Review of Contraband (2012) by Homereviewer — 04 May 2012

What Wahlberg had going in the 2007 movie Shooter, he has going for him here. You may have a vague and general idea of where the movie might be going but you don't have time to really predict what comes next after most every scene. The story is not complicated, just fast paced and loaded with material, like Shooter, and the twists that punctuate the whole story are unpredictable just as in Shooter. The official movie outline gives you a fair idea of the type of movie it is.

Very good cast. Giovanni Ribisi plays the bad guy very well; I say this because if you despise the character, as you most certainly will, then he's done his job well. He has. Then you have J.K. Simmons, who has never failed to deliver a good performance in any of the numerous movies I've seen him in, still keeping that record intact. He plays Captain Camp, a crusty and tough cargo ship captain who has every reason to suspect the notorious smuggler Chris Faraday, played by Mark Wahlberg; what you don't expect is what he does about it and how Faraday turns the table on him. That was good writing on the part of either Aaron Guzikowski or the writers of the original 2008 Icelandic/German/Dutch production "Reykjavik-Rotterdam"; I can't tell who came up with it.

Ben Foster has in my opinion the most difficult part to play as Sebastian. I don't want to spoil things by saying more other than he delivers a good performance, not unlike a character he has often played. Kate Bekinsale plays the wife of Wahlberg, a recalcitrant victim if ever there was one (perhaps Jennifer Lopez in 2002 "Enough" was a tougher one) and she complements Walberg's role quite well. The actors I mentioned and a few more were all quite busy as this movie has lots of action meat. I don't think you'll be disappointed with the movie, and I recommend it to my friends.