Lofty ambitions

THERE have been so many emotionally-charged dramas and over-the-top animations released recently that it seemed the world was screaming out for some action.

Unfortunately, what the world got was this, a painfully obvious ride down an all too familiar street with Mark Wahlberg at the helm.

Contraband has ambitions far beyond its capability and an ending that seems like it was tacked on at the last minute to appease the censors.

In essence, this movie is about a man attempting to steer clear of a world he worked hard to leave behind and the family he’ll do anything to look after.

The film is set in the Big Easy (New Orleans), and focuses on the intricacies of international smuggling right the way from the corrupt officials running the game to the criminals taking the risks.

Chris Farraday (Wahlberg) is a former smuggler who has given up his life of crime and gone legit, spending his days running a small home-security company.

He has a wife, Kate (Kate Beckinsale, I guess the writers couldn’t be bothered to change her name too much), kids, a best friend, Sebastian Abney (Ben Foster) and a brother-in-law, Andy (Caleb Landry Jones) who just can’t seem to stay away from crime.

Andy is a smuggler, but not a very good one, and after he botches a job for tough-as-nails criminal Tim Briggs (Ribisi) he is told that if can’t pay the money he owes, then someone in his family will have to. Chris, a legendary smuggler, is left with no choice but to go back to running contraband to settle Andy’s debt. With a little help from his friend Sebastian, he assembles a crew to head to Panama and return with millions in counterfeit currency.

However, who could have guessed, things don’t exactly go smoothly for the former legend. There are so many variables and personalities in the crew that it all seems certain to implode. Contraband offers all the must-haves for movies of this genre – shootings, fights, explosions and a hefty number of car chases ... but that just isn’t enough to keep the excitement going.

The thing I hate about the film is that it follows the same tired cliché premise of a master criminal taking ‘one last job’.

Of course, things will go wrong, it’s as predictable as a movie cop getting killed the day before he retires!

As for the cast, I think they did a passable job with the script they had to work with.

Wahlberg seems to take great delight in flexing and shooting sinister looks at bad guys, and to be fair he does it well.
However, his character lacks any kind of emotional depth and, as a result, it’s hard to feel a vested interest in him.

As the movie went on … and on and on, I cared less and less whether or not he would be caught.

As for Beckinsale, her role could have been played by any female of the same age and build, regardless of acting
experience. She was dull and boring.

For me, what makes a great action movie is the interaction between the hero and the villain. Sadly, the onscreen chemistry between Wahlberg and Ribisi is less than incendiary, despite Ribisi’s almost convincing Bond villain
routine.

If you’re looking for an ambitious action movie with quality dialogue and heaps of suspense, then this one probably isn’t for you.

If you’re looking for Marky Mark running away from explosions and looking broody then by all means, visit your nearest cinema.

Showing in Cineco, Al Jazeera
Cineplex, Saar Cineplex and Seef I