The movie Contraband is the story of Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg), an ex-smuggler who is forced to do one last job to save his family. Cliched plot aside, the movie is actually well executed and entertaining. Chris was once an expert in the field of smuggling but eventually "became legit", starting his own business and raising a family. While on a smuggling job, his brother-in-law has to ditch a stash of cocaine, because the ship is being boarded and searched by customs. Due to this, the people he was working for kill his partner and badly injure him, threatening his life if he doesn't find a way to pay them back. Chris decides to get back into the business to protect him, as well as the rest of his family. I appreciated the fact that Chris isn't the "John McClane" action hero, thinking of himself as a bad-ass, spewing off one liners and lighting a cigarette every five minutes. He's intelligent and knows what to do to get the job done. He always seems to be one step ahead of everyone else, as he's able to out think the customs officers and ensure the safety of his family. The movie was able to put me on the edge of my seat at times, which is the trademark of a good action movie. The acting was solid, from the ways I mentioned Chris behaving, to the secondary characters, who sometimes aren't potrayed very well in action movies. In all honesty, I was expecting the movie to be explosions and cheesy acting, but I was pleasantly surprised with an engaging story, decent acting, and an ending that left me wanting more. Contraband is definitely worth seeing for anyone who enjoys a good action movie.
