Contraband is a heist movie. Well, it's really a smuggling movie, in the form of a heist movie. Our star is Mark Wahlberg, who plays Chris, a guy who used to be top of the smuggling game until he decided to go straight and start a family. But now his brother in law is in trouble with notorious monster Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi), and the only way to settle the debt is to perform one last smuggling job. So with a plan set, Chris sails off to Panama with the intention of smuggling a buttload of counterfeit notes back with him. Meanwhile his wife (Kate Beckinsale) has trouble keeping herself and the kids safe from Briggs' threats.
Of course, as it normally does in these kind of movies, several things go a bit wrong. But the movie always has a pretty cool and calm way of getting through it. Perhaps too cool in some places. Wahlberg kind of coasts along in his role, it's never particularly too stressful because everything gets sorted out within a few minutes. Still, there are several twists and turns, and the storyline with Chris' wife and kids add a bit of uncertainty and danger even when everything is going right with Chris.
The performances are so so. Ribisi pretty much steals the show, Briggs is a massive scumbag and probably the most threatening entity in a movie that has drug lords and SWAT teams. So yeah, it's not a perfect movie, but I enjoyed it. There were enough twists and variety to keep me interested, and it's a nice take on the heist movie.
My rating: 4/5
There’s not a lot to think about while watching it and we’ve seen some of this plot before in other films, but for a movie opening in January, it’s actually pretty damn good thanks to a couple of cool heists and a relatively good cast. Nice review Dan.
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