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The Contract Movie Review
The Contract Review
"The Contract" Overview

Rating: R
2006
Cast and Crew
Director : Bruce BeresfordProducer : Randall Emmett,George Furla,Avi Lerner,Danny Lernerucer,Andreas Schmid,Les Weldon
Screenwiter : Stephen Katz,John Darrouzet
Starring : John Cusack,Morgan Freeman,Alice Krige
How'd a reasonably-big ($25 million) budget picture starring John Cusack and
Morgan Freeman and directed by twice-Oscar-nominated Bruce Beresford go
absolutely nowhere? I'd never even heard of The Contract until the DVD showed
up at my house. I wager you're the same... and few will even see it on home
video, either.
The story begins with decent promise as Freeman is revealed to be a stellar
hitman, only his cover is finally blown and the many enemies he's made over the
years come after him. He escapes an elaborate assassination and runs into the
wilderness, only to be apprehended (because he's in handcuffs) by a camping
father (John Cusack) and his son. While the trio attempts to get back to
civilization to turn Freeman in, they're pursued by the bad guys and the good
guys, and they still have to deal with harsh terrain surrounding them.
Beresford's setup starts strong but soon peters out and gets repetitive as
Cusack faces down one impossible situation after another, but never with much
finesse. It's just running around on a mountain, often in the dark: The final
showdown takes place completely and absurdly without lighting and pretty much
seals the movie's doom.
Safe to skip. Even Cusack fans will find his charms in short supply here.
Reviewer: Christopher Null
Skip it is the best way to avoid it, but then you would be missing out on some
very fine performances, first from that wonderful Gentleman and one of screen
acting's most dignified and elegant actors Morgan Freeman, and then some
sterling hard work from John Cusack, as he fights gallantly to bring something
of the performance that is needed to compliment Mr Freeman and to disguise the
unbelievably rotton work of the diretor of this failed action movie.
The first scene is as tight as a drum, in spite of looking more like the setup
for a good TV commercial, than the introductory scene of a major action movie,
but it soon falls appart, as it becomes apparent that bad casting in the
smaller roles (most of whom are good actors who appear to have been abandoned
by both the director and the script)and shoddy set ups. Mr Freeman's character
is allowed to become increadable, thanks to shoddy attention to his major
action, soon after being arrested by John Cusack's character, who's task by the
way was always going to be dificult to sustain, since his only option in
adversity, was to kill a man who, at this early stage, he knew nothing about,
in an act of cold blooded murder.
It is worth watching to see these two fine actors give it a go, but it is a
shoddy movie, very badly directed.
absolutely owesome movie!! here in malaysia, its kind of hard to get that movie..
ive been looking places for that CD (finally got it at black market!!). For JC's
movie collector like me, it's so worth it!!
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