Contraband (2012)

User Review

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  TheMovieDiorama

  5 / 10

  Contraband smuggles a decent cast into an unfocused forgettable story. Remaking one of Iceland's biggest films 'Reykjavíc-Rotterdam' was inevitably going to happen at some point. Surprisingly one of stars of that film, Kormákur, helmed the director's chair in this American remake. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't do a suitable job. Contraband is littered with issues that, while not necessarily making it a bad film, results in a remake that lacks any personality. An ex-smuggler is thrusted back into the job he left in order to save his wife's brother from owing a local gangster a substantial amount of money.
  
  A functional story that, as it progresses and develops, turns into a contrived plot that lacks any focus. A third of the narrative depicts the drug smuggling run from Panama, where the crew are occasionally faced with problematic issues that make the job that little bit more difficult. I mean, low quality fake bills worth ten million dollars is not going to cut any mustard, let's be honest. Kormákur attempts to balance this with Beckinsale's character as she faces conflict herself. Mostly being harassed and having her face smashed into mirror (ouch, bad luck!). These two narratives work fine and provide some entertainment, but Kormákur is unable to inject any thrills or endangerment for these characters. If something goes wrong, you aren't on the edge of your seat because unfortunately you don't care about these individuals despite the acting being relatively solid, especially from Foster who is consistently edgy.
  
  The smuggling narrative moves too swiftly, to the point where you start questioning what is actually happening. A specific event then happens to Beckinsale's character in the third act, but comes across as an obvious attempt to create shock as if Kormákur had nothing else to give. His desperation for thrills cemented his lack of understanding for the genre, and inadvertently made my eyes roll as I slumped into my sofa. Look, this remake is watchable and provides some light entertainment. Chances are though, you'll forget about its contents the very next day.

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