Chris Faraday once smuggled illegal items or contraband into the country on freighters.

He left that life behind, got married has a family and went legit. But when his brother-in-law gets involved with Briggs, a drug dealer and when blows a deal, Briggs demands restitution which he can't deliver.

So Chris offers to find a way to pay him but the he threatens Chris' family if he doesn't deliver.

So he gets on a freighter destined for Panama and he sets out to bring back some counterfeit currency. Briggs "goes to see" Chris' family.

When Chris learns of this he asks his friend Sebastian to take care of them which he does. He tells Chris that it would be better to bring drugs instead of the cash.....

The one rule that film makers should know now is that if you hire Ben Foster, everyone will know his character will turn out to be a bad apple come the end, no matter what. This has been evident since X-Men: The Last Stand.

But thats not the problem with he film, the problem with he film is the lack of flow with he story, and the worst narrative I have ever endured. The film is bad on many levels, and it just gets the extra star for one confrontation between Marky Mark and Ribisi.

The cast seem really out of place, and Farraday never really seems to feel any urgency throughout the movie, despite his wife and kids being in danger, and Ribisis continuing threats.

All in all it's a very badly made movie, not knowing whether to be Heat one minute, or the Italian job the next.

CONTRABAND is a tale of cross-border drug-smuggling, centred around a tough, everyman character played by the underrated Mark Wahlberg. The film for the most part sidesteps modern-day Hollywood clichés, like shoehorned-in action scenes that add nothing to the storyline and are merely there to give choreographers and special effects guys a chance to earn their keep. For the record, there's only one (relevant) car chase.

Instead this is a taut, suspenseful story that plays realistic for the most part, and all the better for it. The truth is that it doesn't bring anything new to the table and the thrills it chronicles are very familiar, but its depiction of the minutiae of the scenario keep it moving merrily along. It also has some suitably unpleasant bad guys to boo at.

CONTRABAND also features a cast of former youthful stars who are nowadays moving into more mature roles. Ben Foster and Giovanni Ribisi play to type, but it's good to see Lukas Haas given some proper material and even Kate Beckinsale isn't too shabby. J. K. Simmons stands out in a supporting role as the ship's captain and Diego Luna once again delivers an edgy turn. The film might be no classic but for solid thrills and suspense you could do a lot worse.

Chris Faraday (Mark Wahlberg) is retired from smuggling. He has left that life behind, and got married has a family. But just as he thought he was out, they drag him back in. His brother-in-law Andy (Caleb Landry Jones) gets involved with drug dealer Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi),and when he blows a deal, Briggs demands restitution which he can't deliver. Briggs threatens Chris' family to rope him back in.

There are a lot of slow parts in this movie. The brother is way too stupid which makes it very annoying. The heist and schemes just seem too unrealistic. Overall, it a thriller that had limited thrills and great actors. It's certainly nothing special.