The Contractor: reviews

What the critics say average 5.7 from 20 outlets

• 8.0 Film ThreatBobby LePire But, the core cast, Pine and Foster especially, are superb, while the screenplay gives them plenty to chew on. At a quickly moving 105 minutes, the film is worth the time investment. Read
• 7.0 IGNAdam Bankhurst The Contractor may have an underwhelming conclusion, but the journey to get there is an emotional one, with a strong performance by Chris Pine. Read
• 7.0 The Hollywood ReporterSheri Linden Director Tarik Saleh, whose previous feature was the excellent Cairo-set neo-noir The Nile Hilton Incident, stages the shoot-’em-ups and explosions effectively, but it’s the film’s quiet exchanges that carry the most visceral punch. Read
• 7.0 VarietyDennis Harvey Still, being a solid cut above average is good enough, given so much formulaic mediocrity among thrillers cluttering the streaming market. Read
• 7.0 TimeStephanie Zacharek If the premise sounds tired, what’s surprising—or perhaps not—about The Contractor is how well Pine carries it. Read
• 6.7 The Film StageJared Mobarak While billed as an action film, The Contractor proves more suspense thriller in the end. Read
• 6.0 SlashfilmDanielle Ryan “The Contractor” challenges expectations in many ways, it just never goes quite far enough. Read
• 6.0 Los Angeles TimesKatie Walsh “The Contractor” is decidedly Pine’s film. His performance is as efficient as the script, which Saleh mirrors with a crisp, smooth aesthetic. There’s nothing particularly showy about the style, but it serves the story of this professional warrior working his way through an unfamiliar place. Read
• 6.0 New York TimesManohla Dargis Pine and Foster sync up flawlessly, even when the dialogue fails them. This isn’t the reunion they deserve, but it’s nevertheless welcome. In silence and in action, they show you the unfathomable loss that the rest of movie never coherently expresses. Read
• 6.0 EmpireJohn Nugent It follows the rules of the genre as unwaveringly as its hero follows orders, but despite that, there’s a tense, tightly constructed thriller here — and Chris Pine makes a decent play as a neo-Bourne. Read
• 5.5 The WrapFran Hoepfner Though the first act of “The Contractor” is its lengthiest, the lazy pace does nothing to enrich the lives of the characters who we know are at stake. The action that follows is quick and cramped; sequences that should feel heart-pounding are, instead, dark and erratic. Read
• 5.5 The Globe and MailBarry Hertz While his character is intended to be lost and powerless, Pine seems adrift in another way, too – a star without a proper star vehicle. Read
• 5.0 Screen DailyTim Grierson This unfussy action-thriller has a lot of Jason Bourne in its bloodstream, with director Tarik Saleh focusing on taut pacing and crisp sequences. But despite some solid craftsmanship, the film never fully transcends what is familiar about the setup — much like the titular hero, The Contractor gives its all, possibly in vain. Read
• 5.0 The A.V. ClubCourtney Howard As a result, even moderately seasoned viewers will find few surprises in its twists and turns, and little to excite them on a purely visceral level. Read
• 5.0 Roger EbertBrian Tallerico The problem is that writer J.P. Davis and director Tarik Saleh seem afraid to do anything interesting or unexpected once they have their pieces in place. Read
• 5.0 The Austin ChronicleMatthew Monagle The Contractor seems torn between two types of films: the direct-to-video staple of a reluctant soldier bearing arms to protect his family, and a bleaker condemnation of private contracting (and the systems of power that necessitate its survival). It is the second film that blinks first, leaving Pine and Foster to carry the remaining scenes to their generic conclusion. Read
• 4.5 No es cine todo lo que reluceDavid Pérez In short, The Contractor is a predictable action thriller that fails to make the most of its original idea, packing its story with too many uninteresting characters and a darkness that does nothing to keep us awake. Read
• 4.2 The PlaylistKevin Jagernauth Such are the moral and ethical complexities of “The Contractor,” a thriller of divided ambitions, that earnestly wants to Say Something Important about the mistreatment of combat veterans by the very government that sends them to war, while also flirting with the opportunity for franchise potential, resulting in a film distinctly cleaved in two, unsatisfying halves. Read
• 3.8 Slant MagazineMark Hanson The film’s rote action-movie plotting is calibrated in a ponderously straight-faced way so as to give it some semblance of gravity. Read
• 3.0 The Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern This film is what it is, a particularly generic genre piece that the bean counters at a once-great studio must have had reason to believe would turn a profit, mostly in the foreign market. Very possibly it will. Read