Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Please don't spend money on this.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

The premises for this movie is set high. I mean, a thriller starring the talented Morgen Freeman and John Cusack. And I will say that the movie is quite good and entertaining.This movie is about Ray (played by John Cusack) who is out in the woods hiking with his son when they come across Frank (played by Morgan Freeman) who is handcuffed to a dying policeman. Frank is a killer set out to do a contract job. With Frank's associates searching the woods for their boss, Ray and his son must track treacherous terrain with dangerous men in their footsteps.There is a great progress to the movie, and it is constantly up in high gear. There is a lot of thrill and excitement in the movie. And there is a good continuity throughout the entire movie.With Morgan Freeman and John Cusack in the lead roles you know very well what you are in for. And right on the money, they deliver where it counts. And they make it well-worth watching the movie.If you enjoy a good cat-and-mouse thriller then "The Contract" is definitely something that you should check out. It was thoroughly entertained by this movie from start till end.

The Contract is directed by Bruce Beresford and written by Stephen Katz and John Darrouzet. It stars Morgan Freeman, John Cusack, Jamie Anderson and Alice Krige. Music is by Normand Corbeil and cinematography by Dante Spinotti. Widower Ray Keene (Cusack) takes his troubled son on a camping trip and ends up trying to bring a well known assassin, Frank Carden (Morgan Freeman), to justice. Not easy since Carden's team are tracking them through the wilderness.A plodding no thrills wilderness hunt type drama without a sense of purpose or suspense. Pic takes a familiar route with characters tainted by family strife or harbouring good hearts beneath bad exteriors, while the script tosses in mundane exchanges at frequent intervals. Cusack and Freeman are on auto-pilot, though the latter seems to be enjoying himself in a bad boy role, and nobody ever convinces us that this is anything but TV movie standard story telling. Spinotti's photography around a mountainous Bulgaria (standing in for Washington State) is the highlight, and what action there is is handled in decent fashion by the director. Yet as various interesting threads are dangled to end up not being pulled, and the formula of genre is adhered to wholesale, you understand why it went direct to video and why all involved have pushed it out of their minds completely. 4/10

This is a good thriller. I don't know why the hate, or the direct-to-video release? First things first, there is a script to appreciate. It's written by (Stephen Katz), who is an experienced action and thriller writer. His career contains writing episodes of TV shows like (Hart to Hart, Tales of the Gold Monkey, Magnum, P.I., Knight Rider, Hunter, and The A-Team). In (The Contract) he evokes (3:10 to Yuma), the western classic, with similar characters and storyline. In a way, I may see it as a better remake with adding many remarkable points along the way such as : being modern, the matter of pursuing the hit-man by his crew while using high tech, one of this crew plans secretly to kill him, plus the mysterious security manager who works for obscure agenda, and the tincture of the political satire with hiring assassins for higher goals then getting rid of them for another higher goals, or so they say. Then, a climax concerning an assassination. I liked all of that. The second top element around was (Morgan Freeman). He was the boss with his charisma, vitality, and kindness under the evil surface. Watch him doing his action scenes perfectly, despite that he was 70-year-old (I was yelling sometimes "You're the man Freeman !). (Jonathan Hyde) proved that he can be someone else (Richey Rich)'s butler; so after being sophisticated with dark suit, he's now sophisticated with dark side. The relief was well-made with 2 hick cops. The numbered fistfights were very well choreographed and executed. The cinematography was beautiful with nice carders and wild locations. And the direction had its moments; I loved the sequence of breaking into the cottage at all blue lighting. The thing is, some points disappoint this movie as solid enjoyable thriller.The lead undertakes leading that dangerous prisoner to the police, because the latter told him earlier "you can't do it" ??! Why the lead wasn't made as someone who lost his job as a cop because one prisoner escaped from him once? Or maybe he lost his wife by the hands of a loose criminal. Any of that could have explained the lead's eagerness to do the job as a man who avenges his past or his wife. But alas. He didn't even have that problem where his son doesn't see him as a hero or something ! The character of the girl looked so inserted; for having a girl around, for a naked scene, for a possible love interest for the widower lead (especially when it's made as someone who has issues with her boyfriend, not suffering much after his murder). Well, generally, how obvious !! I read that the movie at some point ran out of money to an extent where director (Bruce Beresford) was forced to use his own money to complete the production; this shows at the climax. There is something hasty and poor about it. Sure the movie needed hotter action zenith (annoying p.s : How come all of that action is taking place around the funeral and nobody noticed?). Then, the warning of (Freeman)'s character to the security manager before the end; basically I want to know; what could be exactly the problems that that lady would cause to the lead and his son ?! And frankly, despite doing his best effort, (John Cusack) is always a shortcoming to me, with weak charisma and performance that lacks the power to convince.No doubt it's watchable and tense. The script, the direction and (Freeman) provide such a good "short" time, knowing that it runs for just 85 minutes. True that in terms of writing it was more interesting and complicated than (3:10 to Yuma), but lost some depth and fair climax. Some touches here and there could have made it longer and better though. So while being potentially more advanced than (3:10 to Yuma), it arrives late, where nearly everybody have taken the first train !However, and despite anything, I give it 7 out of 10. While movies like (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest), (Crank), (The Da Vinci Code), and (Casino Royale) are all produced in the same year, having – unlike (The Contract) – cinematic releases, more success and sequels, I see that (The Contract) beats them all.

This film was just about passable. I gave it 4/10 (2*) for the scenery it had on offer, because other than that the film was damn right ugly. The script/dialogue - terrible, the acting- abysmal, the characterisation - non-existent. Do not watch this film unless you like hiking, as that seems to be the only area where the makers of this film intended to reflect something credibly. The actual assassin/contract killer business is represented very limply indeed and is hardly the cut throat, excited world one might think it to be (Go check out 'Wanted' instead, which is also about assassins and stars Morgan Freeman, but unlike this film is actually good) - very uninspiring. As for the main two actors, who's involvement had made me interested in this film in the first place, well...Morgan Freeman just about manages to save his reputation in spite of the weakly written script he is evidently working from and Cusacks not too bad, if a little stuck in his stereotypical I'm a former policemen/Joe Bloggs hero role. As for the rest of the cast, like I said before - blo*dy awful. So, to conclude, would I recommend this film - simply put - no way. I've just put my copy in the trash - as that's the only place this film belongs.