Ehhh... yeah okay. Nothing phenomenal, but a completely inoffensive viewing experience with solid actors and atmosphere. Everything about it gives it enough to get by without really striving to the next level. It's pretty predictable I guess, with an interesting conclusion, but with a couple of half-assed emotional sub-plots and characters that you don't ever reeeally have to get too invested in. They're just kinda there, and that's okay. I do like Kate Beckinsale though, damn she's sexy.

Typical mark wahlberg movie only it seemed like he wasnt even trying here

For a January action movie, this was pretty good. The cast is responsible for most of that quality. The basic story is pretty enjoyable but at times it gets a little heavyhanded. Still, I can't complain. I got more than I was expecting.

Director Baltasar Kormakur brings a harsh lens over the typical crime thriller narrative. While the cast is magnificently pieced together, too much time is given to Mark Wahlberg's silent hero antics and not enough to the many well conceived villains and supporting pieces. In spite of a derailing third act twist involving Marky Mark's main squeeze, Contraband manages to remain gripping and exciting through most of its two hours.

a good action movie 10 out of 10

Unfortunately I felt like I knew exactly what was coming in every scene. The screenplay did not add any clever twists and somehow managed to incorporate all the cliches of writing. That is the biggest downfall of Contraband, two major scenes could have been different and it would have been a whole new film. It was saved by the acting from the wonderful cast. Ribisi and Foster in particular saved this film for being a boring drag of a film. Decent effort, could have used more development.

Not much to say.

I may be overrating this a tad, but I'm rating it partially for the film itself and partially out of recognition that this sort of B-grade action thriller - not trying to revolutionize anything or be a sweeping epic, but just keeping its foot on the pedal with a fast pace and violent action and twists from start to finish - has value in the cinematic landscape. I also appreciate the complete absence of CGi in the action scenes. The villains are on the weak side, but still, I had a good time.

The director treats you like an idiot by constantly throwing exposition in your face and trading nuance for explanation. Ben Foster was the best part and was tragically underused until I'd already checked out. Just watch the trailer add a few "fucks" into the dialogue while imagining the most predictable by the numbers plot to go around it, and you'll save yourself nearly two hours and a few bucks.

Contraband is an above-average heist film. It takes its time to get going, but once it does, there's no stopping it. The set-up works effectively, slowly building tension until it all gets released in the final 50 minutes. While the script needed fine-tuning, removing some unimportant plot points to help the pacing, this is an engaging film with effective performances.

Good movie with a really slow start. It was hard at the beginning to really care for any of the characters because everybody just said the F word every other word. Very poor script writing. About half-way through the action and story got going and it will leave you on the edge of your seat.

By my scale this is a 'very good' so maybe I'm rating it too high, like Ytadel, but I agree with his/her review. Honestly; this is a fun little, unoriginal, but well acted movie. It does nothing you haven't seen a million times, but most of it is thrilling. It builds some tension, and even though I felt like the whole thing with the wife at the end was kind of wonky, I had a good time. If a movie entertains it gets a recommendation from me, and Contraband does.

Certainly not going to be remembered in ten years, but it's still an enjoyable crime thriller. Fun at the movies, but not much more.

Pretty shitty all around. I guess I can say I was entertained, but this was not good at all.