Rated R, 110 minutes
For a film about having the goods, the new action thriller "Contraband" lacks some goods, namely emotional punch and bravado. Mark Wahlberg and Kate Beckinsale headline the cast in this remake of a 2009 Icelandic film, whose star directs this version. Wahlberg is Chris Farraday, a former criminal who made many "runs" of illegal goods back in the day. He has gone legit, but he must settle a debt with a slimeball (Giovanni Ribisi) so does what he knows best, make a run to Panama for some goods. Beckinsale is his wife and young character actor Ben Foster is a close friend in over his head. The film starts out well and is peppered with some decent action set pieces, but becomes too far fetched by the time it reaches its fast-paced finale. Foster and Ribisi are becoming typecast playing these types of lowlifes, but they do it well, in contrast to the bland likeness of Wahlberg and Beckinsale. This has been done before, and better (Wahlberg's "The Departed" comes to mind), so you may be better off waiting for the DVD.
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