Review of Contraband

Looking back, this past January has been very interesting as we had a mix of films. We've had great films like Haywire and The Grey. We've had your typical pieces of shits like The Devil Inside and One For The Money. Your typical January junk like Underworld. Mediocre films like Red tails and Joyful noise. So where does Contraband fit in all of this? Well it belongs in the better than your typical January junk but not as good as it should be category. This is better then the Crap that we're subjected to every January but that doesn't excuse it's problems.

For starters, nothing in this movie is original. Usually filmmakers will take something that's been done before and put their own fresh twists to it, that's not the case here. You've seen this all before and done better. Next is the plot, it's not that there's too little of it, there's too much of it and for what? If your going to make a movie that's been done a bunch of times before at least stick to the formula. Don't try to make it complex, it's not going to change the fact that this is unoriginal. Lastly, this film has an unappealing gritty look which was a bit of a turn off for me. It's not that I don't like it, it works well with other movies but it was unnecessary.

Despite some glaring problems, there's some fun to be had. The action scenes are fun, and there are moments of humor sprinkled throughout. Usually most of the humorous moments are a result of a character doing the most moronic thing possible. The pacing is a little off but it shouldn't bother people that much. The acting ranges from okay to pretty good. While Mark Wahlberg's performance isn't bad but, he just kind of goes through the motions. He has shown he can act but here he is kind of Idle. Kate Beckinsale is sadly underused, she's good but she doesn't have that important of a part. Giovanni Ribisi on the other hand is pretty good. He has fun chewing at his lines and just being a complete badass. He's probably the best thing about this movie.

Contraband is slightly better than your typical January junk that we're subjected to every year. However, it still can't come over the the fact that it's not original, the plot is unnecessarily complex, the pacing is a tad off, and that the overall look is unappealing. despite the action being fun and intense, it being funny, and pretty decent performances.