'Contraband' Movie Review

Mark Wahlberg is back and playing a familiar role- a hot badass with a hot girl who loves illegal activities that cement his badassness.

In Contraband, released on Jan. 13 by Universal Pictures, Wahlberg plays Chris Farraday, an ex-smuggler who gets pulled back into the smuggling game by his wife’s (Kate Beckinsale) younger brother Andy, who foolishly did not get out of the business when Farraday told him to.

The movie follows Farraday saving Andy and his family one more time, while going against a rival and being betrayed by his closest friend. The plot seems simple at first, as if Farraday will simply do the job required of him to pay off his brother-in-law’s potential murderers, and will use the help of old friends to do it.

But a series of last-minute betrayals, little things gone wrong, and bits of the story being more complex than they originally seemed all helped to provide for a pretty entertaining movie. The action was good, but basic.

The best role other than Wahlberg was Giovanni Ribisi playing Tim Briggs, a mob boss who threatened to kill Andy, Farraday and his wife and kids if Andy did not get Briggs the money that he owed him. His ruthless but insecure personality showed through his actions with careless actions towards Farraday’s family but careful dealings with Farraday himself, who he knew had no problem killing him.

Farraday’s best friend Sebatian Abney, played by Ben Foster, is the reason Farraday’s wife was almost killed. Abney betrayed his best friend and was working with Briggs all along in the pursuit of drugs and money. A cocaine addict, he proved to be delusional and mentally unstable, which helped lead to the demise of most everyone around him.

Throughout all the drama, when watching the movie you know that everything will be ok, which helps Wahlberg's character but seems to hurt the quality of the movie.