The Contract

Starring: John Cusack, Morgan Freeman, Jamie Anderson, Ned Bellamy
Directed by: Bruce Beresford
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
2007

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An assassin (Morgan Freeman) sees his plans go awry, and while attempting to escape, ends up in the custody of a father (John Cusack) and his son on a camping trip. They attempt to bring him into the police, but the assassin's men are on their trail, desperate to retrieve him.

Review:

Tim: It’s unfortunate that two talents like Morgan Freeman and John Cusack had to come together in such a weak movie. I am supremely fond of both actors, and I was quite excited about this film, although everything about it pointed to a cheap, rushed affair that would not satisfy. It does not.

The story is mildly interesting, but not in the least original. Cusack is good as a father trying to protect his son and faced with some very difficult choices. I wish this struggle would have shown up on screen a bit more. Freeman is in his bad-guy-mode, an assassin who has more heart than you’d expect. These two men don’t get many chances to interact (at least not meaningfully), which is one of the great disappointments of this film. I would have loved for them to have better dialogue with each other, and to have had some really great scenes. The ones they do have are lackluster at best.

The movie floats along with its plot, never seeming too important or too thrilling. We don’t care enough about any of these characters to put in an emotional investment of any kind. The characters are occasionally in some dangerous and potentially deadly situations, but we never seem to be too concerned or worried. We are preoccupied with being fairly bored.

The film does have a few moments of genuine excitement, and you will be at least mildly interested to see how the whole thing is resolved. However, don’t expect too much—this is a messy movie full of holes that is better to be quickly forgotten (and trust me, it will be).



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5.5



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