CONTRABAND (2012) – The Review

It’s been over twenty years since Al Pacino as Michael Corleone uttered, “Just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in! “in THE GODFATHER PART III, but this bit of plot motivation is still a major device in most action/crime thrillers for the lead character. In the new film CONTRABAND, the guy who thinks he’s out of the life is Chris Faraday played by an actor who had a few run-ins with the law during his teen years, Mark Wahlberg. Chris had a reputation as an expert smuggler many years ago (he brags about being able to bring in a pricey sports car), but now he’s legit with a home security business, a beautiful wife, Kate (Kate Beckinsale) and two adorable young sons down in New Orleans. Uh-oh, it seems that Kate’s nere’do well kid brother Andy (Caleb Landry Jones) has decided to enter the smuggling game.

Unfortunately, he’s not as good as his brother-in-law. He’s part of the crew on a ship that’s boarded by custom authorities (they even lower down drug-sniffing dogs from a helicopter) and Andy tosses his backpack filled with cocaine over the railing into the sea. The violent, lowlife drug dealer Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi) who hired him is not so understanding once Andy and his partner are on dry land. He rams their car with his truck. Andy survives the attack and tells Chris what happened. Chris tries to cut a deal with Briggs, who insists that he be reimbursed for his lost revenue (700 grand!) otherwise the debt falls to Chris and his family.

Chris has no choice, but to go for one last big score. He contacts another runner who’s gone legit, his old pal Sebastian (Ben Foster) who suggests making a drug run to Panama. But like the Corleones, Chris wants nothing to do with that “dirty business” and hatches a plan to bring in several loads of counterfeit cash. Thanks to Sebastian’s connections Chris becomes a crew member on a cargo ship headed south (several pals are already planted on board to help along with Andy). Once they reach Panama, Andy and a couple of guys will dash over in a van, collect the funny money, and be back in an hour when the ship’s ready to leave the dock. In and out! No problems, right?! If you think that’s the case then you don’t know your movie crime capers! And of course, that mad dog Briggs and his thugs are bearing down on Sebastian and the Faraday family back in the states. Talk about getting pulled back in (and pulled in several directions)!

The world of smuggling makes an interesting new venue for the crime thriller. It’s a nice change from the bank vault or museum break-in. Unfortunately the film makes too many side trips and cuts back and forth from the Big Easy to the big ship, so the forward momentum can’t gain any speed. It’s fun to see Chris stay one step ahead of the ship’s captain (JK Simmons in full surly, grumpy J. Jonah Jamieson-mode), but quickly we’re back watching Briggs hovering near a kids soccer game. In Panama Chris and his pal are recruited by a wild-eyed crime kingpin (an under-used Diego Luna) in an armored car hit (how long before the ship leaves?). The actors do their best with this disjointed thriller.

Wahlberg commands the screen as a good man forced to do bad things (but no drug running!) who tries to survive using his skills and street smarts. You can almost hear the gears in his head grinding as he has to come up with a new escape idea. Beckinsale’s always a lovely screen presence, but she spends way too much time here being bounced around like a rag doll by the different lowlifes. Speaking of lowlifes,  Ribisi seems to be doing a riff on the growly, grizzled  creep he just played in RUM DIARY. I hope in his next role he gets to clear his throat and clean up a bit. Foster’s Sebastian may be the most complex of the bunch. He’s given up booze and crime, but seems to miss the old thrills. Ben Foster really show us this guy’s inner conflict. It’s another interesting performance by an actor who’s compiling an impressive resume. It’s just a shame they aren’t all involving ain a better thought thriller. The film’s final action climax (there’s at least two or three) is right from THE PERILS OF PAULINE. As a cinema crime caper CONTRABAND doesn’t quite deliver (or smuggle) all the goods

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars