Monday, September 3, 2012

Contraband (Jan 2012)


 Genre:
Drama/Thriller


Directed by:
Baltasar Kormakur


Starring:
Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale


Release date:
Fri 13, Jan 2012

Budget        $25 million
Box office          $96,262,212








 
     Contraband is an American action crime thriller film directed by Baltasar Kormákur, starring Mark Wahlberg and Kate Beckinsale. The film is a remake of the 2008 Icelandic film Reykjavík-Rotterdam which Baltasar Kormákur starred in. It was released on January 13, 2012 in the United States by Universal Pictures.








Plot

     Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg) is an ex-smuggler who works installing security alarms and lives a peaceful life with his wife, Kate (Kate Beckinsale), and their two sons in New Orleans. One day, Chris and Kate learn that her brother Andy (Caleb Landry Jones) was smuggling drugs, but was forced to drop them into the Mississippi River in order to avoid arrest during a surprise inspection by U.S. Customs. Andy's boss, ruthless mobster Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi), is infuriated and demands repayment.
     Chris meets with Briggs, who threatens to kill Chris' family if Andy doesn't pay $700,000 in two weeks. Chris realizes that the only way to raise the money is to run contraband and joins the crew of a cargo ship where his father Bud (William Lucking), currently in prison, used to run contraband, in order to buy $10,000,000 in fake bills in Panama and smuggle them into the U.S. with the help of Andy and Chris' old friend Danny Raymer (Lukas Haas). While Chris is gone, Briggs and a couple of his thugs break into Chris's house and scare his wife and kids. Chris asks his best friend, Sebastian Abney (Ben Foster), to take care of his family. He suggests that Kate and the children move to his apartment, and she accepts.
     In Panama, the Chief Engineer gives Chris extra time by sabotaging the ship's pitch propeller, drawing suspicion from Captain Camp (J K Simmons). However, Chris discovers that the bills are of poor quality and refuses to accept them. The only one who can provide good ones is crime lord Gonzalo (Diego Luna). While Chris and Danny negotiate with Gonzalo, Briggs calls Andy and threatens to kill one of Chris' sons if Andy doesn't immediately take Chris' money and buy cocaine, and Andy runs off. An infuriated Gonzalo is about to have them killed when Chris asks if Gonzalo's offer for the two to help in an armored car heist in exchange for the money was still open. They are successful, but Gonzalo and his men are killed in a firefight with the police.
     Chris and Danny make it back to Gonzalo's warehouse and escape in a van with the fake money and a painting stolen from the armored car. Meanwhile, Sebastian begins working with Briggs against Chris after Scottish gangster Jim Church (David O'Hara) threatens to kill Sebastian if he doesn't repay the money he borrowed to save his fledgling construction business. When Sebastian calls Chris, Chris tells him that he might drop the drugs in the ocean. Sebastian tells Briggs to scare Kate in order to make sure that Chris doesn't dump the drugs. That night, Briggs rams Kate's workplace with his truck and assaults her, warning her to tell Chris to not dump the "package". Sebastian pretends to rescue her, scaring off Briggs. He tells Kate to get in his truck, but she smells alcohol on him, takes her kids and drives to a friend's house.
     At the Panama City freight yard, the ship's cook has a container standing by for the contraband-loaded van. He bribes a freight-yard supervisor to delay the loading of three containers to give Chris time to make it to the ship. Chris assaults Andy for stealing the money and buying cocaine. Andy reveals what Briggs told him before. Kate calls Chris and tells him what Briggs did to her and what he said. Chris is surprised that Briggs knew the idea of Chris dumping the drugs. He first suspects Andy, but after Andy persistently tells Chris he didn't say anything, Chris figures out it was Sebastian.
     Sebastian's constant watch over Kate becomes tiresome to her. She goes back to Sebastian's apartment to retrieve some personal items. Sebastian, under the influence, tries to force himself on her. Kate resists him, runs to the bathroom, locks the door and tries to call Chris. Sebastian insults Kate and tells her not to call Chris, telling her he needs to complete his mission and Kate calling him would ruin everything. Kate calls him anyway, and Sebastian breaks the door open, sending Kate flying and bashing her head against the tub. Sebastian thinks she is dead and panics, wraps her in plastic, and throws Kate's unconscious body in a yet to be poured foundation.
     Sebastian then contacts Camp and admits that Chris is smuggling on his ship, promising him a share if he makes sure Chris doesn't throw it overboard. Chris does not give up the contraband, so the captain calls U.S. Customs. However, when the Customs Agents meet the ship in port, they cannot find the drugs.
After Andy leaves the ship, Briggs and his thugs chase and corner him. After Customs has excused Chris, he meets Briggs in a desolate area of the cargo yard where he threatens to kill Andy. Chris breaks Briggs' car window, throws him out, and beats him. He tells Andy to run and takes Briggs to Camp's house, having made a duplicate key while on the ship, and knowingly activates the security system. Chris opens Camp's personal carpet cleaner and retrieves the cocaine from the water tank. Briggs and his gang sit in Camp's living room tasting the cocaine. Chris sneaks out in the Camp's car. Camp awakens to the noise, and comes into the living room as the police arrive. Both Briggs and Camp are arrested.
     Chris goes to Sebastian's construction site and brutally beats him, demanding Kate's location. When Sebastian tells Chris that she's dead, he tries calling her cellphone and hears the ringtone in a building foundation where cement is being poured and rescues her. Sebastian is arrested and meets Bud in prison, where Bud gives a group of inmates an approving nod as they surround Sebastian.
Danny retrieves the fake bills, which Chris had previously dumped into the Mississippi River. Andy buys the escape van at a police auction.
Chris meets with Church, who pays him $3 million for the fake currency. In a friendly conversation, Church asks Chris if he knows anything about a Jackson Pollock (Autumn Rhythm) painting that was stolen in Panama, telling him that it's worth over $140 million, or $20 million on the black market. As they leave the meeting with Church, they find painting still in the van, having gone unnoticed. The film ends with Chris and his family in a waterfront house.




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References.

External links:

"Main Page." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 03 Sept. 2012. Web. 03 Sept. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page>.

https://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi 

 

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Did you like this movie or you didn't? Waiting for your comments. Thank you !



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