The Contractor

This one plays like an ode to soldiers, and I mean that. It shows what happens after the uniform comes off: the injuries, the discharge, the fight to come back to something like a normal life. And honestly? I was a little miffed at how that whole part went down. Soldiers deserve better than what this movie depicts, and the movie knows it, which is kind of the point. Still left me grumbling.

Chris Pine, though. The guy always shows up. He's intense here as a soldier who's been wronged, and he carries the weight of it in a way that makes you believe every scene he's in. He also flashes some skills when the movie asks him to. That's two things he doesn't always get to do in the same picture, and he nails both.

A solid watch with a real heart, dim lighting and all.

My gripes are small. First one is literal: a lot of this thing is too dark. Lighting-wise, I was squinting more than I wanted to. I get the mood they were going for, but let me see what's happening.

The bigger gripe is that I wanted more. How did he hurt his knee? That matters. Why was his dad such a hard ass, and what was the deal with him being sick? Those are threads I wanted pulled. The movie hands you these pieces of a guy's history and then kind of shrugs and moves on. Give me the backstory. Let me sit in it.

But none of that wrecked the experience. Pine anchors the whole thing, the message about what we put soldiers through actually lands, and even if I left wanting more answers, I didn't leave feeling cheated.

Would I throw this on again? Probably not. It's not the kind of movie that begs for a rewatch, and it didn't stick with me for days after. But in the moment, watching on Paramount, I was locked in. If you're the right kind of viewer, somebody who cares about stories that respect what soldiers actually go through, this one's for you. If you're not, I'm not going to twist your arm.

A solid watch with a real heart, dim lighting and all.