Contraband: "You Think You're The Only Guy With A Gun"

Director: Baltasar Kormakur
Writer:    Aaron Guzikowski
Starring: Mark Wahlberg 

               Kate Beckinsale  
               Ben Foster
               Giovanni Ribisi
               Caleb Landry Jones   
               Lukas Haas
               Robert Wahlberg
Rating:    ***

Release Date: 16/03/12

Contraband, a film that gets its plot twists in a twist, and confuses the audience. Not even the star power of Mark Wahlberg could help it from its own mess.

Contraband, a film that gets its plot twists in a twist, and confuses the audience. Not even the star power of Mark Wahlberg could help it from its own mess. Chris Farraday (Wahlberg) was one of the world’s best smugglers, they called him Houdini, and he was considered the best. Then one day, he married the gorgeous Kate (Beckinsale) and soon after started a family with her. He owns his own business and lives just outside of New Orleans, basically he has sorted himself out and is trying to stay crime free and stick to the straight and narrow. Of course things don't go to plan, and he has to help his wife's little brother Andy (Jones) who has run into some trouble. Whilst he was making a smuggling run, he was forced to dump a few hundred thousand dollars' worth of drugs that was meant to go to the sketchy-looking Tim Briggs (Ribisi).

Andy is in a whole load of trouble, and if he can't find a way out of this mess soon, he is in for a whole world of pain. Now Chris has to get back into the game and pray for dear life that he can get the counterfeit money back into the country without it being discovered, and also preferably before Briggs gets his hands on Kate. Fortunately, Sebastian (Foster) has the right connections and Chris has the skills necessary to pay the bills.

The cast is probably the one redeeming factor in this film. Mark Wahlberg is still able to hold up as a leading man in action movies, even if he is getting on just a smidge. He is charming, suave and tough, but not muscle head tough, he doesn't come across as aggressive and dim. He isn't really required to do a lot of hardcore acting or emoting, but any scene that does involve some sort of performance he is capable of pulling off. His comedic timing is pretty much perfect, and luckily the script does show that off.

Giovanni Ribisi is perfect at the bad guy role; he is helped largely by the wondrous things he can do with his voice. Whether it's his drugged-out Moburg in The Rum Diary, or his unique Southern gravelly voice in this movie, he's proving to have an incredible range in his vocal performances. Thanks to his distinctive looks, hair cut (mutton chops) and clever voice work, he is truly a memorable movie villain. The other bunch of characters are good, but nothing about them or the actors playing them stands out.

The biggest problem with Contraband is that it drags on for far too long. That has become a very common issue in today's cinema, but in this film it is because they try to give every character a good side and many dimensions, but they go about it all the wrong way. For some, the good comes across more than the bad; for others, the bad outweighs the good. In the end, we are left with villainous villains, but it has to work very hard to force the other villains into serious bad guy territory, and that affects the film by adding an uninteresting and unnecessary scene onto the end. This is the point when the film gets confusing and complicated, and basically the ending really lets the film down.

The director does have some good ideas, he moves the camera in creative ways and films from interesting angles, and unfortunately it does get lost due to the way it is all brought together. It's one of those films that obscures fight scenes for shaky hand held camera work and modern editing. When you have a physically gifted star, you shouldn't have to shoot around him as much as this movie does. The film is actually most effecting when Farraday and co. have to sneak around the crowded bowels of the cargo ship under the nose of Captain Camp (Simmons).

All in all, Contraband isn't appalling, but also it's not smart by any stretch of the imagination. The smuggling techniques are very clever, Mark Wahlberg is charming and capable, and the action is enjoyable enough, though there is nothing new or special about it. The film is definitely nothing new, but it's fun.

Contraband - Trailer