Viking! And the fights are satisfying, I'm a sucker for anything with Vikings in though, 'Outlander' and 'Pathfinder'. It comes from a misspent youth watching Tony Curtis, Kirk Douglas, Tim Robbins and Vicky the Viking! "Odin change the wind and turn the tide!"

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