Release Date: 01/13/2012
Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg) is a legendary smuggler who has gone straight. He has a wife Kate (Kate Beckinsale) and two sons and even owns and runs his own legit business installing private security systems. A little ironic, sure. But honestly, who would know more about security than him? Chris is drawn back into the life when his nit-wit brother-in-law Andy (Caleb Jones) botches a job smuggling dope for small-time hood, Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi). Now, in order to settle Andy’s debt, Chris agrees to do one last job doing what he does best — running contraband.
Chris illicits help from his best friend Sebastian (Ben Foster), who hatches a plan to purchase $15 million in counterfeit bills and smuggle them out of Panama and settle the score. Sebastian pulls some strings to get Chris aboard a cargo ship bound for Panama, complete with a “who’s who” list of crew members Chris used to work with. Plot twists and betrayals assure that almost nothing goes as planned. The vessel docks in Panama, while Chris, Andy and Danny (Lukas Haas) race a ticking clock in order to retrieve the “funny money” and get back on the ship before it leaves port. But getting the money proves more difficult than anyone planned. Wow, really? Didn’t see that coming. Gonzalo (Diego Luna), a Panamanian ganglord, forces the guys to assist him in taking down an armored car. First of all, there is no way this could have all happened in time for Chris, Andy and Danny to get back to the ship in time. And second of all, it just added to rediculousness of the story. But again, it was kind of fun to watch. To be honest, the smuggling plot didn’t make much sense to me, but it was more entertaining then the dreary back-at-home story where Kate is repetitively threatened by Briggs.
Contraband is based on the Icelandic move Reykavik-Rotterdam, which starred Baltasar Kormakur in the role Marky-Mark played. Kormakur directed the American version so I guess it would only make sense for Mark Wahlberg to direct a remake of Contraband, right? Wrong. The film has plenty of faults already. One of which being the mindless mish-mosh of acting styles. It got to the point where hero and villain finally come face-to-face and the contrast between Wahlberg and Ribisi is comical. One, Wahlberg just isn’t that great of an actor in my opinion. He continually plays the role of stoic badass, which makes me wonder if he can play anything else but. Two, Ribisi’s gives such an over-the-top performance that it would’ve made Nicolas Cage jealous. Seriously, it’s flat-out exhausting to watch. His wheedling high-pitched voice and goofy psychotic grin were laughable. Not to mention that his character barely makes any sense whatsoever. He’s neither a criminal mastermind, nor a gangster. He’s just a run-of-the-mil scumbag. Ben Foster, on the other hand, always seems to impress. Aside from being named Sebastian, Foster was probably the most interesting, and morally complex character in the movie.
Contraband is your token early-January release. The same predictable, but watchable, heist thriller that for some reason, seems like you’ve seen before. Than again, you probably have. “One last job” is one of the most overused plot devices in movies. Contraband has a few moments of genuine tension, but its formulaic story structure is hardly worth trafficking into port. But if you enjoy Mark Wahlberg playing the same character, in the same cookie-cutter action movie, then I guess you could do worse than spend an afternoon watching Contraband.
MovieWiseguys: 6.0/10