nadinesalakovv Contraband is an underrated movie. The performances are intense and well-acted, the film has good directing and the movie plot is decent. They went with a visually dark tone from start to finish which supports the story line. If you like crime thrillers, i recommend this. Maybe you have already seen this flick, maybe you haven't, but this is one of those movies that flew under the radar. Contraband is a must-watch. The only problem i have with this film is a very brief scene that features a wolf in a cage. As an animal lover, things like that bother me, but i presume everything is fine and that the animal is from a conservation animal place because they won't be able to use wild animals that literally live in the wild.

Guy CONTRABAND is a wretched script elevated by some decent Scandi direction. The plot sees Marky Mark as an ex-smuggler who - who'd have guessed it? - gets pulled back in for one last job, after his brother in law loses a cargo that belonged to the wrong people. Soon he's got the old crew back together and they're off to Panama to pick up the goods, whilst his wife gets hassled by a thug from the same gang (which isn't entirely convincing as Kate Beckinsale looks like she could take Giovanni Ribisi in a fair fight anyday) and also by the ex-alcoholic friend he left behind to look after her. Smuggling is an interesting subject which is under-represented cinematically, although this film doesn't help because it's far more interested in heists and thuggery than in how the smuggling actually works. The aforementioned heist in Panama is the best part of the film, even if the plan makes no sense and leads to nearly everyone involved dying. The final outcome is never in doubt and the acting is pure formality but it rattles along, the location shooting is nice and the subject is just different enough to make this watchable.

akupm I disliked Aaron Gozikowiski's screenplay, because of the very poor character development. So no wonder it was so flat. It resulted to me not having an emotion or very deep opinion on the actors' roles. Their backstories could have been richer and mentioned a lot more in their dialogue. The Hollywood stars should have had improvised scenes which would of gave them the opportunity to enrich the psychological dimension of their roles. But it had to be a big and fat no…… no. Chris Ferriday was the reformed narcotic trafficker who had two sons and a wife. The main character had a legal self-employed job, fixing security alarms for customers. What I could not stand was that Chris was not shown bonding with his family or having a deep discussion about his up bringing and his old world of smuggling. The director Baltasar Kormákur could of allowed flash backs on his past. I wish the actors could of improvised scenes so that their roles could stand out in the movie. Kate Ferriday (Chris's wife) was hardly exposed in recording spending time with her children unless something dramatic happened. It did not explore her own opinion about parenting or how she raised her two sons. I did not know what type of relationship she had with her biological brother Andy who messed things up. Kate barely played a part in the film. Talking about Andy what influenced him into the world of smuggling? Was he pressured into that underworld society by criminals like Tim Briggs? Could Andy of been remorseless including not caring about those who would suffer from his trafficked drugs? More of these moral questions were left as question marks. Tim Brigs was just a complete sociopathic maniac who just got out of prison. He re offends and carries on his profitable narcotic dealing. He is a single parent who raises her daughter in a poor conditioned ghetto. What happened to his partner who gave birth to his daughter Zoe? Who looked after Zoe when Tim Briggs was locked upped in prison? What triggered the man to be such a monster? Well there were no answers when I watched the film. The storyline mainly focused on massive shoot outs and the underworld of trafficking. Baltasar Kormákur The director gave me an urban shot of New Orleans. He used camera zooming and a bird's eye view so that the landscape could be admired. Unfortunately, there were so many quick glimpse shots which became erratic after a while. In some scenes I could not clearly understand what was going on because of Baltasar Kormákur directing. But on the other hand, I appreciated the city-related cinematography especially at night time. That was when I could see colours stand out from a shady background. Barry Ackroyd did a fantastic job at that. What would put my frown upside down was the African Jazz and the electronic soundtrack. Clinton Shorter's electronic music made me feel like I was sucked into an urban and gripping atmosphere. To balance my judgement I will give 'Contraband' a 5 ½ /10

CMTiago Contraband is a movie that only succeeds as a means to spend a session watching a movie, as I find it unimpressive and a bit of a drag at times. Of course if you like the genre you should by no means be deterred by my words and I'm sure you may enjoy it. The story follows an ex-smuggler (Wahlberg) as he tries to make an honest living but ends up back in the game to protect the ones he loves. The leading man is an approachable hero and one you can support, with his main character traits being his courage and boldness. The rest of the supporting characters handle the job well and as for the rest of the movie's elements, I would say they are presented with acceptable quality. Contraband isn't necessarily a movie you have to watch, but it shouldn't be avoided either. In short watch it if you want and you will be mildly entertained. I was.Rating 6/10