The Contract

This film is about the chase between cops, assassin's associates, assassin and an ex-cop.

The plot is very simple. Run, run and run. Apart from the constant displacement, there is really not much more to the film. As a result, there is no room to develop the characters. The dialog is weak. The only line that had some depth was when Chris exclaimed that he never thought his father listened to him.

The suspense looks too artificial. Why must they climb down the cliff in pouring rain? Is there really no alternative route? The editing was not tight enough to allow the suspense to sustain. Female nudity is put into the film in such a way that seems totally out of place and unnecessary.

In the end, Morgan Freeman's and John Cusack's characters developed respect and sympathy for each other. This could have been portrayed in more detail.

The only redeeming feature is the beautiful scenery. The valleys and waterfalls are breathtaking.

John Cusack must deal with hired killer Morgan Freeman in order to keep his son safe.

Take a great cast that clearly took the roles since they are atypical then undercut them with an unremarkable script and unimaginative direction and you have this forgettable snoozer. Bruce Beresford directed this? Did he show up? Outside of the cast there is no reason to see this film. If you must see this wait for cable, its not even worth a rental.

Not horrible, but you'll forget you saw it-I saw it early today and completely forgot I had watched it until I stumbled on a note to myself about it.

The widower teacher and baseball and basketball coach Ray Keene (John Cusack) lost his wife that died of cancer two years ago. When his teenage son Chris Keene (Jamie Anderson) is caught by the police smoking pot, Ray invites him to hike and camp in the woods to increase their bonds. Meanwhile, the mercenary assassin Frank Cordell (Morgan Freeman) is arrested by FBI after a car accident in the middle of a contract to kill an important target. While Frank is traveling on the road escorted by three FBI agents, his men try to rescue him, but his car falls into a river and is carried by the drift. Ray helps the wounded agent and the cuffed Frank to leave the river, and feels responsible to deliver Frank to justice. The former policeman and stubborn Ray does not listen to Frank's proposal to leave him alone and travel through the woods with Chris, trying to find a safe place. But the men of the Frank and an undercover agent in the team are chasing the group with different lethal intentions.

"The Contract" is a shallow and flawed thriller that has the intention of being dramatic and serious, but actually is laughable. The silly plot is full of coincidences and stupid actions taken by most of the characters. For example, in the beginning, the FBI agent leaves the car to help the truck driver on the road; the attitude of the crew of the helicopter is simply ridiculous when they land, specially the pilot; the way a suburban coach defeats trained mercenaries is shameful; and the coincidences when the bad guys shoot and miss the target are awful; the hiker Sandra loses her boyfriend and never grieves; and the corny romance of Sandra and Ray, and the incredible sentimental attitude of Frank Cordell in the end make this film a great deception. The motives why the reclusive billionaire apparently could not criticize the stem cell research program in a democratic and free country are never clarified, only tagged as "an obstacle to the progress". Is this a reason to kill and important man? My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "O Contrato" ("The Contract")

This is proof that an otherwise good movie can be hampered by not enough script re-writes (or maybe too many?). The dialogue is laughable and laudable.

The writer's style is such that the lines are delivered in a very staccato style: A quips to B, B responds with quip to A. There are no real "conversations" in the movie, and it makes it had to develop any of the back-story of the characters. "Quips" about someone's past are usually quickly dismissed into the script, never to be seen again.

Some of the movie made me laugh, it was so poorly written. In a scene where a death occurs, there was no emotional outburst from their family member. It was crazy, and felt very rushed, like the director or writer was trying to push us forward quickly to the next scene, without slowing the camera down and exploring the actor's emotions.

Badly written. C-

Sure it is not a great movie but it is much better than the reviews on here would have you believe. It was an enjoyable hour and a half of entertainment.