The Contractor

A friend of mine told me that I had to sit down to watch the 2022 action thriller "The Contractor" as it was a really good movie. So I took his word and opted to sit down and watch what writer J. P. Davis and director Tarik Saleh had to offer with "The Contractor".

And I will say that "The Contractor" was definitely watchable, but it wasn't an outstanding action thriller. Whereas it certainly was entertaining, I just found the storyline to be somewhat bland and generic. And writer J. P. Davis just didn't bring much of anything new to the genre. A shame really, because there certainly was pontential for a lot more here.

The storyline, while somewhat generic, was interesting enough and made for good entertainment. So yeah, I will say that "The Contractor" is worth taking the time to sit down and watch. Just keep in mind that you are not in for a revolutionary action thriller here. The pacing of the storyline was good, and there was a good combination of character development and action throughout the course of the movie.

Was "The Contractor" predictable? You betcha. But it was not really a hindrance for the plot, because the movie ended up being rather enjoyable nonetheless.

The movie had a good cast ensemble, and it was nice to see Chris Pine in a movie such as this one. Ben Foster was also rather nicely cast for the movie, and it was definitely a treat to see Keifer Sutherland in the movie, and he had a rather good role in "The Contractor".

All in all, then "The Contractor" makes good entertainment for a single viewing. And I do say single viewing, because there simply wasn't enough contents to the storyline to support more than a single viewing here. So yeah, I am not going to be returning to watch "The Contractor" a second time.

My rating of director Tarik Saleh's 2022 action thriller "The Contractor" lands on a six out of ten stars.

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.

I was reading an article on how Chris Pine has the potential to become the next Robert Redford. He is a good actor and I think his fine face gave him an advantage, but then trapped him into these mindless action roles. Robert Redford may be too much, but with age, I think he may be heading towards the start of his real career.

Unfortunately, just having him hog almost the entire screen time doesn't save this formulaic film from being completely average. Pine's character is good, he is trusting, his trust is broken (for unfathomable reasons), he breaks things back. You've seen it before. The other people in the cast that you might recognize are there only to bait you into buying the film and they are irrelevant to the story. What is terrible is that the systemic issue that the film reveals at the beginning remains unaddressed. Everybody who dies in the film is a victim and the ending provides absolutely no closure as related to the actual problem.

Bottom line: guys gets angry and kills everybody. It makes one feel better about their own powerlessness and frustration, but tells no story and solve no problem. Having Ben Foster, Kiefer Sutherland, Eddie Marson, even Florian Munteanu in the cast for just a few minutes or even seconds is a crime. Filmed in Romania.

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.

Obviously a Jason Bourne copycat, but that doesnt mean it is a terrible movie.

The good: I kinda appreciated the slow start, by which I got to know the CHARACTERS. At the start this movie is basically a character drama. But only after 35 minutes or so, the full blown action is unleashed. So give it some time, you'll be rewarded for your patience, OR simply skip the first 35 minutes.

The bad: many will get bored by the slowburning start, but give this story some time to start up.

More bad: there are some credibility issues with the story. For example they raid a laboratory and within minutes the German police is present with full gear. NOT likely to happen for real. But perhaps I am nitpicking...

To conclude, this is NOT as good as any of the Jason Bourne movies, but in lack of any new Jason Bourne movies this will (barely) do,

The story: an American soldier, desperate for money and a family to take care of, hesitatingly agrees to work for a shady private contractor company, becoming a hired gun. Soon he finds out he is being set up and the company that hired him is about to kill him. Will he come out alive?