‘The Contractor’ – Review
Chris Pine mounts up and jumps into the fray in the hard-charging action thriller The Contractor, and for those fans who are wanting some detailed and intense real-world Spec Ops thrills, well, you’ve come to the right place.
Involuntarily discharged from the Army, decorated Special Forces veteran James Harper (Chris Pine) lands a contract with a private underground military force. When his very first assignment goes awry, the elite soldier finds himself hunted and on the run, caught in a dangerous conspiracy and fighting to stay alive long enough to get home and uncover the true motives of those who betrayed him.
Director Tarik Saleh amps up the action with The Contractor and his focus on this high stakes action thriller is keeping the action real and the audience on edge. Looking to the influence of Black Hawk Down and The Bourne Identity, Saleh focuses on real-world action scenarios that test the resolve, intelligence and instinct of Chris Pine’s Special Forces veteran James Harper. A veteran Green Beret who has served at the tip of the spear but who finds himself drummed up out of the Army and thrown into the murky black ops world of private contractors, Saleh keeps the action moving and The Contractor is a true representation of ‘narrative as action’.
Putting in a solid stoic performance and again proving that he’s capable of different characters and situations is Hollywood superstar Chris Pine and The Contractor and the role of James Harper is a very different character for him to play. While he’s known for his wise-cracking heroes, Harper is a stoic man of quite reserve and quick-thinking action who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and who’ll do what needs to be done to win. Along with jumping directly into the action, Pine also showcases a portrait of a complex veteran character who is carrying his own inner demons and traumas and it’s interesting to see how these have shaped him as a man, soldier, husband and father. Pine gives Harper a high level of honor and commitment and while he does some questionable things, he certainly has to atone for his sins and make the bad guys pay.
With The Contractor, you don’t get any of the usual flashy Hollywood action that has come to be a standard of the action genre. The action in The Contractor is tactical, surgical and based in real-world situations. A well-placed bullet puts an enemy down, knives slice and stab, and CQB is done with an unleashed ferocity that leads to plenty of blood on the floor. There’s an energy to the action and special operations manoeuvring of Pine’s Harper and he’s been well trained for the role and looks the part down to the bone. The action of The Contractor hits you out of nowhere and there’s plenty of brass left on the ground with this feature film.
If you’re seeking some hard-charging special forces thrills and a gripping performance from an actor at the top of his game, The Contractor is one film you’re going to have to add to your list ASAP.
Image: Prime Video