Contraband

January 18th, 2012

While January is traditionally the dumping ground for misfit movies, there are always a few that manage to surprise.Contraband is a pulpy, efficient and unpretentious remake of the 2008 Icelandic thriller Reykjavík-Rotterdam. Baltasar Kormákur, star of the original film, directs the Hollywood remake and keeps it moving at a fast pace.

Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg) is a retired smuggler living quietly with his wife Kate (Kate Beckinsale) and their kids. Until Farraday’s past comes back to haunt him when brother-in-law Andy (Caleb Landry Jones) dumps an important shipment overboard. When Andy’s thuggish employer (Giovanni Ribisi) threatens not only Andy, but Farraday and his family, the protagonist must take on one more operation to help pay off the debt. And you know how one last jobs go.

Assisted from land by ex-smuggler buddy/construction foreman (Ben Foster), Farraday and Andy set sail on commercial freighter from New Orleans to Panama City. Of course, it is soon evident that many characters have secret motivations of their own, which sets up several double crosses. Events spin out of control as plans change without warning and Farraday is forced to improvise.

The film’s best asset is its impressive cast, particularly the humorous interplay between Wahlberg and both his friends and foes. The funniest moments come from his antagonistic relationship with an austere and nasty ship captain (J.K. Simmons).

The Americanization of this story results in some alterations and a few minor gripes. Farraday is much more of a moral hero in this version, with his rough edges smoothed out considerably.
Additionally, a new back story makes the Farraday family more financially successful, and as a result some of Kate’s decisions under pressure (namely, not leaving town) are poor and unnecessarily endanger herself and the children. The final scenes also clean up a few too many loose ends, losing a rather clever gag from the original in the process.

But the bigger budget allows for more elaborate action sequences. In addition to the immediate threat imposed by the gangsters, Farraday finds himself caught in the middle of a machine gun fight during an armored truck raid, desperately trying to keep a vehicle from falling out of a shipping container’s open door while it is begin loaded on the ship. Director Kormákur milks every scenario to its maximum potential, constantly putting Farraday in situations that leave him seconds away from either detection or death.

It’s very silly and will produce a few snickers, but for the most part Contraband is a decent action romp with enough thrills and entertaining dialogue to make its journey from Iceland to the U.S. a successful one.