Contraband

In his new action movie, Contraband, Mark Wahlberg plays Chris Farraday, an ex-smuggler who is trying to build a life for himself and his family that doesn’t involve him breaking any international import/export laws. His new career running a New Orleans’ alarm company isn’t as exciting as the adrenaline rush of crossing a border with a couple million in counterfeit money, but it’s a lot safer. Whalberg, who has played the same kind of character before, gives a skillful performance, perfectly balancing the blue-collar Everyman he’s perfected over the years with some fresh twists, like the way he shows the audience that although Chris Farraday knows he’s doing the right thing by trying to be an honest man, he really misses the swagger he feels being king of the smugglers.