The Contract
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Movie Reviews of The Contract
Movie Review: Pedestrian
Summary: 2 Stars
A contract killer and his team run into an ex-cop and his kid in the woods.
Problem is, in this movie it doesn't really matter that John Cusack's character is an ex-cop. It barely figures into the plot or his actions or decisions at all. This is not a Die Hard lookalike (the actor or the movie). He could have been a circus clown, and the movie would have essentially been the same (except for one tussle). It doesn't really matter that Morgan Freeman's character is an experienced, ex-military contract killer. He radiates danger, but he isn't able to sufficiently confound an ex-cop.
A key point, for example, is his desire to be found by his buddies versus Cusack's demand that he go with them. Freeman could have simply refused to budge and lain on the ground. What could Cusack do? Yet Freeman goes with them - because Cusack's waving a gun in his face? Come on! But he does have a couple of good lines. (Watch for one of them delivered to a female hiker.)
His buddies don't fare much better for trained killers. One of them is dispatched in a truly amateurish fashion. The action is nothing to write home about.
The US Marshalls ... also clueless and careless. The only point of the movie is that the right-wing US government kills its own citizens, and the target deserves to die because he opposes stem cell research (and supports groups who oppose it through violence). Whoopee.
Entertaining enough with enough brain cells on hold.
Movie Review: Two Great Actors in a Very Disappointing Film
Summary: 2 Stars
Despite the two terrific actors involved, Morgan Freeman and John Cusack, and Director, twice Oscar-nominated Bruce Beresford, "The Contract" misses every opportunity to be a great thriller or a moving drama because of its poorly-written script and boring action sequences. This is a kind of B action film in which a sniper tries to kill his target, but the target is saved by a pure luck more than once; in which the film's situation is incredibly contrived, but its weak story offers little except clichéd and uninteresting characters walking and talking.
Morgan Freeman is Frank, military-trained assassin in the custody of US marshals. He manages to escape with a help from contract killers, but is then apprehended by Ray, an ex-policeman played by John Cusack. Ray and Ray's son wander in the woods with Frank in handcuffs, trying to contact the police and turn in the hitman while protecting his son, but criminals are hot on the trail of them.
The story revolves around the three characters, but it gives no chance to show what these actors can do as it shows little character development. Actions (including shootings, a helicopter and a little bit of car crash) are too bland to interest us. The characters both the good and the bad behave illogically, always doing the last thing they should do and there are plenty of plot holes that would make you feel: "Why do they have to do this?" or "Why don't they just do that?"
Movie Review: not that great a thriller
Summary: 2 Stars
Cordell (Freeman)'s job is to execute contracts. In the middle of an assignment, he has a car accident. His arrest by the FBI follows. His men rescue him, but the car falls in the river and is carried by the drift.
Ex-cop Ray Keene (Cusack) and his son, Chris, are hiking in the woods when they see and rescue Cordell. Ray wants to deliver Cordell to justice and does not listen to Cordell's proposal to leave him alone and travel through the woods. Cordell's men are tracking them down so that Cordell can finish his contract.
An action thriller with a lot of problems in the script and filled with clichés. A little too dramatic at times. A lot of stupid actions were written in the script. The film's music is horrendous. It looks to be a made-for-tv movie, despite the two major actors, Morgan Freeman and John Cusack, who give only decent performances, nothing out of the ordinary.
I had high hopes for this, and was disappointed.
If you're simply looking for action and/or thriller, watch this.
If you're looking for a decent script and a believable plot, don't bother.
Movie Review: Amazingly Poor
Summary: 2 Stars
As we watched this movie, we kept asking ourselves outloud... what the heck are Morgan Freeman and John Cusack doing in this film? This movie's writing smells of a bad 1980s made-for-tv thriller. I can't imagine how two of the best actors in Hollywood could have paired up in a movie that I found so disapointing. In most cases, these guys would carry even the weakest of movies and, to a small degree they do here, but it's just too poorly written and produced to recover. The rest of the casting also seems way off - maybe they're good actors but they have all been caught in a pretty awful movie. Forget for a moment the bad writing and awkward dialouge, the post-production was the worst I've seen in a major movie in a long time. There is one scene where a helicopter crashes and I could swear I was watching an episode of Dukes of Hazzard or something - cheesey slow-mo crash! Oh well.
Movie Review: Take out a contract on this movie
Summary: 2 Stars
Bad script. Incredibly disappointing as one is desperately craving intelligent and strategic thinking in a movie such as this, but it stumbles right out of the gate. I mean, Freeman would never have even gone off with Cusack in the first place, he would have just sat on his butt awaiting his associates. Also, all the rambo scenes with the gym teacher were way over the top. And let's not even talk about the ending where the coach and the two hit men all meet in the woods at the same instant, please. There's tons of other non-sequiters in this movie too. Freeman and Cusack must have really been bored to dive into this stinker.