A remake of the Icelandic film Reykjavik-Rotterdam and Directed by the star of the original, Baltasar
Kormakur, Contraband is a middle of
the road action-thriller starring Mark Wahlberg as a former smuggler who is
forced to take on one final job to save the life of his wife’s brother. Featuring
a more than talented cast and a couple of nice reveals, Contraband occasionally
rises above the milieu of generic thrillers but overall lands back in amongst
its fellows with a script that contains little real action and few thrills.
Whenever I see the names Giovanni Ribisi or Ben Foster
appear in opening credits I always sit up and take notice as for my money they
are two of the best actors working in Hollywood
today. To have them both in the same film is some coup. Wahlberg is an actor
who occasionally impresses me but pretty much phones in his performance here
and his wife, played by Kate Beckinsale is merely a plot device and has no
meaningful role or lines. The same can be said for the talented Lukas Haas who
is given little chance to shine.
