It’s not too uncommon to see a movie trailer for a movie opening in January that looks like it could be pretty good. Maybe it is an action movie or a horror movie; but, whatever the genre, the movie looks like it just may be worth the $10 admission fee. Then you see the movie and realize two things: One, you discover why the movie studio choose to release the movie in January and two, movie theaters do not give refunds just because you saw another January junk movie. The new Mark Wahlberg movie, “Contraband” is another January junk movie.
The plot to “Contraband” is a familiar one. A criminal, who was one of the best at whatever crime they used to commit, has now retired and currently lives a legitimate life. They work an honest job and now have a family. Then something happens, let’s say a screw up brother-in-law gets in deep with some heavy crooks, and the only way to save the brother-in-law is for the retired criminal to come out of retirement and pull off one more crime. Along the way he or she faces many obstacles including, of course, having their family threatened.
Sometimes we don’t mind watching this movie again because the film makers either added one little extra twist to it or it is in the hands of capable filmmakers who are able to really draw you into the story and care about the characters. Unfortunately, neither is the case when it comes to “Contraband”. There are no twists or surprises in it, though they do try and director Baltasar Kormákur is unable to draw his audience in or even make us care what happens to the characters. He barely manages to build up any tension in the movie. When he does it is close to the end and by then it is far too late.
Despite having the talent of Wahlberg, Giovanni Ribisi and Kate Beckinsale the acting hardly stands out in this movie. Maybe Kormákur could never get them excited for the material. Most of the characters are stereotypes. None of the actors are pushed out of their comfort zones so nothing stands out and the acting ends up feeling flat. If you can’t make an emotional connection with the characters and their plight, which is what you want in this type of movie, you are not going to care on the outcome.
Bad movies can come at any time of the year, but for some reason, January has always been knows as month for consistently poor movies. It’s not true of EVERY movie that has ever come out in the month of January; “Contraband” certainly finds itself among the crap. It is rated R for violence, language and brief drug use.
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