Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg) was a crafty smuggler, but Chris eventually left the “life” behind him. He decided to become a family man, who installs security alarms. He married Kate (Kate Beckinsale), and they have two children together. Chris enjoys his quiet and calm life, but Kate’s brother, Andy (Caleb Landry Jones) changes everything. Andy tries to smuggle drugs for Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi). Briggs is a dangerous gangster, and Andy is supposed to deliver the drugs without any problems. But Andy runs into some trouble (a surprise inspection by US customs) during the drug run. Andy doesn’t want to go to jail, so he decides to dump the drugs in the water. Briggs gives Andy a deadline, and Andy is forced to pay up, because Briggs will kill him, if he doesn’t receive the payment. Chris must do one more job as a smuggler to save Andy, but his wife and his two sons quickly become targets, and Briggs won’t hesitate to pull the trigger, if he doesn’t receive his money on time.
Ugh, I am so tired of the “I have to do one last job” storyline. It’s been done to death, I’ve seen it in so many other Hollywood crime/action thrillers, and the story ALWAYS goes through the same motions: The main character must do one last job to save someone else, something ALWAYS goes wrong during the “job,” the main character is forced back into his illegal and risky lifestyle, the main character must clean up the mess, and eventually, they return to their normal life. I usually despise action/thrillers, that feature this storyline. The entire movie will feel incredibly tiresome, because as I said before, this same type of storyline has been done to death. Well, Contraband does follow this pattern, and the lame swerves in the “I have to do one last job” story didn’t fool me at all, but still, Contraband wasn't a horrible film.
The action scenes are very enjoyable, and the story moves at a nice pace. Wahlberg and Ribisi provided the two most enjoyable performances, and they were very convincing throughout this film. Contraband isn’t anything to remember. I could see the “happy ending” coming from a mile away, and Contraband will land on a long list of forgettable films this year. This isn’t the best Mark Wahlberg film. Hell, it doesn’t deserve a spot in his top ten, but Contraband delivers as the standard Hollywood action thriller. Although, don’t expect anything epic or mind-blowing, because you will be very disappointed.
Final Rating: 5/10
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