Big Screen Peter: Contraband

Contraband doesn't worry itself with build up or rising action. It jumps right into the thick of things. It's third base with out a dinner date.

The purpose? A misguided hope that brevity and speed confuse viewers enough to realize they're missing out on serious narrative foreplay. That glitz and clever smuggling tricks might wow audiences enough to make them forget there is absolutely no character development. Unless one wished to count the blatant and repetitive reminders that Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg) used to be the best smuggler in the world. Of course, he's gone straight now.

It's a tired trope, but “Contraband” trots out the one last job scenario. This time, it's so Chris can save his brother-in-law from Tim Briggs, an over the top and hammy characterization of redneck-cum-cajun gangster played (poorly) by Giovanni Ribisi. His role is meant to instill fear, but it falls flat. The scariest moments are those brief interludes when he remains quiet, allowing his actions to speak toward his genuinely menacing demeanor.

This duality is intended to drive “Contraband,” equal parts psychological stressor and heist thriller. But the audience is never invested in the story of Chris Farraday or his wife Kate (Kate Beckinsale) and kids. Not for lack of trying, of course. There are frequent, frantic phone calls between Chris — on a freighter to/from Panama — and Kate, alone with the kids in New Orleans. It isn't until the plot evolves in the later stages of the movie that a true and frightening dynamic enters the fray through Chris' best friend, Sebastian Abney (Ben Foster).

When things wrap up, and mercifully they do, the bow-tied perfection of the result is less than welcome. It's a white-washing of all that precedes it, cheapening any semblance of tension.

It was odd that in New Orleans, a city that is roughly 65% African-American, there was scant notice of that predominance. Further, it was ever more odd to see a ship not only captained, but crewed strictly by Americans. Making this anti-reality ever more painful, was listening to J.K. Simmons fall over himself trying to be cajun or southern or god knows what in his role as the ship's Captain Camp. While his role was necessary to add tension to the shipboard scenes, his performance seemed more suited for a Foghorn Leghorn revival.

Of course, it may be a bit much to ask for authenticity in a Hollywood action flick, but these shortcomings hint at the total lack of reality imbued within the film. From start to finish, it is a scatter-shot mess of ridiculousness intent on keeping the eyes entertained and praying, fervently praying the mind doesn't catch on to the inanities. Even with scenes of genuine tension here or there, it's impossible not to catch on.

At its essence, “Contraband” is much like any other movie you've seen before where theft is involved. Things never seem to go right, but through it all, our protagonist seems to stay ahead of the game. What makes “Contraband” so unbearable, is the utterly infantile way these scenarios are deployed.

When it all winds down, there is no surprise. No ah-ha! moments. Just the realization that it should have been better.

• Contraband is playing at the Carmike 14 and the Malco Cinema 16 in Fort Smith, and the Malco Van Buren Cinema. Link here for time and ticket info.

Feedback
Feel free to contact Peter Lewis at [email protected]

You can also track Peter at his website.