Contraband

A reformed smuggler (Mark Wahlberg) plunges back into his old line of work to settle the debts of his dog-stupid brother-in-law (Caleb Landry Jones), who has gotten himself in trouble with a local psycho drug lord (Giovanni Ribisi). Aaron Guzikowski’s script transplants the 2008 foreign film Reykjavik-Rotterdam from Iceland to New Orleans and, in a curious twist, the star of the Icelandic movie (Baltazar Kormákur) directs this one. Kormákur, a popular star in Iceland, makes an impressive Hollywood debut; the picture is gritty and tense, with an interesting glimpse of life aboard a superfreighter between New Orleans and Panama. He also gets a memorable performance out of Ribisi. Kate Beckinsale plays Wahlberg’s worried wife, Ben Foster his best friend, and J.K. Simmons the freighter’s irascible captain.