The Contractor Review: The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions

The Contractor is an action, thriller movie focused on the life of James Harper, played by Chris Pine, after he is honourably discharged from the military. Financial struggles weigh heavily on our protagonist and it pushes him towards some questionable work.

The Contractor is worth watching, but it is not worth buying Prime Video for. The mix of action and thriller works really well with out characters. The Contractor’s plot moves along fairly quickly, although there are times it felt rushed. Overall, The Contractor’s is a decent streaming movie.

Although The Contractor comes off as an action heavy, macho man movie, and sometimes it is, it also tackles some really harsh realities that veterans have to deal with everyday. It was a change of pace, uncomfortable to watch at times, but bringing this issues to the public eye is how we start to improve upon them.

Who Stars in The Contractor?

The Contractor has a pretty long list of characters, but most of them only have a few minutes of screen time. Our protagonist is James Harper, veteran turned military contractor, who is played by Chris Pine. Mike, played by Ben Foster, is one of James’ closest friends and the one who gives James the opportunity to work after being discharged. Our third main character is Rusty, played by Kiefer Sutherland. Rusty runs the organization that Mike and James are going to work for.

The Contractor Review

Prime Video movies always intrigue me, as they aren’t a dime a dozen like Netflix, but they also aren’t as prestiges as Disney Plus. The Contractor is a Paramount Pictures movie and depending on where you live, it is out in theatres. At first glance, this looks like a stereotypical action/military movie and for the most part it was. It had some really awesome gun fights, a few big explosions, and a couple of betrayal to wrap things up. It also focused on the problems veterans face post-military career. James’ wife is constantly worried about suicide, and she doesn’t want to go to anymore funerals.

Our characters also explore the financial struggles, especially after James loses his pension and benefits. Our writers pave this road to hell with good intentions, showing how our characters were trying to help their families and protect their country.

This introduction of some uncomfortable topics made The Contractor such a different movie for me. It was no longer mealiness violence, it gave the movie purpose. It provided depth to James and Mike’s characters, as well as many of the smaller characters. It gives their actions a relatable motivation, and it makes them more human. These topics blur the line between good and bad, creating a wonderful grey area.

My only strife with this movie is the pacing. Characters were good, plot was well done, it was written in a smooth fashion. The flow of the movie is a bit choppy, and it feels rushed. We fly through some of the scenes, and other ones take forever. The ending feels like the rest of the movie, rushed. There isn’t a true “closed book” moment, and it leaves the door open with more confusion than questions. I would have loved maybe 3 more minutes at the end to leave the viewer with some curiosity and maybe a desire for a second movie. While I don’t think “The Contractor 2” would be out of reach, there isn’t a ton of set-up to suggest a sequel.

Honestly, for a streaming movie this is pretty decent. I wouldn’t pay movie theatre prices to see this one, but free in my living room works for me. Our cast of characters work really well together to create tension and suspense, and that is a lot to do with the actors cast. Our writing is decent, but I think a lesser cast turns this movie into a confused mess. The plot is entertaining and the underlying messages create a movie that is more than just another action thriller with a bunch of death.