2freensel I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Nicolas Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Brandon Abel "Matador" is one of the most interesting and unique of Almodovar 's films, which is saying a lot considering this is Pedro we are talking about! The majority of the characters engage in untoward sexual behavior. Death is an obsession and killing is an aphrodisiac even if it means the end of your own life. The characters are deeply flawed but their horrendous actions are treated as being almost commonplace. I was conflicted while watching the film, because the main characters are monsters, but the actors make the characters so real that one understands what drives their evil tendencies. It is interesting how Angel appears to be the only character who feels any remorse for his attempted rape. Maria and Diego appear completely self serving without any guilt. Even Eva is willing to not tell the police on Diego if he will stay with her. These characters are monsters. But they are complex and wholly intriguing. We may not encounter these types of people, but we know they are out there, which keeps us wanting to know what they will do and how they can live with themselves after they have murdered, attempted rape, or are willing to ignore disgusting crimes for love.Although not as vibrant in color as Almodovar's more recent films, "Matador" still makes use of his love of red. In one particular scene, Eva runs down the stairs in pursuit of Maria, which creates a gorgeous image and is what we expect from Pedro. His camp sensibility is also apparent in the film as he mixes surprising comedy with drama. One example is when the detective says what have you done and Angel's psychologist, Julia, says straight faced, "I curled it" while pointing at her hair. Hilarious!Almodovar created a film that would have never been allowed under Franco's rule. You will be sitting there shocked but fully engrossed in this bizarre story.

lastliberal I am not sure what to expect when the opening scene is a man masturbating to torture porn, a term that was probably not even invented in 1988.From there we go to alternating clips of Antonio Banderas asking the ex-bullfighter Nacho Martínez about women and he compares getting a woman to bullfighting, while we watch someone do exactly that. We are no, of course, prepared for the necrophilia twist in that encounter.We find our boy, Antonio, and he is a boy in this film, in a strict Catholic household. I would have to guess that his mother was Opus Dei. He attempts to rape his neighbor and confesses to four murders which we know he did not do. This is just Almodóvar's take on religion and repression. He revisits that subjects again in the film, so it must me a theme for him.But, then the story shifts to Nacho and Assumpta Serna, with Eva Cobo in a minor role. This is where the story gets interesting with the police trying to solve the four murders and the real murderers trying to lay it on Antonio.It gets bizarre at the end with Antonio seeing the killers in his mind and leading the police to them. But, they arrive too late as the climax of sex and death occurs simultaneous with an eclipse. How weird is that?

solarstone2002 I absolutely agree with the comment above. This movie is degrading. I also loved Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and saw this film and god I wish I wouldn't because I felt traumatized. Such a lack of sensibility. It's very violent. I cant understand how a human being with feelings can watch this. It should be advised for everybody before watching it. This film is trash. You wont even get a good story if you forget about the explicit and extreme violence shown. You feel dirty after having watched this film. I don't understand why Pedro Almodovar did this. What's the sense? Scandalize? I mean, I don't understand, we all scandalize and make a public protest because we watch too much violence on TV (just wrestling programmes where people hit themselves hard) and we are so cynical that find normal to show brutal decapitations, massive murders on screen? Whatever.

KGB-Greece-Patras This 5th feature of Almodovar is one of his best (along with Labyrinth of passion & Kika) as far as I am concerned, and if not his best then for sure his most provocative flms. As usual, Almodovar explores some of the darkest sides of human sexuality, and deals with perversity as dealing with any every-day life subject. For once more, the notorious film-maker, at great shape, entertains with his trademark raving, hilarious, politically incorrect dialogs, pace and style and while dealing with dark (necrophilia) or serious (religious oppression) subject matters, it manages to be very funny and entertaining. What's great with Almodovar is that you simply CANNOT label his films. Is it comedy? nope. Is a thriller? nope. Is it a crime film? nope. This is Almodovar, so all pretenders go see another million dollar US product . But to all the admirers of unique and original films, this is definitely recommended, if you can tolerate with some weird humour, a bit sexy visuals and nudity and some violence. Matador is ART!