El Contratista / The Contractor Review: An Enjoyable Low Budget Action Film

Release date: January 8, 2021
Running time: 99 minutes
Lead Actor & Executive producer: Alejandro De Hoyos
Starring: Alejandro De Hoyos, Ana Layevska, Reinaldo Zavarce 
Writer & Director JoJo Hendrickson

A group of young international military fighters join with their tough veteran leader to protect a young boy, whose family was murdered. Now they must figure out who are the good guys and bad guys before they all end up dead.

The film is a vehicle to showcase De Hoyos and a fun crew of mercenaries as they try to protect a young child.  The crew is enjoyable to watch and De Hoyos is very good as the boss of the outfit.  He has a quiet confidence that comes through in the film and the rest of the crew add some different personalities, diversity, and skills to the team.  I can see why they call him the Mexican James Bond, as he definitely looks the part.  On top of the team, there are also members of the household that add to the film, most notably the butler who does a great job as a caring member of the family.  And young Erasmo (Sebastián Cano) does a good job as a distant child who has to deal with a tragic event.  And the film has some nice touches that make this feel like a bigger film.  The movie has a yellow grain to it that makes it feel more action focused, making them a little more exciting while also making the flashbacks to Cano (De Hoyos)'s time in the middle east feel more authentic.  And the movie also showcases the effect that violence can have on kids.  It starts with video game violence, but as more and more violence creeps into their young ward's life, the effect that it has on him becomes more pronounced.

The Contractor is a low budget action movie that makes the most of its limited funding.  However, it still has a small budget and this is reflected in the film itself.  Many of the special effects are noticeably CG or has action that cuts away at certain times to trick the audience into thinking that there is most going on.  It does a good job but it can only do so much with the limitations that it had and leads to an action movie that just doesn't have a lot of action.  The film does have some tense moments and good characters, but an action movie should really have the excitement front and center.  Unfortunately here, the action is obscured due to the budget and just feels awkward.  That being said, the film does have solid characters and a decent story.  It just is not going to blow you away like I was hoping it would.  But it does make me excited for the next projects from these actors as you can see the potential here. 

El Contratista has a fun and diverse cast in a dangerous operation that makes the most of its limited budget.

 

Rent it.

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El Contratista / The Contractor is available digitally and on demand.