Review of Contraband (2012) by Dawdlingpoet — 28 Nov 2021

This movie is quite gritty and features quirky camerawork, with most scenes featuring fast movements and background noise/music to increase the suspense. The story is somewhat complex, although I suppose you don't need to follow everything to enjoy it in as much as you should be able to get the main idea of whats going on even if the characters individual circumstances get a bit confused.

This movie features some moderate violence and instances of strong language (I did say it was gritty, after all). Most prominent in terms of violence are gun fights and there are car chases but few in the way of large CGI effects. Also worth mentioning is the use of subtitles which feature fairly regularly (given its partly set in Panama), so if your really not keen on reading subtitles then this may be a downside for you but I didn't find them too hard to follow.

There are some good landscape shots of the areas, in Panama and the port etc. The characters are pretty predictable overall, I'd say, with the main character Chris being your typical macho action man type, putting up a steely front as it were.

Its quite a suspenseful movie I'd say, with the ocassional bland scene but for the most part there's something going on to keep you entertained. I noticed that this is quite a dark movie, not only in tone and content but also in terms of the lighting (or lack thereof), with many of the scenes featuring the characters in low light or partially/mainly in the dark.

As an action movie its ok - its pretty gritty with some engaging scenes and features eye candy for both men (Kate Beckinsale) and women (Mark Wahlberg). I found it to be quite claustrophobic and become more sinister towards the end of the movie, as peoples legitimacy is questioned. I wouldn't say this movie breaks any new ground but for what it is, its decent enough. I wouldn't call it a particularly memorable movie but its certainly quite watchable and suspenseful in parts, so I'm giving this a 5 out of 10 rating overall.