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HOORAY FOR 1933—EIGHTY YEARS LATERContraband—movie review
If ever there were a typical January movie, it’s Contraband, a film so dreary (and downright distasteful) that no studio would think of releasing it in December, when all eyes are focused on quality. I never saw the 2008 Icelandic film on which it’s based, but I presume it must have been better than this, to persuade savvy producers that it was worth remaking in English. Baltasar Kormákur, who starred in the original, directed this adaptation.
The setting is New Orleans. Mark Wahlberg plays a former criminal who, like his best pal Ben Foster, has gone straight. Then his wife’s kid brother fumbles a drug-smuggling run and winds up owing big bucks to a loose-cannon thug (Giovanni Ribisi) who not only threatens him but his entire family—including Wahlberg’s wife and kids. What else can the guy do but suck it up and pull “one last job?”
A good caper movie should be light on its feet, but this one bears the weight of a heavy tread. Contraband left a bad taste in my mouth, which is not what I’d call a ringing endorsement. But it is what I’ve come to expect from major studio releases in January.
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10 Comments
Alexandra Ash | March 18, 2012 8:47 AM
I wrote a blog entry titled 'Why "Contraband" made me very fucking angry'- http://milomel.blogspot.co.uk
rich | January 30, 2012 7:46 PM
nonsense..this was a great movie full of supense
svera@caledco.com | January 29, 2012 7:12 PM
You're not missing out on much. It is a B movie at it's best. So, there. No action worth noting. No noting of any action worth taking. Capiche?
belinda | January 21, 2012 8:38 AM
one of the worst movies ever.
Brett | January 18, 2012 2:14 AM
From a distance, this movie looks pretty ugly.
Jewel | January 14, 2012 9:57 PM
I went and watched this movie the day it came out and i thought it was incredable, i never knew what was coming next and i was shocked to see Sebastian turn into a bad guy! I would reccomend this movie to people who like action and who want to be biting there nails the whole time:)
Norm | January 13, 2012 11:47 PM
Rewite: Wahlberg has 3 brothers , whose drug ridden lives have changed them into sub-creatures, Beckinsale must put the vampire voodoo on them before the thirteenth at midnite. Simmons, has a terminal smoking habit and is also changing into a sub-creature...Lucas Haas hides in a Amish tenement, afraid for his life, but he wants to be a sub-creature too..meanwhile Walhberg who plays pro football when not putting collars on his brothers , decides life is too tough , and finds peace at the Springhill Puppy Farm...His new name...Snoopy...Not a good story line, but it gets a paycheck...
Jeff Heise | January 13, 2012 7:09 PM
Gee, a movie in which the main character, who has sworn off a life of crime has to go back into it to save a brother who is probably dumber than a bag of hammers...sounds original to me, if you haven't seen GONE IN 60 SECONDS, THE POPE OF GREENWICH VILLAGE and other movies with the same basic plot. I can see why this was dumped into January-I hope all the actors have a better end than beginning of this year.