Early on in “Contraband,” the forgettable action “thriller” featuring Mark Wahlberg, you can’t help but notice how much Wahlberg (and his movie wife Kate Beckinsdale) stand out from the rest of the seedy-looking cast. This is a bad thing. We are meant to think that Wahlberg was once the ringleader of a Central American smuggling operation, yet somehow avoided scars, addictions, local eccentricities, and the police? Such dissonance occupies much of this remake of “Reykjavik-Rotterdam,” a 2009 Icelandic film starring “Contraband” director Baltasar Kormákur.
Wahlberg plays Chris Farraday, home security business owner, father, and ex-smuggler. When brother-in-law Andy (Caleb Landry Jones), a character unable to be described by other characters without an insult, dumps a load of cocaine in the Mississippi to avoid being busted by the feds, Chris goes back for one last job to repay Andy’s debt to Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi).
Leaving his threatened family under the watchful eye of former smuggling buddy Sebastian (Ben Foster), Chris heads off to Panama aboard a freighter to bring back sheets of counterfeit currency. Once he arrives in Panama City, all hell breaks loose and Chris is forced to improvise as only a brilliant smuggler can.
And there lies much of the logical failing of the film. Chris is smart enough to concoct intricate schemes to run contraband, yet doesn’t just tell his wife to take the kids and leave town after Briggs’ gang pays them a visit. He knows Andy is a huge screw-up, yet trusts him with crucial parts of his plans. For someone oozing with street smarts, Chris makes some really poor decisions.
A lack of logic is not the only disappointment in the film. Part of the enjoyment of heist movies is the process by which the theft occurs. Kormákur eschews subtlety by blatantly lingering the camera on any potential tool or method that Chris might use to sneak his stash past any antagonists. It not only sucks the fun out of the movie, it also wraps everything up far too neatly, quite an accomplishment given how messy Chris’ plans get.
Kormákur could have made “Contraband” exponentially more interesting by seizing on one exchange where Chris honestly admits that he really loves smuggling…the emotional wrestling of the protagonist’s illicit passion versus his love for his family would have added depth and set apart this film from the countless others that involve reluctant heroes and illegal activities.
Wahlberg has made some great career choices over the years (“Boogie Nights,” “The Fighter,” even “The Other Guys”), but he has mixed in some clunkers that exist solely to reinforce his former street punk brand. Alas, this is one of those movies.
The rest of the cast, save J.K. Simmons (always a joy) as the ship’s captain, are either collecting a paycheck in your standard one-note supporting role or failing at trying to make something out of nothing. Ribisi falls into the latter category, using an accent best described as Farmer Fran from “The Waterboy” crossed with an evil Popeye the Sailor Man to color his character, but it comes off as laughable when it should have been tough.
Ultimately, “Contraband” proves to be the perfect counter-programming to the usual Oscar-hopeful latecomers that hit the national stage in January: senseless action movie aimed at an audience seeking a brain-dead escape rather than thought-provoking material. Smuggle yourself into a different movie.
DIRECTOR: Baltasar Kormákur SCREENWRITER: Aaron Guzikowski, CAST: Mark Wahlberg, Giovanni Ribisi, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, Lukas Haas, J.K. Simmons MPAA RATING: R
