The Contractor is a 2022 American action thriller film directed by Tarik Saleh, who is making his English-language directorial debut. Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Gillian Jacobs, Eddie Marsan, J. D. Pardo, Florian Munteanu, and Kiefer Sutherland are among the cast members. Filming began in October 2019 across Europe, including Fort Bragg, and ended at the end of the year.
Paramount Pictures and STX films released The Contractor in cinemas and on demand in the United States on April 1, 2022. Critics gave the picture mediocre reviews, and it was a box office flop, generating only $2 million worldwide on a $40-50 million budget.
The Contractor Story: After being involuntarily discharged, a Special Forces sergeant (Chris Pine) takes on a private assignment in a bid to provide for his family.
Movie Review:
James Harper is dismissed from the military after failing a drug test. He signs up as a contractor for a private group, based on the advise of his veteran buddy Mike, now that he is without healthcare coverage or a pension (Ben Foster). Unfortunately, when the mission goes terribly wrong, James is forced to fend for himself.
‘The Contractor’ is an unsatisfactory action film that is both predictable and not entirely unwatchable. The issue of abandoned veterans, which is central to James Harper’s moral dilemma, isn’t particularly new in Hollywood. At the very least, Chris Pine makes the best of the situation. He brings a lot of believability to the role, and his sequences with Ben Foster are particularly successful. Unfortunately, they don’t get much screen time together. While they make every effort to develop a bond between their characters, an unavoidable storyline twist leaves a gaping vacuum. However, it’s only one of several flaws in the sloppy writing. The plot takes a long time to get started, and once it does, it rushes to tie up loose ends rather than making sense.
Eddie Marsan plays Virgil in a brief but brilliant appearance in the supporting cast. Kiefer Sutherland’s no-nonsense veteran Rusty is as expected, but the picture could have used more of him. Gillian Jacobs is cast as James’ wife Brianne, who plays a traditional wife disturbed by her husband’s work and actions. Despite being the film’s most prominent female character, Jacobs is given very little to do.
The cast of ‘The Contractor’ is blessed with a desire to improve the material at hand. However, director Tarik Saleh doesn’t push them beyond the generic and predictable writing, which ultimately fails them and us. Though the movie is a flop, but it delivered a good message!
The Contractor is available to stream in the United Kingdom now on Prime Video.
