Movie Review - Contraband (2012)

[Hondo]

Mark Whalberg had a heavy involvement in the making of Contraband, a remake of a 2008 film from Iceland. Interestingly the director of the remake was the lead actor in the original. The movie explores the world of international smuggling and corruption.

It is a plot we have seen many times before, the ex criminal turned straight gets drawn into that one last job. This time the motivation for Whalberg is the protection of his family. Whalberg’s step-brother, Andy, dumps a drug haul before delivery creating a huge debt to a local drug lord (brilliantly played by Giovanni Ribisi) that will end up being paid in blood if someone doesn’t come good for it. Why the drug lord thought this guy would make a reliable drug smuggler is a mystery to me as he is portrayed as a naive, dumb kid basically.

Whalberg is helped and guided by a close mate Sebastian, brilliantly played by Ben Nelson, who seems well connected with the smuggling underworld. Sebastian’s motives are cleverly left unclear until late in the movie nicely adding to the closing suspense.

So Whalberg sets off on a container ship to Panama to bring back counterfeit notes with a rag tag team of veteran smugglers. A series of misadventures on the trip and in Panama, including an entertaining detour into a heist planned by a local crime boss, force Whalberg to race against the clock to get the contraband back to the ship in time. Meanwhile, back home, Whalberg’s wife is terrorised by Ribisi and people she thought she could trust.

All in all, this is a tense and exciting thriller. The settings of New Orleans, Panama and the claustrophobic container ship are well utilised to support the story. If the story wasn’t so engrossing the concluding scenes would strain credibility. As it is, I didn’t mine the slight implausibility because I enjoyed the ride. You want the good guys to win and the bad guys to get smashed. Just don’t think too hard about the ending.

Whalberg is solid and the supporting actors are memorable. Kate Beckinsale seemed a little miscast to me but she plays the concluding scenes well.
I give it 8/10 and recommend it.

[Iron Fist]

pretty good write up I would say and tells enough without giving it all away.

Definately worth seeing, I would give it a 7.5/10