6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.1 |
While on a hiking trip to reconnect with his son, Ray Keene (John Cusack) stumbles into a nightmare scenario of paid assassins and ex-military guns-for-hire. Frank Cardin (Morgan Freeman) is attempting to fulfill a contract to assassinate a high profile businessman when things go awry and he ends up in the custody of the U.S. Marshalls. After an ill-fated attempt by his com[patriots to free him, Frank finds himself in the custody of ex-lawman Ray and his son (Jamie Anderson). As they try to make their way back to civilization they are relentlessly pursued by Frank's friends who are intent on freeing their leader in order to collect on the contract. But one may be more foe than friend.
Starring: Morgan Freeman, John Cusack, Jamie Anderson (IX), Alice Krige, Megan DoddsThriller | 100% |
Crime | 71% |
Drama | 38% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.38:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Bonus View (PiP)
Region free
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” said Han Solo, and I imagine that’s what director Bruce Beresford was thinking while filming The Contract, a convoluted thriller that eventually skipped theaters altogether and made its way unceremoniously straight to video. Beresford has made a number of good films—he did Tender Mercies, Driving Miss Daisy, and Black Robe, among others—but something went drastically wrong with The Contract. In his humorously titled 2007 memoir Josh Hartnett Definitely Wants To Do This…True Stories from a Life in the Screen Trade, Beresford details the problems that plagued the film, from his hesitancies about the confusing script, to his producers, who shut down production after fifty days and basically forced Beresford to finish the movie using money out of his own pocket. A bad feeling, indeed. And it comes through in the film, which loses any thematic coherency it may have had in the fogginess of its own plotline and the indecision of Beresford’s direction. I can’t decide what’s worse: John Cusack and Morgan Freeman wasting their talents slumming through this troubled production, or having to sit through it myself. Okay, I’m hyperbolizing. They have to live with this bomb on their filmographies for the rest of their lives; I just lost an afternoon. Still, I’m sure you know how I feel.
Where there's a gun, there's drama...
If there's one plus to the mess that is The Contract, it's that the film looks excellent on Blu-ray, featuring a 1080p/VC-1 transfer that's crisp, colorful, and free of any technical troubles. You'll notice straight away that there's a great sense of overall clarity. All of those moles, freckles, and lines on Morgan Freeman's iconic face are reproduced with fine detail, tree trunks are composed of sharp lines—without any trace of edge enhancement—and even the toppings of cops' donuts pop in high definition. As much of the film takes place in a Pacific Northwestern forest, the transfer's strong color palette is comprised of verdant greens, rich browns, and other earthy hues. Skin tones look natural too, if a little yellowish at times. Toward the end of the film there's some really artificial-looking day-for-night shots—you know, the kind where they use a deep blue filter—but you can't really blame the transfer for this. Thankfully, as there is a lot of darkness in the film, black levels are plenty deep without crushing shadow detail, and contrast on the whole is tight, especially during the daylight scenes. Grain is apparent but very minimal, and I didn't spot and blocking, banding, smearing, or ringing. It's definitely not enough to change my opinion of the film in any way, but The Contract looks great for a straight-to-video offering.
On the audio side of things, The Contract's Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround track could stand to be a little beefier, but it's still a more than adequate affair. And the film does have a couple of what you might call "showpiece" audio moments during a few of the bigger action sequences. During an early car accident, metal smashes against metal, twisting and screeching, while glass shatters and sprays all over the pavement. Later, when a helicopter crashes into the forest, its rotor blades shoot through the rear speakers as tree branches crack and splinter. The surround channels come to life frequently throughout the film; thunder rolls and buckets of rain pound heavily into the foliage, a river flows around us, and insects buzz while birds chirp in every conceivable direction. It's all balanced competently, both the action and the quieter moments, and I don't think I touched my remote control once during the film. Dialogue is unproblematic as well, sounding clean and natural throughout. Normand Corbell's score is entirely forgettable—standard thriller movie fare—but it's at least bombastic and sounds relatively full. It could be more aggressive, but really, I've got no overt complaints about this track.
Inside The Contract (SD, 21:28)
This is a fairly typical behind-the-scenes documentary that features lots of on-set footage and interviews with everyone involved. It's quite telling, though, that while the producers are trying much too hard to seem extremely enthused about the project here, Morgan Freeman, John Cusack, and director Bruce Beresford are much more reserved in expressing their satisfaction. I'd be trying to save face too, I guess.
Trailers
Includes trailers for The Contract, Transsiberian, Sukiyaki Western Django, Meet Bill, and War, Inc.
Someone should do a TV series called When Good Films Go Bad, a reality show that follows directors and cast and crew members on the troubled sets of failing films. The Contract would've made a perfect pilot episode—it's got big stars, a reputable director, and it tanks miserably. On the upside, the very small upside, The Contract looks and sounds pretty good on Blu-ray. Is it worth a rental? That depends on how much you like Freeman and Cusack, but I'd say no.
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