Blu-ray Review: Mark Wahlberg, Ben Foster in Generic ‘Contraband’

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CHICAGO – “Contraband” has some action movie elements that work but too much of it is overly familiar, especially the parts played by leads Mark Wahlberg and supporting actors J.K. Simmons, Ben Foster & Giovanni Ribisi, strong actors who resort to their basic tricks here and just don’t deliver. I like all four guys but this is lazy work in a relatively lazy film overall. All in all, “Contraband” is a mediocre movie that moves quickly enough to barely fit the bill on a rainy Saturday night but isn’t the best work by anyone involved.

Blu-ray Rating: 2.0/5.0

The odd structure of “Contraband” requires it to be one of those films in which something is constantly going wrong. It stays convoluted in order to try and entertain. There’s no movie if there isn’t a series of bad decisions and unlucky encounters. It’s almost comical how many things go wrong in this journey of a man sucked back into the world of smuggling to save his dopey brother-in-law after one of HIS jobs goes wrong. The life of a smuggler ain’t easy. But this movie is. We’ve seen Wahlberg play reformed bad guy. We’ve seen Ribisi play wide-eyed wacko. And Foster is too interesting an actor for this material. (Although one of the film’s biggest problems is that it separates Mark from Ben & Giovanni for most of its running time). It’s reasonably well-made and darker than you might expect but also immensely forgettable and the kind of flick that only reminds you of better ones.

Contraband was released on Blu-ray and DVD on April 24, 2012
Photo credit: Universal

Synopsis:
Mark Wahlberg stars as legendary smuggler Chris Farraday, who has left his criminal past behind to be with his wife (Kate Beckinsale) and sons. When a ruthless drug kingpin (Giovanni Ribisi) threatens his family, Farraday must summon his old skills and contacts for one last run. Contraband takes you to the cutthroat underground world of international smuggling, and on a thrilling adventure that critics are calling “dynamic, intense and gritty!” Mark S. Allen, CBS/CW-TV (Sacramento).

Special Features:
o Deleted Scenes
o Under The Radar: The Making Of Contraband
o Reality Factor: The Stunts And Action Of Contraband
o Feature Commentary With Director/Producer Baltasar Kormakur and Producer Evan Hayes
o D-Box Motion Enabled

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com