‘The Contractor’: Action without overt jingoism

Above : “The Contractor,” starring Chris Pine and Ben Foster, opens Friday. (Photo/Paramount Pictures)

Another movie, titled “The Contractor,” is expected to open on Friday, though only at AMC River Park Square . And while it’s not likely to earn Academy Award status, it’s likely to reward those who like thrillers.

At least for the duration of its hour-and-43-minute running time.

Directed by Swedish filmmaker Tarek Saleh , and based on a screenplay by J.P. Davis, “The Contractor” stars Chris Pine as a former Green Beret – discharged from the service – who goes to work for a private paramilitary company, Soon he is at odds with his bosses and, defying orders, has to go on the run.

“There are serious ideas, damning ones too, in the screenplay by J.P Davis, as it explores the flip side of jingoism without lapsing into simplistic politics,” wrote critic Sheri Linden for The Hollywood Reporter. “Director 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.”

Variety’s Dennis Harvey wrote, “Being a solid cut above average is good enough, given so much formulaic mediocrity among thrillers cluttering the streaming market.”

Courtney Howard of the AV Club, though, offered a dissenting view, “Saleh’s film,” she wrote, “lacks the claustrophobic atmosphere needed to transform a military adventure into a bona fide political thriller.”

Now you get to decide. But don’t forget the popcorn.