An action-deprived 'Contraband'
Mark Wahlberg in "Contraband", a white-knuckle action-thriller about a man trying to stay out of a world he worked hard to leave behind and the family he'll do anything to protect. Credit: Universal Pictures/
After a long run of serious movies like "War Horse" and "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," I was looking forward to "Contraband," starring Mark Wahlberg as a reformed smuggler reluctantly pulling one last job. Everyone needs a little action now and then, right?
Unfortunately, a little action is all you'll get.
"Contraband" is a sub-par crime flick based on the 2008 Icelandic thriller "Reykjavík-Rotterdam," whose star, Baltasar Kormákur, directs the American version. He takes the job way too seriously. All the ingredients for a satisfying slice of pulp are here -- tattooed baddies, ruthless mobsters, the pretty wife who needs protecting -- but "Contraband" is so busy establishing a dark mood of menace that it keeps forgetting to deliver the goods.
The other stock characters don't do much more. Giovanni Ribisi plays drug-dealer Tim Briggs as a yowling tomcat, but his claws seem clipped; Diego Luna appears briefly as a nutcase who supposedly chops off heads but never does any such thing. Lukas Haas, as Chris's loyal cohort, mostly cowers in corners as things go south.
In a way, "Contraband" fails by overreaching: It aspires to the heightened drama of "The Departed" but lands instead in the bargain bin of forgettable action product.
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