Contraband

By and large, action type films have certainly been run in the ground, a rather yawning experience when you've seen so many, however in the case of "Contraband" the genre, all of a sudden, wakes up.

This is an action-thriller about a man, Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg) trying to stay out of a world he diligently was bent on leaving behind and the family, wife, Kate (Kate Beckinsale) and kids, he'll do anything to protect.

Set in New Orleans, the film explores the cutthroat underbelly world of international smuggling, with desperate criminals, corrupt officials, high-stakes and big payoffs where loyalty hardly ever exists and the possibility of death is just one wrong turn away.

Farraday (Wahlberg) long ago abandoned his life of crime, but after his brother-in-law, Andy (Caleb Landry Jones), botches a drug deal for his ruthless boss, Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi), Chris is then forced back into doing what he does best-- running contraband to settle Andy's debt. Chris, a legendary smuggler, quickly assembles a crew with the assistance of his best friend, Sebastian (Ben Foster), to head for Panama and return with counterfeit bills. Things quickly fall apart and with only hours to reach the cash will Chris' plan work or fall apart like everything else that's been happening?

This was effectively directed by Baltasar Kormakur ("101 Reykjavik" 2000, "The Sea" '02, "A Little Trip to heaven" '05, "Jar City" '06, "Inhale" '10). Wahlberg, being one of the producers of this, obviously had a good deal of input in this project, but Kormakur still paced his actors with incredible delineation. This was written by Aaron Guzikowski based on the film "Reykjavik - Rotterdam" by Arnaldur Indrioason and Oskar Jonasson. There were a few inconsistencies in the script, but certainly not enough to take away from the intriguing plot twists premise. One thing that intrigued me was that these guys, whether good guy or bad, had families that each were trying to protect, indicating that they're also people who have lives that just happen to get involved in very intense, dangerous situations.

Others to round out the cast are Lukas Haas as Danny, Diego Luna as Gonzalo, J.K. Simmons as Capt. Camp, William Lucking as Bud Farraday, Chris' dad, David O'Hara as Jim, and Robert Wahlberg as John Bryce.

Wahlberg simply gets better and better with each project he's involved in, and one can tell his heart is definitely into the film he's working on whether it be acting or producing. The supporting cast also holds their own, such as Ribisi as the villain, and J.K. Simmons as this prick of a captain of the cargo ship.

I'm telling you, the trailer does not sell this movie. It is far better than that. I only went to see it because Wahlberg was in it and he is a solid actor. But after viewing it, it was definitely a very strong solid film. This one will keep you talking even after you leave the multiplex.

Out of 4 stars: 3.5                      Rated: R                        110 min.