The Contractor

Just OK... well maybe not zero-killed
The Contractor, formerly known as The Shooter, and not to be confused with Mark Wahlberg's "Shooter" is a movie starring Wesley Snipes as a CIA agent who is assigned to kill a terrorist, only to be framed for another murder. To complicate things more, Snipes will make friends with a teenager who will become his most valuable ally.

I have to say I find this film very straightforward, unimaginative, hardly believable on certain aspects, and just mildly entertaining. At times it feels like an amateur attempt to create a movie and innovate certain cinematographic aspects, but stays as an attempt. Even Lena Headey, who I always find her acting abilities exceptional, feels weak as Inspector Ballard, the one in charge of bringing Dial (Snipes) down. Eliza Bennet as the teenage girl who helps Snipes makes a very good job, even if certain aspects of her character are not believable. It's obviously not her fault, it's the writers'.

So I rate this movie as an average movie,...

Tea: I do believe a half cup would be lovely
Overall, while not the best thriller I've seen, I enjoyed it.
Like several other reviewers have already stated, this movie's story is similar to other movies, much better movies with stronger stories. It's the overdone plot, man gets hired to assasinate someone, then the tables turn and the hunter becomes the hunted, thrown in a little "I was framed" for good measure, and you've just about got the story.
However, for me, there was one major addition that set this movie apart from being just another thriller, and that was the relationship the hunter (Snipes) has with the next door neighbor, a teenage girl. No, no hanky panky, just a lonely girl seeking someone to talk to and help. Snipes ends up seeking solace at his side kick's (who got killed) safe house when things go bad, and the girl becomes his new best friend. Despite Snipes best attempts to get rid of the girl and have her stop bothering him, he ends up enlisting her help as he recovers and tries to figure out who...

Exciting, suspenseful, and enjoyable even though it is not unusual
This film has been done quite a few times with other actors, with some small variations, and some tidbits from other shoot-um-up films, yet it is still enjoyable, exciting, and suspenseful. Wesley Snipes is an angry, laconic ex-CIA killer, a marksman, who failed to kill an Arab terrorist in the past and, although retired, is asked by his former handler to shoot and kill the terrorist, to finish what he didn't finish before. He is joined by a partner he doesn't trust. Events go wrong in England after the shooting and Snipes is pursued by the English police who want to arrest him as well has his former handler and men of his squad who are trying to kill him. Snipes is helped by a young girl who says she "lies all the time." The American handler tries to work with the English police but the senior officer doesn't trust him.

Viewers will enjoy trying to figure out what is going on. Even if they can figure it out because they have seen many such films, they will still enjoy...

Click to Editorial Reviews