R
1h:49m
Contraband is a decent heist film. It's not as fast-paced as Fast and the Furious, not as funny and clever as Snatch or Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, doesn't have a huge cast of charismatic and witty characters like Danny Ocean's crew, but the film works...to some degree.
Robert Wahlberg, as he's labeled in the credits, takes on the same type-casted persona but in a different light; a South Boston accent wielding ex-smuggler who has to take on a job to save his family. Sounds a lot like Gone in 60 Seconds; ironically enough, Giovanni Ribisi plays the villain in Contraband whereas he played the victim in Gone in 60 Seconds.
There's not a lot of character progression in this movie. You're not going to get too emotional, even when Kate Beckinsale is being encased into cement, but you do get an urge to root against Ben Foster's character. Action-scenes are spaced out well and the suspense and mystery of whats going on keeps the movie entertaining and satisfying, yet there is a lot of screenplay that is unneeded and Marky Mark reuses many of his mannerisms and quirks.
Like I previously stated, Contraband is a decent heist film, but it lacks in making you care about the lesser characters which dilutes the script in my opinion. I give Contraband a 3/5.