Movie Review: Contraband

Mark Wahlberg is becoming a bit of a thriller actor in his own right. He made quite a few over the last few years including: The Fighter, Max Payne, Shooter, The Departed, Four Brothers, and The Itailian Job.

Synopsis

In his latest effort, he plays Chris Farraday, a former smuggler who was "the best in the game" by all accounts. He abandoned this life of crime, to go on the straight and narrow as a family man until his brother-in-law, Andy (Caleb Landry Jones), botches a drug deal for his ruthless boss, Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi), and Chris is forced back into doing what he does best: smuggling contraband to settle Andy's debt.

Chris quickly assembles a crew with the help of his best friend, Sebastian (Ben Foster), for one final run to Panama and back, hoping to return with millions in counterfeit bills. Things quickly fall apart,  and with only hours to reach the cash, Chris must use his rusty skills to successfully navigate a treacherous criminal network of brutal drug lords, cops and hit men before his wife, Kate (Kate Beckinsale), and sons become their target.

Review

This movie is very predictible, and follows the "just one last job and we're out" formula by the book. I thought Giovanni Ribisi played an awesome villian and sells the, "Convince Chris that he needs to do this job to save his wife's little brother and his own family" extremely well.

Wahlberg does an excellent job playing Chris and his facial expressions leave you feeling like he may not be sure he's going to make it through this one. And Beckinsdale plays the part of the concerned sister, frightened mom and worried wife all while being unbelievably gorgeous.

This has all of the "don't worry honey, I know what I'm doing" storyline, and of course, nothing goes according to plan, but that's what kept me a bit on the edge of my seat.

I thought the director, Baltasar Kormakur, really made you feel like you were reading a book that you couldn't put down by bouncing the suspense up and down with great timing. He keeps your mind guessing a bit. Isn't that what makes a great thriller?

As I've said, we've been here before. This is as cookie-cutter as it gets, however, if you liked "The Itailian Job" or "The Score" (with Ed Norton and Robert DeNiro) "Contraband" will not disappoint you.

Overall, I scored “Contraband” a 4 out of 5 stars.