After being involuntarily discharged from the U.S. Special Forces, James Harper (Pine) decides to support his family by joining a private contracting organization alongside his best friend (Foster) and under the command of a fellow veteran (Sutherland). Overseas on a covert mission, Harper must evade those trying to kill him while making his way back home.... (Full plot summary below)
Enjoy FREE movies and series with your Prime (USA) subscription or when you start a 30-day free trial!
After being involuntarily discharged from the U.S. Special Forces, James Harper (Pine) decides to support his family by joining a private contracting organization alongside his best friend (Foster) and under the command of a fellow veteran (Sutherland). Overseas on a covert mission, Harper must evade those trying to kill him while making his way back home.
Leave your thoughts about The Contractor.
| Film ThreatBobby LePireThe 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. |
| IGNAdam BankhurstThe Contractor may have an underwhelming conclusion, but the journey to get there is an emotional one, with a strong performance by Chris Pine. |
| The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenDirector 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. |
| The Film StageJared MobarakWhile billed as an action film, The Contractor proves more suspense thriller in the end. |
| TimeStephanie ZacharekIf the premise sounds tired, what’s surprising—or perhaps not—about The Contractor is how well Pine carries it. |
| VarietyDennis HarveyBeing a solid cut above average is good enough, given so much formulaic mediocrity among thrillers cluttering the streaming market. |
| The New York TimesManohla DargisPine 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. |
| EmpireJohn NugentIt 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. |
| Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshThe 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. |
| SlashfilmDanielle RyanThe Contractor challenges expectations in many ways, it just never goes quite far enough. |
