Smugglers, for better or worse, are romanticized in popular culture. Two very prominent and contemporary examples of this are Firefly‘s Mal Reynolds and of course, one of Star Wars‘ most iconic characters, Han Solo. Then again, both are examples of smugglers in the sci-fi genre. So, what about real-world smuggling? Is it as adventurous and full of the same thrilling peril that the aforementioned two face on a regular basis?
Enter Contraband, which opens tomorrow (Jan. 25th) and stars Mark Wahlberg as a former… you guessed it, smuggler, who gets forced to do one last run (that’s smuggler talk for… well, smuggling stuff) in order to pay off a botched job his brother-in-law got involved in. With his family’s safety at stake and a very angry, scenery-chewing, Southern-drawl speaking Giovanni Ribisi breathing down his neck, will he be able to successfully pull off the run?
Joining Wahlberg are Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, Caleb Landry Jones, J.K. Simmons, and Diego Luna in an equally hammy turn as Panamanian crime lord, Gonzalo. Okay to solid performances all around, I’ll give ‘em that, but what really caught my attention was how hammy the movie’s bad guys were. Ribisi, especially, with his near-cartoonish Southern accent, which at times, you’d think he sounds more like an old lady. Surprisingly, he still manages to be menacing. Wahlberg on the other hand, has his usual “tough guy looking out for his friends and family” routine and plays it straight.
For a movie about smuggling, it does tend to get a bit slow in certain parts. It certainly is a long movie, clocking in at nearly two hours. I suppose that if the second act were a little more streamlined, it would’ve been a tighter experience overall. Surprisingly, there’s not as much action as trailers are leading audiences into believing. However, the only real gunfight in the movie has a good sense of tension and danger thanks to some basic, but nifty camera work and reliable sound design.
The real fun begins in the third act when Farraday and company come up with some pretty ingenious ways of hiding the contraband and getting it on dry land. I won’t spoil anything here, but there are some pretty humorous bits that ensue.
Overall, Contraband is a good choice if you’ve got an afternoon to burn away at the movies or if you’re a fan of Mark Wahlberg. Illegal as it may be, there is some fun to be had watching how smugglers (well, fictional ones at least) work their way around and outsmart the authorities.
There’s not a lot to think about while watching it and we’ve seen some of this plot before in other films, but for a movie opening in January, it’s actually pretty damn good thanks to a couple of cool heists and a relatively good cast. Nice review.
I was pretty surprised, too. Given the track record of most movies released in January and February, I went in with pretty low expectations. It’s safe to say that I walked out pretty satisfied. Also, thanks for the feedback.