This movie is going after the more dark and gritty character drama subgenre of the crime thriller rather than the inventive Oceans 11 kind of heist film. What we get as a result is a mixed bag. Some of it works, some of it does not. Overall, a marginal thumb up. One of those movies that was good enough to check out once, but I am unlikely to watch a second time.

Writing: The old reformed criminal getting pulled back into the lifestyle for one last job to help out a friend and/or family member is a tried and tired routine. This movie plays mostly by the numbers for that genre. Where it excels is the (occasionally hard to believe) smuggling aspects. Most of the second half of the movie clips along nicely as the characters get further and further behind the eight ball. The dialog is a bit cliche, and the characters are a bit obvious, but it holds together well enough to work.

Production: OK, let me just get this rant out of the way: I *HATE* the modern let’s-shake-the-cameras-as-much-as-we-possibly-can “veritae” method, when there is no plot or conceptual reason for it. The cinematography in this movie drove me frakkin’ crazy, and was typically distracting enough for me to never stop noticing it.  If you are going to pay a cinematographer and a camera crew, I suggest picking ones that are actually competent enough at their job to, you know, be able to hold a camera like they haven’t sniffed a long line of drugs and downed a dozen cups of coffee. OK, enough ranting on the filming. To help make up for the cinematography, there is some nice location work.

Cast: The cast is certainly the strongest part of this movie. Mark Wahlberg does a nice job with the former smuggler role. Kate Beckinsale does a nice job with the wife caught in the middle of it all, and plays the role a bit more vulnerable than many of her more recent roles. The great Giovanni Ribisi perhaps goes a bit too far over the top as the main slimeball, but not to the point of hurting the movie. The also-excellent Ben Foster does an admirable job with one of the tougher roles. Overall, a pretty strong cast.

Music: Clinton Shorter gives the movie the score it asks for. Nothing that draws attention to itself, but meets the style and pacing of the film nicely.