Contraband

Another one of Mark Wahlbergs action films. Which is probably one of his better ones. The plot is interesting and has not been done 1000 times and the acting is good from the whole cast. This is actually one of the better action movies I have seen lately. The story line is very simple and straight forward but if your a fan of action movies this is right up your alley.

This movie is about an ex smuggler(Wahlberg) who has a brother in law that got mixed up with some drug dealers. In order to save his brother in laws life he must go to panama and smuggle back millions of dollars in counterfeit bills.

This movie is definitely worth a watch or two. It is very simple but the entertainment factor is there.

Directing 6/10- Some unique and intriguing shots, but nothing too rememberable Acting 8.5/10- The acting is the category that without a doubt, stole the show. Solid efforts from the entire cast but the film really benefited from tremendous performances from Ribisi and Landry Jones. Screenplay 4/10- The screenplay is fun no doubt and benefits from decent pacing and a few intense action sequences but the film lacks originality, stealing concepts and at times, lines. Visual effects 5/10- The visual effects were average. I can't completely fault a film for not using unnecessary visuals. Sound effects/Music 5/10- The sound effects were fine, nothing misplaced there. The music was again just OK, sometimes the music was great and mixed well with the action going on but in some the haunting/emotional scenes the music didn't make the scene 'better', which is what it should do. Overall, the film is just another forgettable action film. The film has decent enough story (though cliché), with great acting and some fun action sequences that make the film at least worth a viewing.

If you like movies where every principal character is a bad guy, then this movie will definitely be for you. Plausibility is thrown to the wind as the creators of this movie have a field day showing what happens when bad guys are in conflict with even badder guys. The problem with the story is that the "good" guy is really a bad guy who is trying to pass himself off as a good guy, which is so phony that even the other characters in the story don't believe it, and if they don't believe it, then don't expect the audience to believe it either. Mark Wahlberg is a wonderful actor and he proves it again in this movie. But he can't overcome his character's incomprehensible behavior. It's one thing for one brother to want to help out another brother - that is altruistic. However, it's something else entirely when the same brother does exactly the same thing that got the other brother into trouble. Nevertheless, there is some good acting and Kate Beckinsdale is as usual beautiful and probably played the most believable role.

Contraband starts like "Gone in 60 Seconds", but instead of boosting cars it's about smuggling contraband, and like GI6S it's because of an idiot younger brothers and familial responsibilities that brings an ex-criminal/smuggler out of retirement for that one last job. Chris our smuggler protagonist is deemed the Houdini of smuggling but in reality, he's a general super bad-ass who can talk fast, kick ass and smuggle at superhero levels. We are then treated to the Mark Wahlberg show where it's hard to imagine anything adverse happening to him and we just go along with the ride.

The movie is at its best after it sheds its GI6S intro and moves to the nitty gritty details of smuggling. The movie feels at home at sea where everything is calculated and ordered, but while on land, the movie is always bizarre, violent and out of control. This lends for some really angular storytelling that keeps the movie exciting and interesting.

It's great to see Kate Beckinsdale in the movies again though she plays the wife whose main role is to look great and be in distress, a far cry from her iconic Underworld Selene or from her last movie Whiteout.

On the whole it's a good action movie and if you liked Mark Wahlberg's previous movies like the Italian Job and Shooter, you will also like this.

Contraband is a paint by numbers action/thriller. It would be easy to pick on everything that this movie wasn't, but can you blame chicken nuggets for being chicken nuggets? With a rookie screenwriter at the helm, the script suffers from a mash-up of cliché's. They start with "One last heist" and end with "If you want to save your family you'll do as you're told". There were many déjà-vu moments of been there and done that.

The star power was strong, but given so very little to work with in the way of character back story. All the characters were two dimensional representations of stereotypes. The locations (New Orleans & Panama) were interesting choices but never really quite fit. While the movie wasn't action packed, it moved at a good pace and kept my interest the whole time. The film work was solid as a whole. There was one particular action sequence that takes place around the halfway mark that was done very well.

If you have a craving that only chicken nuggets will satisfy, then I think you will come away fairly happy. Not a necessity to see on the big screen, but that helps it a little. Leave your thinking cap outside, that's the contraband that will keep you from enjoying this as it was intended.