Contraband

The Panama Job

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Rated: R  Brief drug use, violence and pervasive language.
Release Date: January 13, 2012
Runtime: 1 hr 50 min

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Director: Baltasar Kormákur
Writers: Aaron Guzikowski, Arnaldur Indriðason and Óskar Jónasson (film Reykjavik-Rotterdam)
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Giovanni Ribisi, Ben Foster, J.K. Simmons, Lukas Haas

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SYNOPSIS: Although trying desperately to leave his life of smuggling behind him Chris Farraday is forced back into the 'life' in order to protect his brother-in-law from a drug lord, traveling to Panama to score millions in counterfeit bills.

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REVIEW: One of Iceland's most popular and critically acclaimed actors, Baltasar Kormákur has made an even bigger name for himself as a director (Inhale, A Little Trip To Heaven). Newcomer screenwriter Aaron Guzikowski adapts a script to Americanize a new version of the film Reykjavik-Rotterdam by Arnaldur Indriðason and Óskar Jónasson.

Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg, The Fighter) enjoys life as a security specialist with his own company, loving wife Kate (Kate Beckinsale, Underworld) and two young boys. Behind him are the days of smuggling, stupidly walking in his father's footsteps (William Lucking, 'Sons of Anarchy'). With his father now in prison, Chris has straightened his life out, taking his smuggling sidekick Sebastian (Ben Foster, 3:10 to Yuma) with him. But times change when Kate's younger brother Andy (Caleb Landry Jones, X-Men: First Class) takes a run from Panama for local drug lord Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi, Gone in 60 Seconds) but has to dump the drugs overboard when customs agents come aboard for a random search. With Briggs still wanting his money, Chris is forced to make the decision to get back into the smuggling trade for one last score to 'balance the books' with Briggs. Assembling a team of smugglers for the job of 'importing' counterfeit super bills, Chris reteams with Andy, just married Danny Rayner (Lukas Haas, Inception), Tarik (Kevin Johnson,The Philly Kid) and Igor (Olafur Darri Olafsson, Children) and get papers to board a container freighter captained by an all too suspicious Captain Camp (J.K. Simmons, Juno). When everything does not go according to plan, Chris needs to make some tough decisions for the job, and for his family.

Unfamiliar with the original film, I cannot compare the two. But what I can tell you is that Contraband packs quite a suspenseful wallop. Mark Wahlberg does what he does best. He kicks ass, knows how to puts a plan together, and holds to a moral center in an immoral trade. Imagine The Italian Job without all of the slick antics. The summary storyline and the inclusion of Giovanni Ribisi may make you think of Gone in 60 Seconds, but the similarities end there. Giovanni may still be sporting the scraggly, not-all-there beard, but his character's Cajun accent and brutal methods erase any thoughts of the younger brother of a boosted car ringleader. Ben Foster, as versatile as ever as Sebastian, plays opposite ends of the spectrum with equal efficiency as Chris's former sidekick, protector of Chris's family while Chris runs the job, recovering alcoholic, and building site contractor. Kate Beckinsale is beautiful as ever as Mrs. Farraday, but only pulls out her big guns once or twice when her family is threatened. When the crew hit the open waters, J.K. Simmons Captain Camp is a wiry cat suspicious of Chris and quick to show Chris who the captain of the ship truly is. And once the crew hits the streets of Panama, Chris and crew face an assortment of crazy smugglers and drug lords that make Chris's work so much tougher. New boss Gonzalo (Diego Luna, Milk) may be the same as the old Jeffie, but loco en la cabeza.

The action is slow to start, honing in on the customs agents boarding the freighter and Andy losing the drugs he was to deliver to Briggs. Then the story tilts to Chris and Kate enjoying a wedding reception for their friend Danny, proving that his legitimate life IS all its cracked up to be. Even the time aboard the freighter only holds preparation and confrontations between Chris and the captain. But once Chris and crew step foot on the soil of Panama, the story is a non-stop roller coaster ride of gun fights, close calls, double crosses, and uncertainty. There are even some laughs thrown in for good measure. One thing that Wahlberg is good at is being the straight man with the best funny one liners. The other things he is good at is throwing a good punch and getting himself out of tight spots.

Gritty, dirty and out-of-focus at times, Baltasar Karmakur keeps all the slick sharp perfectly centered action where it belongs - not in the film. He uses New Orleans and Panama as perfect rough backdrops to match the his style of filmmaking. The fight scenes are bloody and up close, a la Ryan Gosling's Drive, and there are enough twists, turns and surprises along the way to keep everyone white-knuckled and entertained for the entire second half of the film.

Slow to start, but accelerating quickly and sustaining high speed throughout the rest of the film, Contraband may be an Americanized remake, but stays away from the traps of the glitz and glamor that Hollywood adds to most of its big budget action films. The villains are ruthless or crazy, keeping Wahlberg's Chris in uncertain peril throughout and keeping the stakes at an all-time high. Smuggling may be the wrong side of the law, but you do root for Chris for the work he has to complete to keep his family safe. The ending may not be picture perfect like in Wahlberg's The Italian Job, but definitely worth the time - for Wahlberg fans and gritty action drama cineasts.

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WORTH: Matinee or Rental

The Mechanic

Mr. Fix-It

[Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Donald Sutherland, Tony Goldwyn]

image from ize-stuff.com

RANT: Even though I could rant about something non-movie related, I still find new things to rant about during my movie going experience. The first is that I bought a new water bottle, so that I can stop ingesting all of the carcinogens from the reused Poland String bottles. That's a good thing. The second is that, although I am all for saving concession money by bringing your own foods, you should remove your food from the store or home from their crinkling plastic store bags so that the rest of us do not have listen to you rummage around with whatever you are hunting for at the bottom of the bag through the entire third act of the film. Come on, people!

SYNOPSIS: An elite contract hitman teaches his trade to his assassinated mentor's son.

Simon West, a better known director for television action series like The Human Target and The Cape, brings Jason Statham to the screen with a role that plays to all of the actor's strong points. Rebooting the Charles Bronson 1972 film of the same name, Statham portrays Arthur Bishop, a stone-cold assassination machine. Tasked with eliminating his longtime mentor, Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland) by the shadowy government-affiliated corporation run by Mr. Dean (Tony Goldwyn), Bishop finds himself at a moral crossroad. Once he completes his contract, Bishop runs across Harry's son, Steve (Ben Foster), who is looking for vengeance for his father's assassination and for training in the trade by Bishop.

The opening sequence of the film lets us in on Bishop's methods and exactitude when he attempts to kill a Colombian drug lord within his heavily fortified estate while said drug lord takes an afternoon swim in his indoor pool - all the while with armed security watching from the mezzanine above. The contracts that Bishop undertakes all run to completion like clockwork, all intricate and exact.

But once Foster's Steve McKenna comes looking for training and payback for his father, it seems that Bishop smooth running world may be encountering a few speed bumps. Two of the contracts that Bishop assigns the younger McKenna end up as such skin-of-you-teeth events, that you really do feel bad for what Bishop has to deal with - even though the resulting action is fun to watch.

From the beginning with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Statham exudes that steely, confident and calculating demeanor that has landed him a couple action franchises (Crank and The Transporter series) and has put him into many other films that require the same skill set. Strangely enough, I think even now that many may still not consider Statham a full-blown action star to the caliber of Stallone or Schwarzenegger. In The Mechanic, he still delivers - and with style!

Ben Foster, one of my personal favorite actors to watch, brings a subtle crazy to his role of Steve McKenna. His intentions seem straightforward as he hones his skills to face his father's killer but every directive from the expert Bishop seems to be more of a suggestion to McKenna, as he finds his own more personal and visceral way of dealing with the issues of the day.

Tony Goldwyn and Donald Sutherland round out the main cast, one as the man who pulls the strings on every contract, the other as Bishop's now wheelchair-bound mentor and friend. All of the other cast, from Bishop's prostitute female companion to the whiskey loving old man who watches Bishop's New Orleans skiff, are simply colorful background to the main players.

If you are a Jason Statham fan, this film comes in ahead of Death Race, but behind The Transporter and The Italian Job. But as with any of his films, The Mechanic is definitely fun to watch.

Worth: Matinee or DVD

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