Adam Collins posted on January 13, 2012 13:36
As I posted earlier this week, Contraband is a remake of a 2008 Icelandic film, Reykjavik – Rotterdam. The star of the original film, Baltasar Kormakur, is on board for the remake, but behind the camera assuming director duties. Taking over his role is none other than Mark Wahlberg. I enjoyed the original film, but expect that there would be changes in the remake.
Contraband opens with customs agents boarding a cargo ship that is on its way into the New Orleans harbor. This causes young smuggler Andy (Caleb Landry Jones) to toss his contraband overboard. Now, he is in debt to Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi), a crazy drug dealer. Andy winds up in the hospital, and his sister Kate Farraday (Kate Beckinsale) is notified. Her husband,Chris (Wahlberg), is a notoriously amazing smuggler who is now out of the game and going legit.
Chris tries to strike a deal with Briggs, but they fail to come to a peaceful arrangement, so Chris is dragged back into his old game for one last run. His old smuggling friend Sebastian (Ben Foster) helps get him back on a boat and gets Chris the money he needs for the contraband. Chris and Sebastian work to assemble the right crew on the ship like any good heist movie post-Ocean’s Eleven. When Chris arrives to pick up the contraband in the form of millions of dollars of uncut US currency, it is not up to snuff, leading him to go across Panama City to an old “friend.” This leads to a second heist that is a disaster. The rest of the movie unfolds as loyalties are tested, twists are spun, and friends betray each other.
As far as a remake goes, Contraband stays true to the original film as much as one would expect. There are few minor changes, like the contraband itself. It just would not have made sense for them to smuggle alcohol into a country where it is already legal. Where this movie stood out to me was in the cast. The casting of recognizable actors in smaller roles is always a plus, and makes the movie feel more complete. Lucas Hass is an up-and-coming actor who found some footing after being in Christopher Nolan’s Inception. He is solid as one of Chris’s crew members. The ship captain is played by J.K. Simmons, a great character actor who once again puts in a great performance. Caleb Landry Jones was just in X-Men: First Class last summer, and he looks to have a decent career coming his way. Also, Sons of Anarchy’s William Lucking makes a little appearance as the incarcerated patriarch of the Farraday family. It is always good to see actors from great television shows get decent roles on the silver screen.
Then, you have Mark Wahlberg. He is a two-time Oscar nominee, but I do not see this role being his third. Yet, he does have fun with it. Beckinsale does a decent job as the damsel in distress. Giovanni Ribisi is really an underrated actor in my opinion. His villainous Briggs is one of his better performances of late. Ben Foster is in the same boat. I thought he was robbed a few years back for his turn in 3:10 to Yuma, and he does a great job again here.
Contraband marks the first mainstream US film from Baltasar Kormakur. He does not shy away from the action scenes. Heed this as a warning if you get motion sick at movies like The Wife. I hope that Kormakur makes more action films here in the US, and I think I might try to track down some of his homeland films, too. This is also the first screenplay of any kind by writer Aaron Guzikowski. There is nothing special here. He did a fine job adapting the original screenplay by Arnaldur Indridason and Oskar Jonasson, and added what needed to be added to an American film, but still stayed faithful to the source.
As far as a January release goes, there have been and are far worse out there. I found Contraband to be quite an entertaining film. It is a tight action flick with some intriguing characters. The music composed by Clinton Shorter sounded a little too much like a Hans Zimmer score, but it fit the film and kept the pace moving. Contraband opens today head-to-head against Disney’s re-release of Beauty and the Beast in 3D and a gospel musical starring Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton. I would recommend Contraband before a musical, and I was not overly impressed with the last Disney re-release of a classic in 3D.
RATING: 7/10