By J.T. Johnson
Director: Baltasar Kormákur
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, Giovanni Ribisi, Caleb Landry Jones, J.K. Simmons
Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures
As far as action films released in January, “Contraband” could have been a lot worse. Unfortunately, it never does anything particularly special with the heist formula that it desperately clings to. The movie has a couple of interesting moments and a good cast for the most part, but ultimately it just bores the audience into a coma.
The story is nothing new. Mark Wahlberg plays Christ Farraday, a former smuggler and thief who has given up his life of crime. Unsurprisingly, this is due to the fact that he has a beautiful wife named Kate (Kate Beckinsale) and two wonderful kids. So, where is the idiot family member that will screw up Chris’ retirement?
That would be Andy (Caleb Landry Jones), Kate’s idiot brother who gets into trouble with drug pusher Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi). The trouble comes after Andy dumps a sizable amount of cocaine when the ship he is on gets boarded. Like several reformed film criminals before him, Chris tries to settle things honestly with Tim, but that would not be much of a movie if Tim accepted and everybody lived happily ever after.
Tim suggests that if Chris cannot settle things before a certain amount of time, Tim will kill Andy and pass along the debt to Chris and his family. Of course, this leaves Chris with no choice but to work with his lifelong friend Sebastian (Ben Foster) and put together another smuggling mission in order to save everybody.
First, the film has some big star power. Wahlberg has proven time after time that he is made for the sensitive tough guy roles in films such as “Four Brothers” and “The Italian Job.” With this film, it is business as usual, but Wahlberg’s appeal is not enough to save this formulaic film.
The true performance of this film comes from Foster as Chris’ best friend Sebastian. Foster is an underrated actor who is often overlooked in films by his more famous costars. Sebastian is a true friend, but is a recovering alcoholic and Foster’s character actually turns out to be the most well developed character featured.
There is only one performance that falls flat and this Ribisi as Tim. The villain is poorly written and there is nothing interesting or threatening about this common idiot. Ribisi should never have taken this roll and no amount of tattoos or slicked black hair will make the character any more chilling.
Earlier, it was mentioned that the film follows the standard heist formula. There is actually nothing wrong with following a formula. “The Italian Job” also followed the standard procedure of a heist movie, but it was a hell of a lot more entertaining.
Beyond the substandard heist plot, there is also a secondary storyline which involves Kate trying to survive several attempts by Tim to keep reminding Chris just what is at stake. With Chris trying to finish his job, Sebastian is the one who remains to try and protect Kate and the kids. This part of the movie is where the film tries to throw in a few twists that the audience can see coming from a mile away.
The movie does have a handful of exciting moments. One of these moments includes a shootout between criminals that knock over an armored truck and the cops that arrive at the scene. What is weird is how out of place this scene is in a film that doesn’t need something ripped out of superior films such as “Heat.”
While there are strong performances and a few strong action moments, “Contraband” is not a strong start for 2012.
PROS:
- There are a handful of action sequences even though they also rip off other crime dramas such as “Heat.”
- Even though most of them are wasted, there is a healthy amount of star power found in the movie including Ben Foster.
CONS:
- Giovanni Ribisi is the weakest part of the film playing the two-dimensional villain.
- There is nothing new or excited added to the heist formula.
- This movie is so boring, there should be a warning that the movie will put some audience members into a coma.
GRADE: D
