12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Just OK... well maybe not zero-killed, June 17, 2007
The Contractor, formerly known as The Shooter, and not to be confused with Mark Wahlberg's "Shooter" is a movie starring Wesley Snipes as a CIA agent who is assigned to kill a terrorist, only to be framed for another murder. To complicate things more, Snipes will make friends with a teenager who will become his most valuable ally.
I have to say I find this film very straightforward, unimaginative, hardly believable on certain aspects, and just mildly entertaining. At times it feels like an amateur attempt to create a movie and innovate certain cinematographic aspects, but stays as an attempt. Even Lena Headey, who I always find her acting abilities exceptional, feels weak as Inspector Ballard, the one in charge of bringing Dial (Snipes) down. Eliza Bennet as the teenage girl who helps Snipes makes a very good job, even if certain aspects of her character are not believable. It's obviously not her fault, it's the writers'.
So I rate this movie as an average movie, with certain plot holes and pointless scenes. If you want some decent stuff by Wesley Snipes, take a shot, and there's the plus of having Lena Headey in it.
It's 90 minutes where you can enjoy a movie if you're not feeling too picky.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Boring movie, July 14, 2007
Save your time and money and go for "The shooter" instead of this boring movie. Wesley Snipes is cold as ice in this movie and I don't know how much he has been paid for this but its performance doesn't worth a penny.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Nice Supporting Cast, OK Actions and Unoriginal Story, October 1, 2007
If you're looking for an action film with car chases, shoot-outs and explosions, you will be disappointed with "The Contractor," which looks more like an old-fashioned cat-and-mouse thriller. The new Wesley Snipes film, it seems, is a blend of "Shooter" and "The Professional" (aka "Leon") with less actions and emotional intensity.
There is virtually nothing new about the story. Wesley Snipes plays James Dial, a retired sniper who is called in to do another job for men in suit. Of course, he is reluctant, accepts the job anyway and completes the mission, but not in the way he first expected and James must survive and fight back on his own as a stranger in London (but the film is shot in Bulgaria).
This stoic hitman is unexpectedly helped by a lonely, troubled 14-year-old girl Emily he encounters while hiding from his enemies. This is the most memorable part of the film because of the presence of Eliza Bennett ("Nanny McPhee"). You don't find the chemistry between Jean Reno and Natalie Portman here, but their acting is surprisingly good, making their unlikely friendship pretty convincing.
[NICE SUPPORTING CAST] In fact, the supporting actors are one of the merits of watching "The Contractor," of which cast includes, besides Eliza Bennett, veterans like Charles Dance, John Standing and Gemma Jones, plus Lena Headey (Queen Gorgo of "300") as Inspector Ballard.
In spite of their names, however, action scenes need more originality and tension and I don't think the hectic camera work really helps. Moreover, Dance and Headey are sadly wasted, especially the latter, having not much to do in the film's by-the-numbers story. The film is better than you may think, certainly better than most of Snipe's previous direct-to-DVD films, but not much improvement either.
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