There are flashes and moments of a good movie in The Contract, even a great one. But overall, it's a dumb action thriller movie with lots of tropes and cliches and poor script writing, and it's only elevated by Morgan Freeman and John Cusack.
The premise was good, great actually. It was interesting, and with the two leads being attached, I really wanted to like this more than I did. It's basically a mix of Shoot to Kill (1988) and an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger (1993), but not as fun as that sounds. Unfortunately there are just some poor script choices and plot holes that make the story more unbelievable, but in a more insulting way than a fun way. I also thought the ending sucked and made no sense at all.
This movie only further strengthens my belief that Morgan Freeman elevates whatever movie he's in. Even though this seemed like a paycheck for both him and Cusack (more Cusack), he really made it better, and his performance is easily the best of the cast. He even runs and fights in this movie, which he usually doesn't do. Cusack also has some fight scenes, though he looks a little bored with the proceedings. The group of assassins were actually interesting characters, and the only other believable performances for me.
There were some fun action scenes in this. The transport ambush, cave fight scene, helicopter attack, and the cabin shootout/fight scene. The action was cool and well-done, and tightly edited. There weren't tons of cuts, and the fight between Freeman and Cusack was nice. I appreciated how involved Cusack and Freeman were in the action scenes, and I was so excited to see Freeman in another role where he actually participates in action scenes, as I hadn't seen him do that since Hard Rain (1998). Unfortunately, everything else kind of falls flat.
While the action was fun, the script and weak plot moments made it harder to enjoy the film. The ending seemed to fly in the face of the point of the movie, as well as its morality and character transformation. I can't recommend it, but it's not even close to being the worst direct-to-video action flick out there.
The premise was good, great actually. It was interesting, and with the two leads being attached, I really wanted to like this more than I did. It's basically a mix of Shoot to Kill (1988) and an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger (1993), but not as fun as that sounds. Unfortunately there are just some poor script choices and plot holes that make the story more unbelievable, but in a more insulting way than a fun way. I also thought the ending sucked and made no sense at all.
This movie only further strengthens my belief that Morgan Freeman elevates whatever movie he's in. Even though this seemed like a paycheck for both him and Cusack (more Cusack), he really made it better, and his performance is easily the best of the cast. He even runs and fights in this movie, which he usually doesn't do. Cusack also has some fight scenes, though he looks a little bored with the proceedings. The group of assassins were actually interesting characters, and the only other believable performances for me.
There were some fun action scenes in this. The transport ambush, cave fight scene, helicopter attack, and the cabin shootout/fight scene. The action was cool and well-done, and tightly edited. There weren't tons of cuts, and the fight between Freeman and Cusack was nice. I appreciated how involved Cusack and Freeman were in the action scenes, and I was so excited to see Freeman in another role where he actually participates in action scenes, as I hadn't seen him do that since Hard Rain (1998). Unfortunately, everything else kind of falls flat.
While the action was fun, the script and weak plot moments made it harder to enjoy the film. The ending seemed to fly in the face of the point of the movie, as well as its morality and character transformation. I can't recommend it, but it's not even close to being the worst direct-to-video action flick out there.