The Contractor (2007) (V)

Director:

Josef Rusnak

Writers (WGA):

Robert Foster (screenplay) and
Joshua Michael Stern (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

10 July 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The world's greatest marksman is now a marked man...

Plot:

An ex-CIA agent is asked to take out a terrorist, only to realize he's been set up by his former employer.

Plot Keywords:

Framed | Marksman | London England | Shot In The Head | Airport

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Wesley Snipes	...	James Dial
Eliza Bennett	...	Emily Day
Lena Headey	...	DI Annette Ballard
Ralph Brown	...	Jeremy Collins
Charles Dance	...	DCS Andrew Windsor
Gemma Jones	...	Mrs. Day
Iain Robertson	...	Cramston
Richard Harrington	...	Terry Mitchell
Ryan McCluskey	...	Purcell
John Standing	...	Sir Anthony
Stanimir Stamatov	...	King
Milos Miroslav	...	Harris (as Miroslav Emilov)
Velizar Binev	...	Beloit
Nikolai Sotirov	...	Ali Mahmud Jahar (as Nikolay Sotirov)
Peter Kerry Morgan	...	Newscaster

Also Known As:

The Shooter (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

UK:105 min

Country:

Bulgaria | UK | USA

Language:

English

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Singapore:PG | Australia:MA | UK:15 | Netherlands:12 | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Bulgaria

Company:

April Productions

Trivia:

Michael Biehn was scheduled to appear in this movie but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts with Planet Terror (2007).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Cramston and James leave the airport in London, there is an emergency exit sign over the door which, oddly, is written English and Bulgarian.

Movie Connections:

References The Mistress of Spices (2005)

Soundtrack:

Holding Out For More

Very Enjoyable, a straight-to-DVD release which is surprisingly better than most *** out of *****

although 'The Contractor' does't reach the heights of Murder at 1600 (1998) or U.S.Marshalls (1998) but then Snipes had better co-stars back then (Tommy Lee Jones & Alan Alda to name two), but it's far better than his other DVD only releases.

The plot doesn't exactly break new ground it's actually very unoriginal, Wesley Snipes plays James Dial an retired assassin for the CIA, or the NSA or something, he's brought out of his retirement by his former colleague Jeremy Collins (Ralph Brown) to assassinate a Middle eastern Terrorist whose being held by the British Police in London, (Well my Home town of Cardiff actually stands in for London, far cheaper presumably - a lot of the Film from the City Centre to the Train station at the end is Actually my Hometown and NOT London And other scenes were filmed in.....yes....you guessed it...Cheapo Bulgaria) Anyway back to the movie... after Dial kills said Terrorist, he's quickly double crossed and set up for murder by his former colleagues so he spends the movie along with young friend Emily Day (Eliza Bennett) trying to clear his name.

Yes It does sounds by-the-numbers but it's well acted by Snipes along with his co-stars who also include Charles Dance & Lena Headey (The Sarah Connor Chronicles) and is a really enjoyable way to spend 2 hours and it was nice to see my hometown in a Hollywood movie... even if it was Straight to DVD. The only quibble I have is that the Direction by Rusnak (who made one of my favourite movies 'The thirteenth floor') was a bit of a shambles, but not enough to spoil the film.

All in All a good Direct-to-DVD Movie which was good enough for a theatrical release

*** out of *****