"The Contract. Morgan Freeman and John Cusack by numbers, in a formulaic but likeable adaptation of the one that Grisham probably threw away. 2-Dimensional support cast with clichéd back stories. Stressed single father, rites of passage brat, wise cracking cop, slick conman with mercenary new guy and bullet fodder cronies (including token black guy). Still, strangely enjoyable though."
Kris With A K, Q102 Radio.
An expanded version by the same genius :p
Morgan Freeman and John Cusack in The Contract.
A script adapted from something that John Grisham threw away, directed by the man that brought us Her Alibi and Double Jeopardy (and to be fair, Driving Miss Daisy – which might make sense of why Freeman signed on).
The two leads could have done this movie in their sleep. Freeman is the slick career criminal, Cusack the stressed single father, both (oh er!) with military pasts. Now they need some friends to play with. Freeman’s gang of four – wisecracking new guy who’s just there for the cash (check), ageing nerd (check), token black guy (check) and the even more underdeveloped one that (sorry to spoil it) DIES !!! Kind of like a poor man’s Ronin.
What about a small town sheriff who’s in awe when the FBI turn up ? Ok, but only if he can have a hen-pecked deputy. What if one of the FBI agents had a hidden agenda ? A rites of passage teen ? Sure ! And when it sags in the middle, how about a pointless dating couple that appear out of nowhere, and reach their respective foregone conclusions ? (I won’t spoil that part).
Many of the outdoor scenes scream “this is a soundstage”, and the characters’ backstories are fleeting and clumsy. His mother died of cancer, he doesn’t connect with Cusack …Freeman is the leader that they can’t do without because ….. WE GET IT !!!
Despite all this, it’s actually a reasonably enjoyable 91 minutes (it knows not to overstay it’s welcome) and some of the cast courageously manage to out-do the source material. Special mention has to go to Corey Johnston (Van Statten against Ecclestone’s Doctor) as the forementioned wisecracking mercenary, and Jamie Anderson as Cusack’s son (not many young actors could hold their own sharing three quarter’s of a movie with both of the leads).
In hindsight, the titular “contract” is the one thing the movie isn’t actually about, but this is still what any tabloid film critic might refer to this as “an enjoyable romp”.