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<blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 434925" data-attributes="member: 23"><p style="text-align: center"><strong><span style="font-size: 22px">The Contract</span></strong> (2006)</p> <p style="text-align: center"></p> <p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F57YMa7kaZCA%2Fmaxresdefault.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=830df7be0b4e059022bc33808e6b3be739eca516dd9dcb6bfdb6c7c110e39c74" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 971px" /></p><p></p><p>When flicking through Prime, this was added to my watchlist as soon as I saw the two lead actors. I was a little surprised I hadn't heard of it, but then took a quick glance to see who else was it in it and happened to read that it had a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (which I assume is bad). I don't put much stock in this, since so many of these reviews are driven by insecurity or a need to fit in with what's written by peers. And there's no accounting for taste anyway. Still, having also seen something about production issues I went in with expectations well and truly in check.</p><p></p><p>To me this felt at times like a TV movie (and it did go straight to home media, so I suppose it technically is). The production values at times suggest a lower budget than one would expect to attract Hollywood heavyweights. It does have some ambitious set pieces and stunts that mostly work, but not always 100%. There's a helicopter crash that sums up the conflict of the big moments. The exteriors show the copter falling apart and rotors flying off and it feels subjective and terrifying. Then we cut to inside, and it feels like the budget had run out so they just asked the cameraman to shake the camera as though they're making an episode of<em> The Young Doctors </em>or something. It's not just the big moments, though. Some of the character scenes - particularly early on in the film - feel a little flat (this was where I go the TV movie feel from), with exposition a tad clunkier than I would expect.</p><p></p><p>All this aside, I don't understand the evident hate for it, other than people are more offended by something average than they are something terrible.</p><p></p><p>When it gets going and the premise is established, it works. This is particularly true after Cusack meets Freeman's character and has the horrible dilemma where he has to weigh up the evils and decide how to react. It's a horrible situation to be in, and provoked a degree of anxiety in me. In this regard it's quite Hitchcockian, since Cusack is our everyman and a character to whom the audience can easily relate. As he tries to work out what's real and who can be trusted it becomes compelling. It turns out this is also true for Freeman's character since not all his friends <em>are</em> friends. In terms of story there are also similarities at times to the big screen version of <em>The Fugitive</em>.</p><p></p><p>To my eyes it's not a bad film. Actually, it's good. It's just not Freeman/Cusack great.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mel O'Drama, post: 434925, member: 23"] [CENTER][B][SIZE=6]The Contract[/SIZE][/B] (2006) [IMG width="971px"]https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F57YMa7kaZCA%2Fmaxresdefault.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=830df7be0b4e059022bc33808e6b3be739eca516dd9dcb6bfdb6c7c110e39c74[/IMG][/CENTER] When flicking through Prime, this was added to my watchlist as soon as I saw the two lead actors. I was a little surprised I hadn't heard of it, but then took a quick glance to see who else was it in it and happened to read that it had a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (which I assume is bad). I don't put much stock in this, since so many of these reviews are driven by insecurity or a need to fit in with what's written by peers. And there's no accounting for taste anyway. Still, having also seen something about production issues I went in with expectations well and truly in check. To me this felt at times like a TV movie (and it did go straight to home media, so I suppose it technically is). The production values at times suggest a lower budget than one would expect to attract Hollywood heavyweights. It does have some ambitious set pieces and stunts that mostly work, but not always 100%. There's a helicopter crash that sums up the conflict of the big moments. The exteriors show the copter falling apart and rotors flying off and it feels subjective and terrifying. Then we cut to inside, and it feels like the budget had run out so they just asked the cameraman to shake the camera as though they're making an episode of[I] The Young Doctors [/I]or something. It's not just the big moments, though. Some of the character scenes - particularly early on in the film - feel a little flat (this was where I go the TV movie feel from), with exposition a tad clunkier than I would expect. All this aside, I don't understand the evident hate for it, other than people are more offended by something average than they are something terrible. When it gets going and the premise is established, it works. This is particularly true after Cusack meets Freeman's character and has the horrible dilemma where he has to weigh up the evils and decide how to react. It's a horrible situation to be in, and provoked a degree of anxiety in me. In this regard it's quite Hitchcockian, since Cusack is our everyman and a character to whom the audience can easily relate. As he tries to work out what's real and who can be trusted it becomes compelling. It turns out this is also true for Freeman's character since not all his friends [I]are[/I] friends. In terms of story there are also similarities at times to the big screen version of [I]The Fugitive[/I]. To my eyes it's not a bad film. Actually, it's good. It's just not Freeman/Cusack great. [/QUOTE]
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