Contraband

R

Released Jan 13, 2012

1 hr. 50 min.

Action

Mystery & Thriller

List

51%

165 Reviews

Tomatometer

57%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Ex-smuggler Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg) gave up his criminal ways long ago. But, he's forced back into the game after his brother-in-law, Andy (Caleb Landry Jones), botches a drug deal for a crime lord (Giovanni Ribisi), leaving Chris to settle the debt. With the help of his best friend (Ben Foster), Chris assembles a team to run to Panama to retrieve a fortune in counterfeit bills. When things go awry, Chris must call on his rusty skills to complete the task before his family pays the price.

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Critics Consensus

It's more entertaining than your average January action thriller, but that isn't enough to excuse Contraband's lack of originality and unnecessarily convoluted plot.

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Peter G

I have seen a number of Kormakur‘s absorbing Icelandic films & this, a re make of a Icelandic film where he played the Mark Wahlberg character (but did not direct) has a pretty interesting premise but is handled with enough contrivances not to mention plot holes that could sink a ship (figuratively) the size of the tanker in the film sailing between New Orleans & Panama. Little logic plays a part in this mess which, since the script seems thrown together without any sense of linear clarity. Trying to make some rational attempt at a coherent plot & it's unbelievable details is a losing proposition. The action set pieces are also awkwardly handled besides & what motivates them is, IMO, unfocused & devoid of sufficient tension & excitement. Too bad because the cast is a solid one set adrift (pun intended) in a sea of mediocrity. Another Kormakur American film EVEREST was a bit of an improvement over this farrago but his Icelandic works as a director are of considerably greater quality, so far anyway.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

11/16/23

Full Review

angela g

i thought i would enjoy this movie but i was not a big fan of this mark Wahlberg and everybody in the movie did a great job at acting but it was boring some times

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/07/23

Full Review

Justino S

De um modo geral, é um filme ótimo para passar o tempo.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/28/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The pros: the cast is great and the production is well done. The cons: it's like they started a little plot fire without enough fuel and then started looking around the room for anything else to throw on it... furniture... Jackson Pollock paintings... anything. But if you like Mark Wahlberg and his stellar supporting cast, it's worth suspending your disbelief for a couple hours. This is more on the tense / thriller end of Wahlberg's spectrum... not feel good or fun.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Underrated Wahlberg movie. Worth the one time watch. Fun movie

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/11/22

Full Review

ZOMBINOX

I enjoyed this movie and Mark Wahlberg in the leading roll. Not his best movie, but FAR from his worst. Solid Movie.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/24/22

Full Review

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Baltasar Kormákur

Director

Mark Wahlberg

Chris Farraday

Kate Beckinsale

Kate Farraday

Ben Foster

Sebastian Abney

Giovanni Ribisi

Tim Briggs

Caleb Landry Jones

Andy

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Tara Brady

Irish Times

A-Team rules apply: this is a gore-free zone that, in common with ye Lethal Weapon movies of yore, yokes family values to gunplay.

Rated: 3/5

Mar 19, 2012

Full Review

London Evening Standard

How this confused and mediocre heist-cum-action movie reached - albeit briefly - the top spot in the US box-office ratings passes all understanding.

Rated: 2/5

Mar 16, 2012

Full Review

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

It's a thriller in which the twists become so absurd that it becomes a kind of caper, but without the humour.

Rated: 2/5

Mar 15, 2012

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

This flavorless action fodder goes from tiresome to mildly unpleasant.

Rated: 2/4

Mar 1, 2023

Full Review

David Bax

Battleship Pretension

Everything about Contraband is fleeting. It's an exercise in formula that only manages to excite you a little bit more than it will surprise you, which is not at all.

Mar 16, 2021

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

The excitement may be there at times, but skimped character development and a camera that just won't settle down only result in indifference.

Rated: 3/10

Dec 1, 2020

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Ex-smuggler Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg) gave up his criminal ways long ago. But, he's forced back into the game after his brother-in-law, Andy (Caleb Landry Jones), botches a drug deal for a crime lord (Giovanni Ribisi), leaving Chris to settle the debt. With the help of his best friend (Ben Foster), Chris assembles a team to run to Panama to retrieve a fortune in counterfeit bills. When things go awry, Chris must call on his rusty skills to complete the task before his family pays the price.

Director: Baltasar Kormákur
Executive Producer: Liza Chasin, Evan Hayes, Bill Johnson
Screenwriter: Aaron Guzikowski
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Closest to the Hole, Working Title Films, Leverage, Blueeyes
Rating: R (Pervasive Language|Brief Drug Use|Violence)
Genre: Action, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 13, 2012, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 1, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $66.5M
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby SRD, DTS

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