The Contract (2007)

The only thing standing between an assassin and his target is a father who must protect his son. While on a hiking trip to reconnect with his son after the death of his wife Ray Keene (John Cusack) stumbles into a nightmare scenario of paid assassins and ex-military guns-for-hire lead by the mysterious Frank Cardin (Morgan Freeman).Special Features:Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround DTS Surround PreviewsSystem Requirements:Running Time: 96 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R UPC: 687797119698 Manufacturer No: FLP-11969 Product Description

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I like very much this movie and I am fun number one of
Morgan Freeman July 2, 2008

Pleasantly surprised, excellent film

The Contract

First I should say that this movie was very convoluted with many twists, turns, and a couple of corrupt government agents, but overall it was very entertaining and had a satisfying ending. We were pleasantly surprised.

***SPOILER AHEAD***
The film starts out with four men sitting at a table chatting when Frank Carden (Morgan Freeman) enters the room and starts discussing their "Contract". Then we travel to a backwater town in Washington state where Ray Keene (John Cusack), a widower, and his son Chris live. Chris has just been suspended from the school where Ray teaches gym for smoking pot. That's when Ray suggests they do something together and they plan a camping trip. At the same time we see Carden and his cohorts kill the son of a billionaire who is famous for opposing stem cell research. Later that night Carden gets in a car wreck and ends up in the hospital where the local police match his fingerprints to the file of an ex-military mercenary. To make a long story short, Ray and Chris stumble upon Carden and a dying U.S. Marshall and decide to take Frank as prisoner until they get to someplace where they are safe so they can let him go. Through the film you see a very uptight and snarky CIA women corresponding with one of Carden's cohorts (Davis) offering him $500,000 if he will kill Carden. She seems to know that Carden is a killer-for-hire and thinks that his target is the President of the U.S. At the end of their flight from Carden's four cohorts through the woods, Ray ends up killing all of Carden's henchmen except Davis and Carden escapes with Chris. The next day Ray is watching the news and finds out who Frank's real target is, the billionaire who is making a public appearance at his son's funeral. Ray goes there, confronts Carden, and gets his son back. Davis is disposed of and Frank threatens Mrs. CIA that if anything happens to the Keenes, he'll come after her. The film ends with the father and son hearing about the billionaire mysteriously dying in a car accident two weeks later. ****END OF SPOILER***

While at first we found Carden very unlikeable, he had his own twisted sense of honor that we agreed with about 10% of the time. Chris's character was given some very stupid dialogue but also had some very funny lines toward the end of the film. Include the gorgeous scenery of Washington state and we found ourselves satisfied after watching this movie. Our whole family enjoyed it and that's unusual.
June 12, 2008

Solid action..excellent preformances

I enjoyed the Contract alot, after all it has almost everything an action / thriller movie needs.
the plot was simple and yes it did not add anything new or original, but it was pretty decent and was fast paced with smart dialogue lines. it involved a single dad ( Cusak ) and his son who go out camping in the woods and thier path is crossed by an assassin ( Freeman ) who was escorted by the FBI, soon the assassin's henchmen follow to help their boss escape..and the chase begins !
It had some very good preformances by both Cusak and Freeman, thier acting was top notch, a very good character build up and development, and some pretty solid action.. gun power and even some fist fights..quite enjoyable..
i would highly recommend this to any action fans or fans of either Cusak or Freeman..this movie stands out from the countless lame B-action movies that are coming out these days.
I would also recommend the following : if you like Cusak i would recommend 1408 (Widescreen Edition) , if you like Freeman i would recommend The Bucket List, if you are looking for some good action then don't miss Rambo (Special Edition + Digital Copy) if you want some action similar to the Contract then watch The Marine (Unrated Edition) June 2, 2008

It's on...

The Contract is a well done enough drama that attempts to be a bit more than what it is. That said, it is clearly Morgan Freeman who carries the weight of this otherwise forgettable movie on his shoulders as a hitman with a heart-as long as it's not you who happens to be the target of his latest contract. John Cusak as the middling dad forced into a bad situation has to overcome some implausibly bad odds at times as he outwits Freeman's cohorts and another assassin intent on killing Freeman (it will come as no surprise as to who hired this cheeseball). There are plenty of moments where the characters get to know each other that Freeman plays beautifully. The actor playing Cusak's son offers no chops whatsoever as a teen troubled with the usual vice of pot smoking and he delivers lines more mechanically than the robot on Lost in Space. He is a complete waste as is much of the writing for his character. The backdrop of the film, the wonderful wooded vistas provide visual fodder and were clearly the director's main interest. If you like Morgan Freeman and John Cusak, The Contract is a likable enough film, but is littered with many issues that are difficult to overcome even if you are a veteran watcher of such movies. 3 stars...barely May 26, 2008

A Great Movie!

What a fantastic film! The Contract is packed with great action, breath taking scenery, and many brilliantly expressed comical lines. The dialog was very impressive between the characters which really draw you in, because it makes everything feel so real. I loved the beautiful underlying message between the father and the son. The growth of the characters, including Morgan Freeman's was very touching. I really enjoyed it! CONGRATULATIONS!
May 12, 2008

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