The Contractor

The Contractor

After being involuntarily discharged from the U.S. Special Forces, James Harper decides to support his family by joining a private contracting organization alongside his best friend and under the command of a fellow veteran. Overseas on a covert mission, Harper must evade those trying to kill him while making his way back home.

  • Released: 2022-03-31
  • Runtime: 120 minutes
  • Genre: Action, Thrillers
  • Stars: Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Gillian Jacobs, Eddie Marsan, Fares Fares, Nina Hoss, J. D. Pardo, Amira Casar, Alexej Manvelov, Toby Dixon, Kiefer Sutherland, Florian Munteanu, Tait Fletcher, Tyner Rushing, Brian Lafontaine
  • Director: Tarik Saleh
 Comments
  • Denno1972 - 30 April 2024
    Don't expect too much
    I went into this guessing what I would get: an unoriginal but enjoyable action movie. And that's pretty much exactly what I got. Storyline wise it's solid but not overly imaginative. However, the thing they are after is an interesting twist and doesn't feel very far away from the truth in this modern age. There are some unnecessary flashbacks to a childhood which doesn't add much but the acting is good, indeed it is one of those films where you wonder why people of the calibre of Pine or Ben Foster signed up bit I'm pleased they did. The action is good, there's a particularly good scene on a bridge and the pacing whilst slow to start is good throughout. If you don't expect anything groundbreaking but just want something to pass the time, this does the job.
  • fun_michael - 26 November 2023
    Not bad, but the storyline doesn't make sense
    Reading the other reviews it seems I am one of the few, which liked the beginning of the movie more than the end. The beginning is indeed slow, and you wonder when the action will come. But Chris Pine is also very convincing here in quietly conveying the difficult situation he is in after being discharged from the Special forces, and finally the decision to become a contractor. Cinematically this phase is also solid.

    As is the transition to Berlin, which is shown properly here, and not just with some token shots.

    After the action starts the story becomes more problematic. The shootout with German police after the job is completely ridiculous, this is not the way German police operates. People being almost dead in the evening and perfectly fine the next morning also doesn't make sense, as well as being on-and-off incapacitated.

    The biggest issues, which p*ssed me off quite a bit, are that the reason why the job was conducted was completely unnecessary, there would have been other ways to achieve the intended result. And that going after Chris Pine's character was also completely unnecessary. Just paying him for a job he performed as to be expected would be the obvious, and cheaper, way to go.

    So, overall a movie with a promising start, but frustrating end.
  • funnycommentor - 28 December 2022
    I'm so bored of those kind of movies
    The plot of the movie wasn't really interesting, nor innovative (actually, there are too many action movies similar to this one). The storyline was just okay, nothing wow (it was kinda boring). The characters were kinda interesting and well-developed, but not really likeable. Of course, there were some intense and action-filled scenes during the movie, but I didn't really enjoyed them. In my opinion, it was just a basic action movie that didn't had any plot twists and nothing wow. I have to admit that, the concept of the movie was kinda interesting, but I didn't really enjoyed it (because it wasn't very well portrayed).. The ending scene was kinda unexpected, but I didn't really care what was gonna happen.
  • helboy - 20 October 2022
    Not bad ...could have been better.
    The storyline is somewhat predictable but still a very watchable movie. The suspense element was too short IMO but maybe because the focus is on the title character and his emotional journey when faced with life changing decisions. The action sequences do look very budgeted compared to other multi million dollar productions but because of that looks a bit more real .It is not too fast nor too slow . No acrobatics, no CGI overlays and no death defying performances. Some parts of the story does seem too far fetched but the compelling performance from Chris Pine does balance these holes. All in all a good watch.

    Semper fi.
  • skateforever-45813 - 24 September 2022
    Massive waste of time and a disgraceful portrayal of the US military
    This movie is a steaming pile of garbage that is a terrible portrayal of the US military. If you like unrealistic movies (with a pointless plot) that portray "US Special forces" like amateurs that can't even do basic infantry stuff right then this should be on the top of your list. If you are a military veteran, do yourself a favor and watch anything else as this movie will frustrate and insult you on top of wasting your time. There is a scene where one of these "SF operators" just runs out of cover/concealment with only a pistol and no armor (he had time to prepare beforehand and it doesn't take much time to throw on a plate carrier) into the open in a straight line towards another "operator" who has a rifle and is behind cover. You can probably guess what happens to him. This is one of many instances where the gun fights are so dumb that you would be better off watching an 80's action flick as those are at least entertaining. Are we supposed to believe a Recon Marine doesn't know how to check his corners when clearing an area? And then admit he knew this particular mission was all jacked up but he still accepted the job anyways? None of this movie makes any sense. This review is written better than this movie. Just watch anything else. Watching your grass grow would be more worthwhile.