Admirable film.

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

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.

Contraband is an action thriller starring Mark Wahlberg (Chris Farraday), playing a former drug smuggler who's gone straight, having settled down with his wife (Kate Beckinsale) and kids and opened his own home security company. Though, his domestic bliss is turned around when his brother-in-law (Caleb Landry Jones) botches a job for a local hood (Giovanni Ribisi) and can't make amends. The only thing that will make it right is if Chris helps with a big score (smuggling $40 million) through the Panama Canal.This film is a typical action thriller with a January release. The film works due to the performances by the cast, all of whom play their characters straight despite. Wahlberg playing a character in which he has played often before shines in this role as he has this type of character figured out, as he excels most as these type of likable yet tough action heroes. The overall plot is quite standard with some predictable twists but in the end it's mores so about the journey.

(62%) An entertaining crime B-movie that marks a small improvement over the usual multiplex filler you always seem to find at the first quarter of the year. The cast is quite strong with the always decent Mark Wahlberg leading the way, and with the likes of Ben Foster, Kate Beckinsale, J.K Simmons and show stealer Giovanni Ribisi all forming a respectable package. The pacing is pretty decent; although this is more of a thriller than an all-out action film so don't expect tons of action. The script is very Hollywood at times and there's not a whole lot to get your teeth into, but overall this is a watchable time-passer coupled with a respectable cast and basic cinematic fun.

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