This great action flick stars Ryan Reynolds as young CIA agent Matt Weston, who is tasked with caretaking a safe house. For the past year Matt has been frustrated by his inactivity in his role as 'housekeeper' in Cape Town and wants to prove his abilities as an agent to his superiors. His first and only occupant, a highly-valued fugitive, proves to be the most dangerous man he has ever met.

Tobin Frost (Washington) has evaded capture for almost a decade and was one of the best operatives the CIA had. Unfortunately he turned, selling military and other secret information to the highest bidder and assisting terrorist groups. When Tobin eventually reappears, he is finally taken into custody.

When the South African safe house is attacked by a group of mercenary assassins, Matt finds himself on the run with his charge. The unlikely allies need to stay alive long enough to reach another safe house and discover who wants them killed. Have the attackers been sent by terrorists or is there a mole inside the CIA? Who can they trust?

This high octane action drama is intense and thrilling in execution. Oscar-winner Denzel continues to be one of the most reliable actors around and newly heralded action star Reynolds holds his own against him. A solid action film featuring two great stars.

With a mixture of illicit crime, drug bosses and one-last-job-to-save-the-family-premise, Contraband is a classic heist movie. Mark Wahlberg (The Italian Job) plays tough (but nice) guy Chris Farraday who has settled down to the quiet life after a career in the international smuggling racquet.

However trouble arrives in the form of brother-in-law Andy (Caleb Landry Jones) when he botches a major drug deal and ends up owing a small fortune to his ruthless drug boss Tim Briggs (Ribisi). So Farraday is forced out of retirement to do 'one last job': to not only settle Andy's debts but to also prevent his wife (Beckinsale) and family from being targeted by Briggs's heavies as collateral for the deal gone wrong.

Along with faithful lieutenant Sebastian (Foster), Farraday assembles a skilled crew to travel to Panama for a shipyard heist to steal and smuggle out millions in contraband counterfeit bills. But things are never that simple and Farraday must also contend with the hidden agendas that inevitably come with pulling a heist of this magnitude.

Action thrillers are better without overly complex dialogue or plots and Contraband is no exception. Instead it plays up on its procedural style approach to smuggling which makes the film entertainingly authentic (and a useful guide for those who may feel the need to secure a second income in these economically uncertain times).

If you are looking for a well-executed, well-shot heist, this film will satisfy your needs.