WATCH NOW
There’s a lot of talk as of late concerning the genre and style of new releases and what they could mean for the future of films. Are all people bound to only go to theaters when there are superhero movies or other pre-established intellectual properties being shown? If so, then I am assuming that movies like “The Contractor” will soon be the norm on on-demand services. It is well known that American old-fashioned series and movies or “dad products” have the potential to attract a specific demographic within older people who can afford subscription services. The success of “Yellowstone” and “Bosch” indicates that action film starring Chris Pine as Jack Ryan, alongside the actors of “Hell or High Water” should draw people’s attention. Unfortunately, “The Contractor” turned out to be a letdown that had a lot of cool elements, but felt incredibly bland considering the setup. Expecting more from the people involved in this film is quite reasonable. The cast, featuring more talent than memorable roles, only manages to make this one more forgettable than horrendous, meaning “The Contractor 2” is all but guaranteed. And that’s the rub with so many other films like it, I hope social media makes them strive for higher standards.
Pine has proved to be an able performer in “The Contractor,” playing Special Forces Sergeant James Harper, a highly skilled operative with a dislocated knee who is honorably discharged from the US Army. Together with his wife, Brianne (Gillian Jacobs), they are watching the bills mount. That is when his old infantry colleague and friend Mike (Ben Foster) contacts him with an interesting offer. Mike has been working off the books for a veteran named Rusty Jennings (Kiefer Sutherland). The work is plentiful and easy, and most importantly, it’s good money. In the process, James will be able to support his family and have a sense of purpose again. As Mike says, “We’re all just mercenaries in the end,” which gives the first act of “The Contractor” some strong dramatic material that the rest of the film does not deliver on. The last time Pine & Foster starred in a drama built around the deception of the American Dream, it was “Hell or High Water,” and if that was its Western version, then this is its Tom Clancy-inspired one.
Both the writer, J. P. Davis, and director, Tarik Saleh, appear to be hesitant to do anything innovative or different after they have set the pieces in position. So it is hardly shocking that the contract James and Mike get for the mission literally blows up in their faces. Only people who have not watched a movie ever will be shocked to find out that Rusty isn’t inclined to share with them everything that they ought to know. All in all, “The Contractor” ends up being depressingly mundane. Within approximately 100 minutes, there are considerably fewer twists in the plot than the average single episode of a spy drama. Surely it can’t be all just for show, trying to set up a world for a film franchise and still having a storyline so thin that saying it all in less than 15 words is possible. The feeling is so. It’s just in there so people are prepared for a sequential franchise of films.
This means that the cast will have to shoulder the responsibility of transforming this bare-bones film into a two-star production, and they succeed. They are the real mercenaries here, as Pine discovers a sorrow that balances the heroic approach lesser actors would have taken, and he proves that he still has great chemistry with Foster. While Nina Hoss is sadly wasted in a small part, Eddie Marsan gets a great scene that breaks the tedium of the second half with its near-capture/escape structure as James gets lost trying to find his way home.
Other than a remarkable lack of ambition, there is nothing explicitly wrong or dreadful about The Contractor. It checks boxes for what feels like an older audience who miss the days when action movies were made about American heroes instead of super ones. Those movie watches do, in all honesty, deserve better too.
To watch more movies like The Contractor (2022) visit 123movies
Also Watch for more movies like:
