The Contractor - This movie is a fairly pure rip off The Professional with a twist that only works for Wesley Snipes. Instead of cuddly, teddy-bear Jean Reno, we have a downer assassin that doesn't seem to enjoy anything much in life. Watching the special feature included with the DVD, "A Look Inside The Contractor" helped explain the Director's vision. Much like Reno's character, Snipes plays James Dial as a world-weary shooter who takes no joy in taking life. When he is called out of retirement to make that one last hit (note to self - always be wary of CIA operatives with deals too good to be true...), Dial seems a little out of place on a ranch, breaking wild horses. I found myself wondering if the disconnect with the ranch theme came more from Dial or Snipes-as-Dial. I decided it was some of both. Snipes wasn't the best choice for this character. Too much of his career is filled with great roles that defined the bad guy as just plain bad and loving it. In the case of Blade, we had the good guy who still ended up being bad. Nothing really screams "redeeming qualities" in a typical Snipes villain. Seeing him cast as a bad guy in The Contractor that is supposed to have a softer side... not sure it washes for me.

The Professional was a winner for me because Reno clearly (even inappropriately?) fell in love with Natalie Portman's character. His final gift to her was a sure sign that he had passed through his Disinterested Assassin phase and felt some brief joy in life. Snipes' character Dial does some good things for people in The Contractor, but ends up playing the role as a very workaday contract killer. When he ends up on the wrong side of the CIA deal (no surprise there...), he has to rely on a young girl for help. She is conveniently orphaned and very interested in hanging her "father figure" sign on him in no time at all. By the end of the movie, we've seen the obvious plot suspects played out and 98 minutes have elapsed. It would be nice to say that - as I expected - Snipes pulls out some incredible action during The Contractor. Unlike almost every recent Snipes vehicle I can remember, this is a weak action movie with jittery camera work that set my teeth on edge. Cutting scenes every half second and shaking the camera may create tension in the hands of a master, but it is overused in The Contractor. Lena Headey of 300 is plugged heavily, but doesn't do much other than show up in a few scenes and pout heavily.

The Contractor isn't a bad look-see as a rental, especially if you love watching Snipes on screen. He pulls out a good performance as a tired hitman caught up in some bad circumstances, but the whole story just doesn't wash. Everyone in the movie phones in their performances and the camera work is downright nauseating. This is a curiosity and not at all what I expected.