A stellar Mark Wahlberg helps elevate “Contraband” past the realm of just another “one last job” action/heist flick.

He leads an impressive cast including Ben Foster, Giovanni Ribisi and the stunning, more there for her looks than acting ability, Kate Beckinsale.

Foster has a lot of great supporting roles to his credit, and he is very solid here. Ribisi is a revelation as the vicious drug dealer threatening Wahlberg’s family. Many will recognize him from his role in “Avatar” and “Friends,” which fans will remember him as Phoebe’s younger brother.

The plot revolves around Chris Farraday (Wahlberg) and his desire to stay out of the smuggling business he used to thrive in. He turned his life around and even opened his own home security business.

When his wife Kate’s (Beckinsale) little brother Andy gets involved with the mobster Briggs (Ribisi), Farraday is forced back into the “business” to help get his brother-in-law out of trouble. Farraday recruits his friend Sebastian (Foster) to help him set up one final “run” to get Briggs the money Andy owes him.

Things don’t go as smoothly as planned and there are plenty of twists and turns to keep the story interesting. The film moves along steadily during the first hour or so, but runs out of steam toward the end.

I felt like the story could have successfully wrapped up in about an hour and 30 minutes instead of the two hours it actually takes. It’s necessary to have a few slower moments to pace the action parts, but they seem to drag on just a bit too long in the movie.

Overall, I did enjoy the film and it’s hard to find a movie I don’t like with Wahlberg in it. He seems to bring the perfect mix of action, drama and smarts in almost every film he stars in.

“Contraband” is a good showcase for Wahlberg’s talents. There doesn’t seem to be many people who aren’t Wahlberg fans these days, especially in college circles.

Whether he’s playing a sniper framed for murder in “Shooter” or an underdog boxer in the critically acclaimed “The Fighter,” Wahlberg seems to always be at the top of his game.

“Contraband” delivers on a lot of levels and is another worthy entry in this action/heist category. Although I’ve seen better, there’s not too much worth griping about. If you’re interested in seeing this type of movie, you’ll get what you paid for and a little more, thanks to Wahlberg.