Contraband (2012)

Directed by: Baltasar Kormakur | 109 minutes | thriller, crime | Actors: Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, Giovanni Ribisi, JK Simmons, Lukas Haas, Diego Luna, Caleb Landry Jones, William Lucking, Jaqueline Fleming, Robert Wahlberg, Monica Acosta, Michael Beasley, Deneen Tyler

In 2008 the Icelandic thriller ‘Reykjavík-Rotterdam’ was published. In it, a number of smugglers try to smuggle alcohol from Rotterdam to Reykjavík. The main role in this film is played by Baltasar Kormákur. The same Baltasar Kormákur is now responsible for directing the thriller ‘Contraband’, a remake of ‘Reykjavík-Rotterdam’.

In the case of ‘Contraband’, we move to the cities of New Orleans and Panama for the story. Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg) used to be one of the best smugglers around. However, now that he is happily married and has two children, his smuggling years are behind him. He chose a civilian life. When his brother-in-law, the youthful Andy (Caleb Landry Jones), gets into trouble with the underworld after screwing up a drug smuggling business, Chris comes to his rescue. He decides to take the freighter and his old crew to Panama one last time to do some smuggling and thus secure the lives of Andy and his own family.

‘Contraband’ continuously alternates between the images of Panama, where Chris and his crew are busy, and New Orleans, where his wife (Kate Beckinsale) stays behind with their children. It soon becomes apparent that they too are not sure about their lives. Yet it is the scenes on the ship and in Panama in particular that make the film interesting. When the group has arrived in Panama, of course everything that could go wrong goes wrong. The whole thing quickly degenerates into a race against time to get the boat back. This results in some fun action scenes. In the end, even the entire Panamanian underworld gets involved. The action in New Orleans is a bit sparse, here it is more the well-known blackmail and threat scenes that you get to see.

Now ‘Contraband’ doesn’t do too much innovative stuff anyway. The whole smuggling operation (which is rather messy and chaotic at times) is somewhat reminiscent of, for example, Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Ocean’ films. And the way the freighter’s captain, Captain Camp (JK Simmons), in particular, is constantly led astray is the better ‘Jason Bourne’ work. Not all that original, but it does provide the much-needed humor in the story. In particular, the way Captain Camp gets involved in the conflict at the end is hilarious. Mark Wahlberg’s performance as Chris is also convincing. Chris has clearly not forgotten the trick of smuggling and shows that he is not to be trifled with.

Despite the fact that ‘Contraband’ is a remake, this is not really disturbing for those who have seen the original. The whole feels new because of the different setting (especially the parts that take place in Panama). In addition, it is all a bit grander and more spectacular. ‘Contraband’ does last almost half an hour longer than ‘Reykjavík-Rotterdam’, so that the story can be told in more detail and in more detail. It is doubtful whether the latter was a wise choice. At the end, the film takes a long time to knit all loose ends, as far as this is still possible due to the chaotic smuggling operation. Once all the dust has cleared, the conclusion is that ‘Contraband’ is an entertaining action thriller despite some flaws. Nothing more, nothing less.