El contratista

We've watched movies about black ops gone awry. What's different in this movie is how the subject is treated. It's commendable. It's well-executed and well-edited. Thus, it's immersive.

The viewer is glued to his seat as he watches how James extricates himself from a life-threatening situation.

While the focus is on the action, the film doesn't ignore human interest. The drama is heartfelt like the scene with James and the scientist in his lab. Or how Mike dotes on his crippled son. Or the all-too-brief scene with James and Virgil at the safehouse. Or the encounter between James and Mike in the parking lot.

The movie also shines a soft light on the situation of ex-military men when they are discharged from the service.

Chris Pine is great here. Praise has to be given to director Tarik Saleh and writer JP Davies.

Chris Pine performs admirably for his part... Unfortunately, the story doesn't have much to say. Nothing about it is memorable. It seems like a script more suited to Stallone, Arnold, or Bruce Willis in their youth. Pine, you are too young for this mediocrity. Leave these kinds of scripts for the older guys. By the way, I hated the Steve Trevor of Wonder Woman 1984. That was worse than this.

In conclusion, I am left with the question what was the point of this film? I think younger people might like it for the gun fights.

This is a decent movie with a decent story and decent action. Chris Pine gives a great performance. Unfortunately this movie is also fairly slow, fully predictable and very regular. It doesn't stand out in any way, but at the same time I didn't mind watching it. (1 viewing, 4/5/2022)

.. what happens when you put one of Hollywood's last legitimate megastars, a genuine A-lister who can carry a film all by himself if he has to, in a second-rate production with a dismal second-rate script where nothing at all happens for the first 30 minutes ... and when things finally DO happen, you almost wish they didn't. Honestly. If I want a story where shadowy figures behind the scenes sanction bad things to good people, I CAN JUST WATCH THE NEWS. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

I had mixed feelings due to the mixed reviews, I decided to watch it and am satisfied I did. The movie was able to keep me interested through the whole movie.