Low End Chills and Thrills

Finally Iceland to get noticed for more than Bjork


By Morgan P Salvo

Now that it’s common knowledge that our movie going experience is inundated with remakes from all kinds of genres I was frightfully leery of this Contraband starring Mark Wahlberg to be the updated Lucio Fulci splatter fest Italian gangster flick of the same name. Well there might be some miniscule similarities, but the Italian Maestro’s film is left unscathed. Turns out Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur decided instead to remake his 2008 flick Reykjavik-Rotterdam.
This Contraband is a general mess on a very mediocre trajectory. Something definitely gets lost in translation from Iceland as its American counterpart is a generic pile of muddle. Still it’s not as bad as I thought it would be, possibly due to Kormákur’s (Jar City /A Little Trip to Heaven) weirdly laid back style that builds little tension over a long period of time with tiny spurts of action interspersed between odd performances.
The plot is extremely old hat: ex-thief-turned-straight (Wahlberg) must do “one last job” in order to save his brother-in-law (Caleb Laundry Jones). The smuggling takes place on a barge where all the “caper-gone-wrong:” trouble ensues. With a really unforgivable ending and loopholes you could sail the barge through, this has fairly harmless action with about a gazillion f-bombs. The banal script offers no imaginative scenes and grates heavy on the somber mood. The classic lines of “I know what I’m doing” and “nothing will go wrong” are actually uttered.
Speaking of bombs, Giovanni Ribissi once again goes into extreme cartoon mode as the ultra slime-ball mosquito in your ear (and face), irritating rather than entertaining, Ben Foster is only adequate, Kate Beckinsale is filler and Wahlberg helps his performance by keeping his whiny voice in a lower octave and cursing every other word. There’s also the villain David O’Hara that damn Scottish guy with the super gravel voice. Plus once you see the camaraderie between Foster and Wahlberg you know Foster will either die or betray--- it’s that predictable
I have never seen a movie where people blurt out the word that should be kept under wraps, in this case “smuggling”. In inopportune moments characters brag about it like it’s the coolest thing ever. ”You guys were the “Lennon and McCartney of smuggling”, “Hey what are you doing--- smuggling or something?” I wouldn’t have been surprised if someone said, “What’s that in the bag …smuggled stuff?”
In Reykjavik-Rotterdam, Kormákur starred in the Wahlberg role. That might be worth a look, as I’m sure the Icelandic take on it is far more bleak therefore more interesting. Contraband’s attempt at art-house minimalism is present and with the weird pace and fragmented direction, all in all it wasn’t the worst way to spend the afternoon. Still, go see Fulci’s Contraband. That sucker will change your life.
My favorite part of Contraband was the preview for Ghost Rider 2, I know what you’re thinking it has Nicolas Cage in it…but Neveldine and Taylor are directing and it looks mighty awesome so stay tuned.


Contraband
Starring Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Giovanni Ribisi, Ben Foster, Directed by Baltasar Kormákur
Rated R
2 ½ stars