How far would you go for family?  That’s the dilemma facing husband and father Mark Wahlberg in the new to Blu-ray action flick "Contraband" out April 24 from Universal Home Video.  The family tree grows review roots below!

   Title: "Contraband"

   Grade: 3 1/2

   Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster

   Director: Baltasar Kormakur

   Rating: R

   Runtime: 110 minutes

   Release Company: Universal Home Entertainment

   Website: www.UniversalHiDef.com    

The Flick: What is actually a story rehash of the David Caruso and before that the 1947 Victor Mature flick "Kiss of Death" thankfully goes beyond the basic family in peril premise here to make for a decent and entertaining flick.  Not that everything within "Contraband" is golden since for every great scene of in-your-face action (the art heist is some tense stuff!) there’s downers like overacting ala Giovanni “ruined Mod Squad” Ribisi, but for a fun and fluffy piece of Mark Wahlberg tough guy escapism this one keeps the popcorn warm.

Best Feature: The featurette 'Reality Factor: The Stunts and Action of Contraband' is best as it specifically goes into the sequence mentioned above and give fans a fun front row seat.

Best Hidden Gem:  The underused and seriously underrated Lucas 'The Pin' Haas plays a great part here as Wahlberg’s emotionally scared shitless buddy.

Worth the Moola: In the sea of mindless action outings, "Contraband" keeps the goods it has afloat.