The Contractor review: Chris Pine action-thriller is a forgettable operation

The lack of fanfare around Tarik Saleh’s action-thriller The Contractor seems odd given Chris Pine’s headline billing — until you watch The Contractor. Its defining qualities are hard to tell apart from a billion other straight-to-video mercenary flicks on par with what WWE Films might sell as another largely unknown franchise. 

Pine, Ben Foster and Kiefer Sutherland feel stuck in a movie never written with enough confidence to escape storytelling that’s barely graduated basic training. What starts as commentaries against America’s broken military system that leaves soldiers chewed and spat back into society becomes another generic action flick where enemies forget how to aim. Deception is an expectation (never a surprise); a real glancing blow that squanders its noteworthy cast.

Pine stars as honorably discharged soldier James Harper, whose reliance on pills while rehabbing his shredded knee goes against Marine bylaws. James feels helpless as a provider who can’t provide, but his wife (played by Gillian Jacobs) is not-so-secretly pleased he’s denied further tours. Debts begin to mount as James struggles to find consistent employment, which is where ex-chief Mike (Ben Foster) offers assistance. Mike introduces James to the paydays of privatized gun-for-hire contracts and the man behind off-the-grid operations, Rusty (Kiefer Sutherland). The money’s too good for James to refuse, especially since Rusty promises his jobs are glorified babysitting without fangs — until James finds himself stranded in Germany after his first mission implodes.

Under the surface, James Harper is more than just another grunt who can’t stop pulling triggers. That depth is probably what drew Chris Pine to the role — he’s given the ability to play a family man who dedicated his life to the nobility of American servitude only to feel abandoned once he’s just another plain-clothes civilian. Pine’s performance projects the physical pain of Harper’s knee injury and the ugly aftermath of military combat that governmental agencies refuse to acknowledge. Harper is a broken man with a loving wife and a growing adolescent son (played by Sander Thomas) left without options. That loneliness — the negligence and coldness shown by America to its once commercialized "heroes" in recruitment advertisements — gives Pine more to chew on as an action lead.

Unfortunately, fight sequences and excitement have more in common with genre frustrations that plague too many bulletstorm comparisons. When Harper and Mike are pew-pewing their way through German law enforcement, their shots are precise. When those officers — and more trained enemies later on — find themselves unwittingly caught in a black ops situation and fire back, their shots ding and wiz all around Pine as he dances away from danger. 

There’s nothing exceptionally individual about The Contractor, as Harper finds himself stranded overseas, fleeing for his life after Rusty’s operation is compromised. So much success rides on Pine’s performance power, which is an unfair ask. No matter how effusive his breakdowns are or the strength he musters when hobbling away from shootouts injured, The Contractor plays like B-roll clipped from countless action-thrillers from past decades.

So goes James Harper’s undercover scurry through Germany, once separated from Mike and only communicating with Rusty through burner phones. Veteran supporting actors like Eddie Marsan appear as allies but aren’t utilized beyond a few scenes — too few to make a sizable impact. 

Saleh’s direction goes through militant motions, yet the details are distracting, whether someone confusingly exits cover during a gunfight to be easily wounded for a cheap emotional ploy or production details fail to adhere to standard military regulations. It’s "I Know Where This Is Going: The Movie," but without the creative influence that allows familiar narratives to still find originality in execution, visual representation or other technical merits. The players have changed, but the game remains the same — forgettably so, I’m afraid.

The Contractor is as generic as its title sounds. Chris Pine admittedly does what he can with a barebones pro-military, pro-action mishmash that fails to stand out beyond the title billing of "starring Chris Pine." It’s fundamentally lean in ways that probably won't spark interest in more hardened action watchers seeking their next standout fix, offering nothing but more than the same smash-and-grab déjà vu comforts. 

The Contractor isn’t bad enough to be a misfire — it’s just unconvincing and repetitive like all those other replaceable franchises with titles like The Marine, The Assassin or any other nondescript action buzzword destined for televised Father’s Day marathons.

The Contractor opens in movie theaters and is available for digital purchase on April 1 in the US (no UK release date has been set as of yet).