The Contractis a 2006 German-American action thriller film directed by Bruce Beresford and written by television writer Stephen Katz and John Darrouzet.The Contractstars Morgan Freeman as professional assassin Frank Carden and John Cusack as a teacher who gets entangled into his latest assignment during a camp trip with his son. Released direct to video in the United States and Europe,The Contractreceived little critical notice despite its high-profile cast.

• A father and his son attempt to bring in an assassin to the authorities, but his dangerous associates have other plans.
• Ray Keene (John Cusack), a father who wants to redeem himself in the eyes of his son (Jamie Anderson), is trying to bring Carden (Morgan Freeman), a world-class assassin to justice. All the while, he must protect his son and evade the assassin’s team who are methodically hunting them down in the wilderness.—Anonymous
• The widower teacher and baseball and basketball coach Ray Keene lost his wife that died of cancer two years ago. When his teenage son Chris Keene is caught by the police smoking pot, Ray invites him to hike and camp in the woods to increase their bonds. Meanwhile, the mercenary assassin Frank Carden is arrested by FBI after a car accident in the middle of a contract to kill an important target. While Frank is traveling on the road escorted by three FBI agents, his men try to rescue him, but his car falls into a river and is carried by the drift. Ray helps the wounded agent and the cuffed Frank to leave the river, and feels responsible to deliver Frank to justice. The former policeman and stubborn Ray does not listen to Frank’s proposal to leave him alone and travel through the woods with Chris, trying to find a safe place. But Frank’s men and an undercover agent in the team are chasing the group with different lethal intentions.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Attempting to recover from a recent family trauma by escaping into the woods for a peaceful hiking trip, an ex-lawman and his young son stumble across a dangerous contract killer in director Bruce Beresford’s forest-bound thriller. Ray Keene (John Cusack) has lost his wife, and now the grieving father is looking to reconnect with his young son (Jamie Anderson) with a much-needed hike into the wilderness. But Ray and his son aren’t alone in nature, because high profile assassin Frank Cardin (Morgan Freeman) has ventured into nature with the malevolent intentions of fulfilling a contract to kill an extremely powerful businessman. When Frank’s hit goes awry and he ends up in the custody of U.S. Marshalls, the situation quickly spins out of control as a small army of loyal mercenaries draw their guns in a violent attempt to free their notorious compatriot. Later stumbling upon the chaotic situation, Ray does his best to protect his son while ensuring that Frank doesn’t escape justice. Though Frank’s men aren’t willing to let their boss go to prison without a fight, Ray vows to do the right thing as help suddenly comes from the most unlikely of places.

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Jelisije J The worst Morgan Freemen movie you will ever see. The plot for the most part makes sense, but its one of the most predictable movies with all the basic movie troupes that you wish the movie was over in the first 15 minutes. Rated 1/5 Stars • Rated 1 out of 5 stars 05/26/24 Full Review Thameemul A Action sequences are well-executed, offering bursts of adrenaline without overshadowing the character dynamics. However, the overall pacing can feel uneven at times, occasionally meandering with predictable beats. Despite the familiarity of the plot, director Bruce Beresford injects subtle social commentary about morality and the price of loyalty, adding depth to the otherwise conventional storyline. Ultimately, “The Contract” is a mixed bag. Its predictable narrative and pacing hold it back from greatness, but the captivating performances of Freeman and Cusack, along with the occasional thought-provoking moment, make it a passable, if unremarkable, watch. If you’re looking for a high-octane thriller with fresh thrills, you might be left wanting. But if you appreciate strong performances and a touch of social awareness amidst the action, “The Contract” might be worth your time. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 12/19/23 Full Review Cork B Yeah Cusack and Morgan are doing a decent job here, and the first 20 minutes of the movie is interesting. But once everyone crossed paths, logic goes totally out the window, and this thing just becomes painful to watch. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/28/23 Full Review Chris M It is hard to believe that anyone would make this movie. It is harder to believe that anyone would like it. It is drivel. The plot is corny and cliched, as are the characters. They speak their lines as if they are holding the script in front of them and reading from it for the first time. The acting is consistently wooden. As for continuity, what continuity? There are so many flaws and inconsistencies that it is laughable. This film says a lot about where film making has come to, and the fact that some people over the age of 10 actually like the film says a lot, unfortunately, about the intelligence and discernment of the viewing public. Rated 1/5 Stars • Rated 1 out of 5 stars 06/09/23 Full Review Georgan G Good acting & action. Plot dragged a bit here & there, but passed the time nicely. Cusack & Freeman were their usual good character actors. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/21/23 Full Review Bilbo S WHY FIVE STARS? PLAIN AND SIMPLE: TO EVEN OUT THE SCORE. – – – – – I’m not sure why this movie has such a low rating, though I put no stock into Rotten Tomatoes (owned by Comcast, Fandango, and Warner Bros by the way). I never have. Nor do I personally believe critics in general or any reviewer that won’t go into depth on the film. The fact that it has a 0%, but ‘Let the Right One In’ and ‘Black Panther’ are both at or near 100% should tell you all you need to know: RT’s only concerns are 1. ‘does it push an agenda we consider politcally correct’? and 2. (more importantly to them, I’m sure) ‘will it help us make money’? This film meets neither of those criteria, and it isn’t critically acclaimed, so it and many others fight an uphill battle where mediocrity is pushed into obscurity, thanks partially to RT’s all-or-nothing rating system. It also seems that many reviewers dogpile on a film that is at worst sub-par, but are those worth counting if the reviewer can’t even spell fifteen words in a row? What’s funniest to me is that the ‘non politicaly correct’ characters in this film are the bad guys–you’re not meant to root for them. That’s a classic tactic that it seems some fell for a bit too hard. What is it that they say about the fewest folks with the loudest voices on the internet? THE REAL REVIEW:: Enough of my diatribe. I’ll give you the full and honest truth of this film. Is it bad? No. But it’s not amazing either. The Contract is middling at best, but the worst lines are contained within the first few minutes of the film: the ‘criminal crew meets and sums each-other up in a few lines’ segment. It’s a bit kitschy, sure, but I’ve heard worse in films that have rave reviews on this site from critic wanna-bes *COUGH* Disney Star Wars *COUGH*. Morgan freeman’s lines become repetitive by the time they’ve reached the cabin, but to say his acting was ever approaching bad is farcical. The kid who plays the son is a less than stellar actor (though he gets better as the film progresses), which is to be expected of child actors. That said, I’ve seen far worse. The only disappointment I found was in the fact that it has a 0% ‘critic’ consensus here, which had me expecting a ‘so bad it’s good’ type of film. The worst I can say is that it’s fine. It has a simple story with likeable protagonists, is self-contained, and makes sense. I’m honestly just angry at Rotten Tomatoes for the fact that the movie wasn’t terrible at all. THE TOMATO ISN’T ROTTEN, JUST THE SOIL. Am I missing something? Do they think such blatant favoritism puts them in a positive light? Is it a good thing when your film critic site is considered untrustworthy, so much so that folks look at it as a joke? While researching some of this I saw a line from an unnamed Redditor, the gist of whose argument was ‘generally whatever score Rotten Tomatoes applies to a film, I immediately figure the opposite to be true.’ I have to agree. I’d also like to note that John Cusack is and always has been highly vocal on his political opinions, as is his right. Could it be something he said about the Iraq war, or perhaps the treatment of Palestinians in Israel? Maybe him supporting Bernie Sanders was a factor? I don’t know. This film came out in 2006, but a dense majority of the reviews I am seeing are from 2015, and many with little or no explanation. Most appear to be copied and pasted in. SO– take it from someone who has seen it twice now, did his research, and actually watched the movie (just finished it twenty minutes ago, in fact): THIS FILM IS NOT AMAZING, BUT IT DESERVES BETTER THAN 0% 3 stars in all honesty. But few others are being honest here, so 5 stars to even out their BS Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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Production: What we know about The Contract?Filming Timeline

• 2004 – December: The film was set to Completed status.

The Contract Release Date: When was the film released?

The Contract was a release in 2006 on Sunday, November 26, 2006.

The Contract DVD & Blu-ray Release Date: When was the film released?

Now Available on DVD & Blu-rayThe Contract was released on DVD & Blu-ray on Tuesday, July 24, 2007 .