Reviews of Contraband 2012
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Part of The December Project: Film #48
I will always defend the idea of a "Formula film". These days, I feel as if the adjective "formulaic" is thrown around with reckless abandon over what the idea of a formula really is. In reality, formulas exist because they work. But a formula can only work if you understand and believe in it. Contraband can't commit to either.
I shouldn't be surprised that a January release made to be some kind of…
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Contraband doesn’t have an original idea in its entire two hour runtime. Whether it is the kind hearted crook forced to pull off one final job or the stock characters, it is a story you’ve seen countless times before. The real disappointing thing is that all these predictable elements have been handled with far greater skill and verve than this leaden heist.
With any film of this kind there is always a point where it stretches plausibility. In Contraband this…
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This film is like the snooze button on your alarm clock.
It wakes you up every 9 minutes with either somebody shouting, shooting a gun or crashing a car, only to bore you back to sleep with its cliché ridden, poorly acted plot.
This film has already been made. And a million times better at that.
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While its cast is peppered with pleasing names, "Contraband" does not have a lot else going for it. Its style is indistinct, the film looking like a half-dozen other action thrillers made in the Tony Scott vein. Its tone is ever-shifting, and the story is pocked with credibility-sucking holes in its character motivations. It could have been a fun exercise had it sported a few more set pieces, but, overall, "Contraband" is less than engaging.
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"I'm not runnin' anything. Your wife asked me to bring some Panamanian dogshit home for her to eat and rub in her fucking cunt, but I didn't have time!"
There's way too much plot here, but I can definitely make room in my life for a movie with lines like that, especially when they go along with an insane Giovanni Ribisi, a bizarrely Cajun JK Simmons and a hilariously and highly questionable message.
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"This is no fucking bueno."
Indeed, Marky Mark, this is no fucking bueno!
A story told before in 100 different better ways, the only redeeming aspects are, is fast pace and most of the acting is descent enough. but overall a forgettable film that will be loop in cable forever.