Coming to theatres this weekend is the action-thriller Contraband starring Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Giovanni Ribisi, and Ben Foster. A remake of the Icelandic film Reykjavík-Rotterdam, Contraband is the story of Chris Farraday (Wahlberg), a former smuggler who is forced to return to a life of running contraband after his brother-in-law puts his life – and the life of Farraday’s family – in jeopardy following a failed drug run.
Directed by Baltasar Kormákur (the star of the original Reykjavík-Rotterdam), Contraband is a typical heist film steeped in atypical buffoonery. While it will most certainly satiate an audience’s desire for action, mayhem, and extreme profanity, the film sadly delivers almost nothing else. It is marred by hollow characters, idiotic logic, and a plot that defies any semblance of intelligence or sense. That isn’t to say that there’s nothing worthwhile in Contraband – because there is some merit in this film – but sadly that good is greatly overwhelmed by the bad.
The heist genre is one that typically suffers from repetition, with such films usually involving someone being forced into attempting an impossible run. Contraband follows this basic plot but beefs things up with twists aplenty – granted, they are needless plot twists, but plot twists none the less. It leaves the actual story of the film suffering as a convoluted mess of ulterior motives and stupendously crazy plans. The saddest part is the story itself could have worked very well if it was kept simple and untwisted, but unfortunately the script by Aaron Guzikowski does so much to heighten the stakes that by the time the end actually comes, it is incredibly unsatisfying. Without giving too much away, I will say that conventional logic is thrown out the window for a happy ending where everything works out (despite the fact that the film tried so very hard to make such an outcome impossible). Such a denouement is bothersome and just plain lame.
It wouldn’t be so bad if the characters in this film had dimension, but unfortunately the New Orleans of Contraband is populated with some of the most superficial characters in recent memory. The opportunity existed to explore avenues of redemption and change in Wahlberg’s reformed criminal Chris Farraday, but beyond two or three rumblings of “I have a wife and kids now,” you wouldn’t think Farraday was the least bit reformed. It’s unfortunate, because a few extra lines of dialogue would have really given this character some real depth and pathos, but sadly such layers are rejected in favour of giving a grown man a gangster stride and making him constantly angr. Furthermore, the always amazing Kate Beckinsale spends the entire film as the endangered damsel in distress, and really does little else. Beckinsale is a complete waste of talent in this film – I mean, her character is barely even likable, let alone emotionally poignant.
However, one performance that actually stood out in Contraband was that of Ben Foster, who played Farraday’s best friend and contraband cohort, Sebastian Abney. Like Farraday, Sebastian is supposed to be a reformed criminal; but in Foster’s performance you actually get the feeling that he’s trying to be legit – at least to a point. It’s the simple nuances, like his battling an alcohol addiction or his reasons for being involved in the story, that make his character compelling. You wouldn’t have thought it, but the scenes with Foster actually contain some real acting – and some damn fine acting to boot. A diamond in the rough, Foster is able to take his character and breathe life into it and actually create a human-being amongst all the analogues in Contraband . . . at least to a point.
Another positive worth mentioning is Kormákur’s frantic directorial style. Quick cuts and shaky camera work are entrenched throughout Contraband, giving the film a heightened tension. While Kormákur is known for his acting, he actually is a pretty accomplished director, and his style and tone compliment Contraband quite well; however, it does little to actually save this movie from the huddled mess that it is.
If you’re looking for mindless action this weekend, Contraband would definitely make a good choice of film to check out – though it must be said that there’s a multitude of good thrillers currently in theatres, so why would you want to see a not so good one? Its plot bordering on ridiculous, performances on the edge of laughable, and an ending which will make you angry due to its idiocy, Contraband is the sort of action vehicle that sullies the heist genre by just regurgitating past devices and making everything just a little more graphic. It ends up coming off as a sexed-up-yet-inferior version of Gone in 60 Seconds, but not the astonishing and timeless Steve McQueen original. And if there’s one thing a film shouldn’t be, it would have to be a half-assed version of a half-assed Nicolas Cage movie.
