Peter Bradshaw 

Contraband – review

Contraband, starring Mark Wahlberg, is a thriller in which the twists become so absurd that it becomes a kind of caper – but without the laughs, writes Peter Bradshaw
  
  

Contraband
Need a hand? ... Mark Wahlberg in Contraband. Photograph: PR

This macho thriller is a remake of Iceland's 2008 Reykjavik-Rotterdam and directed by Baltasar Kormákur, producer-star of the original. Mark Wahlberg gives a relaxed performance as Chris, a popular blue-collar guy who has gone legit after a legendary, unpunished career in smuggling. He has a good job, a beautiful wife (Kate Beckinsale) and kids. But his wife's screw-up brother makes a mess of a drug deal, so he has to take one last job to pay the boy's debts. Of course, it goes wrong. It's a thriller in which the twists become so absurd that it becomes a kind of caper, but without the humour. In the end, Chris and his crew just look greedy and smug – when we're supposed to be on their side.

 

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