The Contractor
Tags: mystery, violence, humor, flashback

Plot synopsis:
The film starts with a suspected murderer being apprehended by the police. He adamantly claims that he is innocent and only wanted to protect his girlfriend, but his pleas fall on deaf ears. Three years later, in December, in Malibu, California, Elizabeth "Liz" Chase (Christina Cox) is busily working on her family's apartment, which needs to be remodelled before a charity event to be held fourteen days later. In addition, she has to take care of her teenage daughter McKenzie. Liz and her lawyer spouse, Paul Chase, decide to hire a contractor to help out with the construction in order for Liz to cope.
Initially unable to find a suitable contractor, Paul chances upon Desert Sun Contracting, which is owned by shady contractor Javier Reyes, who has been secretly stalking the family for a while, snapping photographs of them and tapping into their calls. Not intent on constructing the house, Reyes begins to plant pieces of evidence to frame Paul for committing infidelity, including a doctored restaurant receipt. After Liz grows suspicious of Reyes, she asks Paul to ask him to leave. Reyes leaves bitterly, but promises to return.
The Chases hire a new contractor. However, the persistent Reyes continues to stalk them. Meanwhile, Liz gives Paul the cold shoulder, believing that he really has had an affair, after seeing edited phone records planted by Reyes. After doing some extensive research, she finds out that Jorge Reyes (the real name of Javier Reyes) had previously been arrested for contempt of the court. It is revealed that his son, Omar Reyes, was the prosecuted murderer arrested three years ago, and had been killed in a mass assault in prison. Reyes is out to avenge his son's death by targeting Paul Chase, a member of the prosecution team in charge of Omar's trial.
Liz shares her findings with Paul. Promising to keep a watchful eye, Paul hires his thug acquaintances to eliminate Reyes. They fail to do so, and Reyes knocks them out, escaping with a bruised eye. He then sends Liz a photograph of Paul's secretary rubbing his neck, and that is enough to make Liz think Paul is being unfaithful to her. Distraught, she confronts Paul, who vehemently denies her accusations. They argue, and Liz forces Paul to leave.
Reyes proceeds to kidnap McKenzie, who has lied that she was going to a friend's party but in actuality was making out with her boyfriend Chris. Having left her phone in Chris' car, she cannot be contacted. Liz finds out McKenzie was never at the party and just as she begins to worry, Reyes appears outside her door, holding McKenzie at gunpoint. Reyes lures Paul back to the house and attacks him when he does. Paul grabs Reyes' gun, causing a diversion and thus allowing the mother and daughter to escape. They hide in one of the stables and Liz knocks Reyes unconscious for a while by hitting him with a large spade. They start to play hide-and-seek again. Reyes eventually finds Liz and they engage in a fierce struggle. In a blur, Liz grabs the firearm from Reyes and pulls the trigger, killing him.
Determined to start their lives anew by moving house, the Chases give up their landed property to a friend of theirs. Liz is invited to attend the grand opening of the 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2)-large Elizabeth Chase Pediatric Respiratory Center.

Review: The relationship between Dial and Emily could have wrecked the movie with inconceivability, however it works.This is where the film's main strength lies, the cast.
We've seen it countless times in even the biggest flicks, that young actors given important roles just cannot act.
It's a role that requires maturity and immersion, and because Bennett becomes her character so effectively, she and Snipes can work off each other so well.
This is your typical Wesley Snipes DTV film.
Watching movies like these really makes me wonder how much Snipes and the other actors earn turning in these films, because they must know something that I don't.
Wesley makes a lot more money from these than any of us really know.Either way, decent movie, I recommend watching it if you are a Snipes fan like myself.
Wesley Snipes is James Dial, an assassin for hire, agent of the CIA and pure bad-ass special operative.
So Dial's partner and local liaison gets killed in action trying to escape the police, whilst Dial becomes hot property with the London coppers trying to get to him and CIA trying to dispose of him.Fortunately for Dial the safe-house is routinely visited by a teenager Emily Day (Eliza Bennett), who loves hanging out with cold-blooded killers with arrest warrants and help them escape from the evil UK law enforcement...With a script like that need I say more?
He does his job as well as possible given the circumstances, he tries to save his skin as well as possible and when a stern "Moscow rules: if the mission fails you're already dead" assignment comes his way he feels no confusion when deciding he should stay very much alive, no matter the mission.Of course, in all this gem of a script idea there is also bad screen play, occasional bad acting and things that make no sense.
The action scenes are shaky and amateurish for a Snipes movie, but then again, the point was not the action or the technical prowess of the hit men, but the fact that they are human beings.At first I thought it was going to be another Nikita/Leon ripoff, but the girl story arch was sensible and reasonably original.
The ending was a little bit forced, too.Bottom line: in the abysmal hell of bad written hit-man action movies, this obscure film is a real gem in the mud and a reminder that the budget is not really important, nor the genre of the film, but the very real effort of actually trying to make a movie, not just money..
Have previously enjoyed Wesley Snipes in several action flicks and I had expected a lot more, even from a score of 5.8 IMDb, the movie fails to entertain and even though the story is thin and unoriginal, the acting is most unfortunately thinner and goes to mimic a "worst case scenario" of playing "strong" feelings accompanied by some bad acting...
Don't waist your time this movie ísnt entertaining, if you wanna cry it might suffice though, even though your tears will be wept due to seeing Wesley Snipes in the tragic action film wannabe comedy...I give this 2/10 it really was awful, if you wanna see a decent movie go see shooter or rent it, its all the good things this movie isn't..
But you are bound to get a wrong impression if you draw your inference without knowing where the heart is.To the plebeian crowd, if Wesley Snipes is on the poster, that means some semi-mindless non-stop action, with a streak of silly humour once in a while, is coming their way.
The Contractor is a simple, low budget film that shows a little girl's bond with an assassin, whose mission has gone wrong and who has fallen the prey of his own employers.
Not your typical Wesley Snipes kind of movie.(not really anyway) The acting isn't horrible.
It had a few good action scenes, but mostly it was a drama movie.
The script is COMPLETELY unrealistic yet it is written to take place in the real-world, the editing and lighting effects are worse than most first projects in film school.I do not recommend this film to anyone who: A) knows any detail about the world of police or covert operations.
James Dial (Snipes) is a retired Assassin and is asked to do one more job in London, but when he does it, he discovers he is accused of murder and his own people are trying to kill him.
This can't be good.There was nothing on the shelf and I saw this one and said, "Oh, no, not another Wesley Snipes movie.
This is a terrific movie and a big step up for Mr. Snipes.Good stunts, dialogue, cinematography and the acting was excellent by all.
She is the reason this movie is a step above the usual Wesley Snipes movies (actually, they are all pretty good).
I do think it is a shame that once the great Snipes is reduced to playing roles like these!
"The contractor" is decent and adequate for a TV movie and shows that Snipes is in good form!
in fact, although it seems close to action movie background music, it just so happens it is done in a manner that will grate on you fantastically.then all the scenes in the total pitch black, where honestly since the characters are so flat, you don't really care whats going to happen, but regardless, after it happens and someone is killed, you just say to yourself, was i supposed to see that?
"The Contractor" is the best DTV Snipes movie yet..
"The Contractor" is the best DTV Snipes movie yet.The plot: Agent James Dial (Snipes) has to take out a target in London.
It goes as planned, but the police and his former employers are after him.The movie has a good mix of action and drama.
"The Contractor" was actually called "Shooter" but it was changed for obvious reasons.In the end: I'm excited to report that "The Contractor" is worth seeing and not the usual piece of DTV junk that Snipes has foisted upon us in the past.For more insanity, check out: comeuppancereviews.com.
Since I have seen it several times, I am well aware that the director Josef Rusnak has left some critical loose ends, but the movie was saved by the cinematography of Wedigo Von Shultendorf and editor James Herbert, both of whom have better credits the Rusnak.
Later, the protagonist is warned that he is walking into an ambush, walks into it anyway, for no reason.But the greatness of the movie lies, first, in the flash-forward editing style that was pioneered by Tony Scott in Man on Fire, and second, on the wonderful performances of Wesley Snipes, Eliza Bennet, and Lena Headey.
The plot doesn't exactly break new ground it's actually very unoriginal, Wesley Snipes plays James Dial an retired assassin for the CIA, or the NSA or something, he's brought out of his retirement by his former colleague Jeremy Collins (Ralph Brown) to assassinate a Middle eastern Terrorist whose being held by the British Police in London, (Well my Home town of Cardiff actually stands in for London, far cheaper presumably - a lot of the Film from the City Centre to the Train station at the end is Actually my Hometown and NOT London And other scenes were filmed in.....yes....you guessed it...Cheapo Bulgaria) Anyway back to the movie...
after Dial kills said Terrorist, he's quickly double crossed and set up for murder by his former colleagues so he spends the movie along with young friend Emily Day (Eliza Bennett) trying to clear his name.Yes It does sounds by-the-numbers but it's well acted by Snipes along with his co-stars who also include Charles Dance & Lena Headey (The Sarah Connor Chronicles) and is a really enjoyable way to spend 2 hours and it was nice to see my hometown in a Hollywood movie...
In the words of Charles Dance's character in this film, "Bollocks!" No plot, no character development, and utterly unbelievable.Full of stuff that just doesn't happen in the real world (since when were British police inspectors armed with handguns in shoulder holsters?).
And the directing/editing is awful - wobbly hand-held camera shots that add nothing to the film except a vague feeling of seasickness; confusing jump-cuts; no structure.Wesley Snipes' character is totally unsympathetic - why should we care what happens to him?
Wesley Snipes played his role very well.
This movie had some good chases, fights, and shooter scenes.
I can see that Mr Snipes might have needed the money to pay his back tax bill but what the heck a good actor like Charles Dance was doing in it is a mystery.Worse than the worse low budget "B" film of the 50's.
its a decent action/thriller movie all around, and the Emily character is pretty nice.
But somehow its the kind of movie you will rent once, watch it, and then never give a second look.So all around if you like the style...
To make matter worse, Dial is also being pursued by the CIA, who want to eliminate him to cover up the fact that they have been carrying out illegal assassinations."The Contractor" is a reasonably fast-paced and well-constructed thriller.
A hit-man is given one important assignment, to kill someone very important, he does the job and then finds out he was set up by the very people that hired him.So, Wesley Snipes has not been in a good movie since...well since Blade 2 if you ask me.
You've seen it all before and done better, but what it does is something more DTV movies should do: it keeps the story simple and clear, it has interesting and well developed characters, it has some nice locations, it has a pretty good soundtrack and it has some talented actors.
The Contractor is more of an action thriller, it has a quite low action quotient, but we do get some nice shootouts, nothing special, a pretty cool fight scene, but the thing that keeps the movie going is a nice and clear and very well told story that, despite being completely predictable, it works because it follows the formula in a very relaxed manner, it just does its job effortlessly and that is the best thing about the entire movie.The movie does what it sets out to do, to be an entertaining action movie and it does it quite well.
The cinematography is nice, the music is good, the acting is very good (although no awards will be handed out) and the pace is nice and relaxed, not too slow, not too fast.The Contractor is a competent action thriller that had it received more attention it could have and should have been a Cinema movie.
It just did not have a big enough budget to be a Cinema movie and that shows in the action scenes, they are not bad, just too simplistic and minimalistic and not through intent, rather through a lack of money to do anything bigger.
Snipes genuinely seems interested in the movie and in the material and although he clearly is not at the level we've seen him before (his career is full of examples of fine acting) he puts just the right amount of effort into the movie.Overall, the best movie Snipes has done in quite a while, a nice action movie that is definitely worth seeing and perhaps the first step towards bigger and better things for him.Definitely one of the best DTV action movies out there.
This is one of far too few action scenes punctuated by pointlessly drawn out set ups that just fails to draw one into suspending belief.In addition, the whole premise seems to be that the United States CIA team can shoot the place up but get away with it by saying "national security" to the Brits.
This one is entertaining at times but there is just not enough meat on the bone and after a while it becomes downright boring -- something that should never happen in a good action movie..
Ex-CIA spook James Dial (Wesley Snipes) finds himself in over his head after being called back to do a job to assassinate Jahar, a terrorist, that he botched up when he attempted years prior, only to see said job blow up in his face due to circumstances out of his control.
He finds himself on the run from the head of the very same organization that has hired him, as well as the British police, with the only friend in this catastrophe being a 13 year old girl who he finds at the safehouse assigned to him.Horrible direction, unsympathetic characters and a script that leaves one wanting (to put it mildly) hampers an otherwise serviceable, if dully predictable film.
I once used Wesley Snipes' name as a clue to go ahead and watch a new, untried film in which he appears.
So now, for the first time, my Snipes-Method of film recommendation has failed.
Don't really know where to start with one of the worst films I have had the displeasure to watch in a very long time.
The plot was also extremely poor, boring and been written and filmed a lot better a thousand times before.
This film didn't seem to know what it wanted to be, if you are going to concentrate on the dramatic aspects from the aftermath of an assignation then you need a strong rigid plot with plausible scenery and setting, this is something the viewer has time to take in and appreciate and if you do it wrong then you notice it.
After watching this I thought to myself, there are either too few good writers & directors or lots of producers.At any rate, this is a terrible movie.
The only good thing about the movie is the little girl Emily, brilliantly played by Eliza Bennett.
Wesley Snipes has transformed himself from a box office star into a B-movie action hero, joining the ranks of Seagal and Van Damme in turning out straight-to-DVD thrillers in a bid to make a buck or too.
This one was filmed in Eastern Europe and Wales, although the action is supposedly set in London.Right from the start, you know there are two things wrong with this movie: the script and the direction.
After some conspiracy stuff the movie kind of falls apart and there's about two or three action scenes until it ends.
Snipes, an actor who can trade on plentiful charisma if not acting talent, sleepwalks through his role, and even the kid – usually a focus point for the audience's emotion in a film like this – is dull.
Ralph Brown (ALIEN 3) is better as the corrupt bad guy, but it's nothing to get excited about.So, barely any action, ridiculous continuity, an unbelievable rip-off script, lots of boring drawn-out scenesyep, this is another straight-to-DVD disaster that isn't worth your while..
James Dial used to be a CIA hit man but now he is living a peaceful life in rural Montana; that is until his old boss, Collins, asks him to do a job; taking out a terrorist he failed to kill in a previous operation.
Wesley Snipes puts in a decent performance as Dial.
Those expecting lots of martial arts and physical action from him may be a little disappointed but I thought the lack of obvious toughness made his character feel more vulnerable which suited the story of a man on the run.
The supporting cast a pretty good too; Ralph Brown made a good bad guy without being over the top he played the role as though Collins genuinely thought of himself as a patriot serving his country rather as somebody who knows they are wrong but doesn't care.
Eliza Bennett was likable as Emily, Charles Dance brought some gravitas to the proceeding despite getting killed on rather early on and Lena Headey was decent enough as the police woman who ends up leading the investigation.There are faults of course; the story is somewhat cliché for starters and there are too many implausible moments to count.
Overall this isn't a must see film, even if you are a fan of Snipes, but it is a fun enough way to pass an hour and a half..
This movie was not what I expected from Wesley Snipes.
Try watching it without thinking of it as an action movie and you may like it more.
Government assassin Wesley Snipes is set up by his own covert ops organisation (he really should have known better, didn't he see Shooter?), and ends up on the run in London pursued by his own organisation and the Metropolitan Police, with help from troubled teenager Emily.Notwithstanding the fact that the story is very familiar, it is presented with some panache.
Rip off from other movies, but good action.
The opening scenes are really good :-) It is strange that people like to fight in the kitchen, in the movies :-) My biggest problem was to remember which parts was from Leon, Nikita and if they where from the French or American version.
If you have not seen Leon, then this is a good movie.
The First Time I've Seen Wesley Snipes Act. For me, the appearance of Wesley Snipes in a movie is about the worst recommendation possible.
Here he stars the lead in a cheap action flick which was shot in Bulgaria( we are supposed to believe that the location is London, like only a complete moron would buy that)The story is the one of 1000 other movies: retired special forces good guy gets hired by the government again to do a wet job- after that government wants to get rid of him- good guy gets away after killing bad guys (was that a spoiler?
guess not!) The star of the movie: the little girl (Eliza Bennett) outperforms everybody else of the cast!!!One star is for her plus one star for eye candy Lena Headey, makes 2 stars.
I liked Wesley Snipes, and I founded funny that he played his name's meaning in a movie.
So have grate time, and see good films, like i try too..