The Contractor (2007)

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 *****

Every film has a heart. Some hearts are more special than the others. But you are bound to get a wrong impression if you draw your inference without knowing where the heart is.To the plebeian crowd, if Wesley Snipes is on the poster, that means some semi-mindless non-stop action, with a streak of silly humour once in a while, is coming their way. But Wesley never signed an agreement about that, did he now? This is not an action film, though you see some action in it.First of all, it is a very low budget film, so don't go all tough and smart criticizing it. Those B-movies, which come to TV only late at night because other slots are for those blockbusters, can certainly not be measured against The Art of War or Blade. The Contractor is a simple, low budget film that shows a little girl's bond with an assassin, whose mission has gone wrong and who has fallen the prey of his own employers. While the action sequences and other things are inadvertently done, very special care has been taken of those moments that reflect the warmth of feelings. Lena Heady was not a necessary recruit for this film, her role any pretty face could play. But I like her, so I am glad she did it.Some low budget, non-famous films sometimes leave lasting impressions. Maybe they fail overall in box office and audience poll, but sometimes there can be very heartfelt elements in such films. I watched it late at night and liked it for what it is. I was not disappointed for what it was not. Because if I wanted someone other film, I would watch some other film.But of course, idiots have minds (and comments on IMDb) of their own.

In the words of Charles Dance's character in this film, "Bollocks!" No plot, no character development, and utterly unbelievable.Full of stuff that just doesn't happen in the real world (since when were British police inspectors armed with handguns in shoulder holsters?). Full of mistakes (Bulgarian trains in London?). Full of dull and artificial dialogue. And the directing/editing is awful - wobbly hand-held camera shots that add nothing to the film except a vague feeling of seasickness; confusing jump-cuts; no structure.Wesley Snipes' character is totally unsympathetic - why should we care what happens to him? Direct to video? Direct to the dustbin!

After watching this I thought to myself, there are either too few good writers & directors or lots of producers.At any rate, this is a terrible movie. Terrible in a way that it's not fun, but rather makes you grit your teeth and quiver. Makes you shout "this is wrong" at the movie. Immersion is zero. By now most of you are probably used to the terrible errors/weirdness-es in movies that has computers hackers etc. in them. This movie is like that in every aspect. The only good thing about the movie is the little girl Emily, brilliantly played by Eliza Bennett. I hope she becomes big, and make this ..thing at least worth something.Do yourself a favor. Don't watch this. There is not even proper action in it. Total waste of time.