The Contractor

The core cast, Pine and Foster especially, are superb, while the screenplay gives them plenty to chew on. At a quickly moving 105 minutes, the film is worth the time investment.

Director Tarik Saleh, whose previous feature was the excellent Cairo-set neo-noir The Nile Hilton Incident, stages the shoot-’em-ups and explosions effectively, but it’s the film’s quiet exchanges that carry the most visceral punch.

It follows the rules of the genre as unwaveringly as its hero follows orders, but despite that, there’s a tense, tightly constructed thriller here — and Chris Pine makes a decent play as a neo-Bourne.

The Contractor challenges expectations in many ways, it just never goes quite far enough.

The Contractor seems torn between two types of films: the direct-to-video staple of a reluctant soldier bearing arms to protect his family, and a bleaker condemnation of private contracting (and the systems of power that necessitate its survival). It is the second film that blinks first, leaving Pine and Foster to carry the remaining scenes to their generic conclusion.

This unfussy action-thriller has a lot of Jason Bourne in its bloodstream, with director Tarik Saleh focusing on taut pacing and crisp sequences. But despite some solid craftsmanship, the film never fully transcends what is familiar about the setup — much like the titular hero, The Contractor gives its all, possibly in vain.

This film is what it is, a particularly generic genre piece that the bean counters at a once-great studio must have had reason to believe would turn a profit, mostly in the foreign market. Very possibly it will.

This is a much better movie than the reviews suggest. There is nearly nonstop action but also a good storyline. Betrayal is rampant with Kiefer Sutherland leading the pack. Chris Pine does a great job as do the other top actors. Highly recommended!

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

The Contractor is a good adventure movie, but some of it seemed a bit redundant to me. I loved Pine in this role and he delivered on the acting phenomenally but I feel like it was a generic storyline in many ways and that kind of got to me. Mixed bag, good film, but not my best cinema visit this year.

(Mauro Lanari) Discharged from the U.S. Army Special Forces, Pine risks his own family's financial ruin and agrees to work with a military contractor for a profitable offer. After a heap of scenes already seen hundreds and hundreds of times, in the penultimate we spot his house with the pool in the back.

bad [ bad ] adjective, worse, worst;(Slang) bad·der, bad·dest for 36. not good in any manner or degree.