“It all tied together,” said audience member Cody Reynolds after the film. “It was very well scripted, I would say. The writers didn’t make it up as they went – they knew where they were going from the beginning.”
The mixture of suspense-timing, humor and street violence made “Contraband” an interesting and fun exposé of how well Mark Wahlberg can pull off a likeable but stern hard-case. At one point the movie peaks in wild grittiness when Farraday and his colleague are forced to go on an armored car heist by an unstable Panamanian crime lord, played by Diego Luna, of all people (who actually does a pretty good job).
Another standout performance comes from Jonathan Kimble Simmons as Captain of the barge used by Farraday’s crew. Simmons seemed to share the role of comedic relief with Ribisi, even though each character plays an antagonist with the soul of a hyena. Ben Foster also dishes out his typically well-acted performance as Farraday’s best friend.
Despite this, “Contraband” doesn’t break any barriers in the genre. Upon viewing, some may feel the energy and tight grip of the film, but simultaneously be reminded of similar movies.
“It reminded of me of ‘American Gangster’ because of all the drugs,” said spectator Hannah Martinez. Indeed, both films deal with like themes – the clever smuggling of illegal cargo, and the murderous figures which control that environment.
And while the cast, writing and execution of “Contraband” is rather solid, it’s still probably doomed to obscurity in the land where stories about reformed criminals forced into their old expertise float around, waiting to be viewed like a lovely landscape painting that’s still too comparable with the rest to stand out.